Nurses are integral elements of a competent health care system; it would be impossible to achieve successful results without these staff members. Their experience and level of expertise can make a difference when it comes to the safety of patients. In addition to that, there is a strong correlation between nursing education and positive patient outcomes, which can be supported by both scholarly findings and real-life examples.
Education Impact on Patient Outcomes
Education provides people with a fundamental basis for future activity in various spheres, and nursing is no exception. According to Lehwaldt (2016), nurses with advanced educational degrees can contribute to much better patient outcomes. The fact is that these staff members’ knowledge and skills are enough to provide patients with superior care. This idea is defended by Cho et al. (2015) stating that “each 10% increase in nurses having Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree is associated with a 9% decrease in patient deaths” (p. 535). I completely agree with this research, and some real-life examples can prove it. Thus, I have worked with a few baccalaureate nurses who seemed to know more about how to manage conflicts, improve the working environment, communicate with patients, and many others. These nurses showed better results in solving the issues above in comparison with their less educated colleagues. It means that nurses with higher educational degrees influence patient safety outcomes significantly.
Conclusion
Thus, it is difficult to overestimate the meaning of nursing education for the whole health care system and patient outcomes. There is credible evidence that staff members with advanced degrees in nursing affect patient safety positively. Numerous examples from real life also support and prove this suggestion. That is why health care establishments are interested in educated nurses who can contribute to a better quality of care delivery.
References
- Cho, E., Sloane, D. M., Kim, E.-Y., Kim, S., Choi, M., Yoo, I. Y., … Aiken, L. H. (2015). Effects of nurse staffing, work environments, and education on patient mortality: An observational study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 52(2), 535-542.
- Lehwaldt, D. (2016). The role of nurse education in improving patient outcomes and patient satisfaction with nursing care: A multiple case study of nursing teams in three hospitals across Ireland and Germany.