AORN foundation shares results of scholarship recipient survey

AORN Journal, March, 2005 by Terri Goodman, Sharon Chappy, Leslie Durgin

The survey and other comments from student scholarship recipients strongly supported that, in addition to the scholarship funding, efforts by AORN and the AORN Foundation to promote the profession significantly affected their interest in and future commitment to perioperative nursing. Those efforts included the Foundation's provision of a student membership in AORN, the added benefit of receiving the AORN Journal, and the Foundation's service in linking the student to an AORN member as a mentor.

OPPORTUNITIES AND SHORTFALLS

The survey participants' comments provided insight into what they perceived to be the opportunities and shortfalls associated with obtaining a basic or advanced degree. Opportunities were not fully realized by those who had not yet finished their education. Opportunities that were mentioned included

* having more career options in clinical practice, education, and management associated with the BSN degree;

* obtaining advanced practice positions, such as nurse practitioner, surgical services educator, or surgical services manager; and

* advancing on employing agencies' clinical ladder. Some participants said they had not yet experienced the personal or professional gain they expected with educational advancement. Reasons cited included

* employers not recognizing or respecting different levels of education,

* not receiving increased pay for increased educational preparation, and

* not learning anything new after years of experience as an RN.

These comments offer words of advice for employers--it is important to recognize a nurse's educational advancement with increased job responsibility and increased pay. Failing to recognize employees' educational advancement can diminish their motivation to advance their education or prompt them to seek employment at institutions that recognize the value of education and reward employees for obtaining it.

Several survey participants made especially noteworthy comments. One said,

   ... the [master's in business administration]
   opened mow opportunity doors
   than a [master's degree in nursing]. In
   administration, nursing master's are
   seen as more retrospective knowledge
   than proactive analysis accomplished
   in business studies.

This is an indication that, in addition to current curricula, advanced nursing curricula should be developed to meet the needs of the workplace and to combat the perception that an advanced degree in nursing is less important or less valuable than a degree in fields outside of nursing.

It is important that nursing continues to develop and refine its own knowledge base. Ensuring that degrees in nursing administration are perceived by nurse leaders to be as valuable as degrees in business is important to the profession. It also is important for nurses to realize that a master's degree in nursing represents the minimum education required to teach nursing. Having a master's degree in a field other than nursing limits a nurse's ability to join a nursing faculty and help diminish the shortages of both nursing faculty and perioperative nurses.