Nursing Programs in US

choi

Richard Perez-Pena, More Stringent Requirements Send Nurses Back to School. New York Times, June 24, 2012.
www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/educa ... back-to-school.html

Quote:

(a) "Hospital and nursing school officials say most hospitals insisting on bachelor’s degrees [in nursing] began doing so in the last five years

(b) "No matter the type of nursing school, a graduate who passes a national licensing exam becomes an RN, and for decades, that was the only credential that mattered to hospitals. (Licensed practical nurses, or L.P.N.’s, who take a different version of the exam, can perform fewer functions and are being phased out of hospitals.)

"Not long ago, most nurses did not go to college at all, but to nursing schools run by hospitals — including one still run by Abington — that do not confer degrees. As recently as the mid-1980s, half of the country’s registered nurses had started that way. But by then, hospital-based schools were closing in droves, and community college education was becoming the norm. * * * Where traditional nursing education focuses on practical skills, students in four-year programs learn more about theory, public health and research.

(c) "A 2008 federal government survey showed that among newly minted nurses, only 3 percent had graduated from nondegree programs, 58 percent from community colleges, and 39 percent from four-year colleges. With more of them returning to school, half of the nation’s 3 million registered nurses had a bachelor’s or master’s degree in nursing.

(d) "many community colleges are finding ways to appeal to students who want more than an associate degree. A handful of community colleges have won permission to offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing — notably Miami Dade College, one of the nation’s largest, which started its bachelor’s program in 2008 — and other schools have petitioned state regulators and accreditation agencies to do the same.

"Many more junior colleges have made arrangements with four-year colleges to help nursing students move more readily from one to the other.

(e) "It [nursing] is, increasingly, a second career; the typical starting age is around 30.

My comment: I was often confused about nursing in the US. This report offers a good starting point to disabuse me.
(a) Abington Memorial Hospital (AMH) is a private, not-for-profit hospital located at Abington Township, Pennsylvania, twelve miles (air distance) due north of Philadelphia.
(i) Our History, AMH, undated.
www.amh.org/aboutus/our-history/
("local landowner George W. Elkins, Sr., was occasionally asked to transport patients. Legend has it that one of his passengers died en route. Recognizing the need for a hospital in Abington, he arranged a town meeting.On May 7, 1912, community members gathered and passed a resolution to establish Abington General Hospital. Elkins donated land and money for the new building in memory of his wife, Stella McIntire Elkins, and the hospital was renamed in her honor")
(ii) Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abington_Township,_Montgomery_County,_Pennsylvania
(The land that comprises Abington today was purchased from the native Lenape by William Penn during the 1680s; "the township incorporated as Abington in 1704. The name's origin is not known")

(b) Drexel University
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drexel_University
(a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia; founded in 1891 by Anthony J Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist; best known for the cooperative education program (Co-op))

(i) Drexel is a variant spelling of Drechsel, which together with another surname Dressler (all German), means a "turner."All three are derived from "Old High German drasil ‘turner’, a primary derivative of draen ‘turn’, ‘spin’). A turner would make small objects not just from wood, but also from bone, ivory, and amber, all of which were widely used in the Middle Ages for their decorative value." Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press.
(ii) Turner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner

(c) Regarding quotation (d), which is not totally accurate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Dade_College
(opened in 1960 as Dade County Junior College; The College changed its name to Miami-Dade Community College in 1973; "In 2003, the College was granted the right to award baccalaureate degrees in education to meet future education needs, and currently offers three bachelors degrees. As a result, the College changed its name again from Miami-Dade Community College to Miami Dade College to reflect four year degree possibilities")

(d) The report talks about "Ms Matton, 37, sitting in her kitchen and eating a hamburger her husband had waiting when she got home."

wait:
"[vt] 2 : to delay serving (a meal)
* * *
[vi] 4a : to be ready and available <slippers waiting by the bed>"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wait

In the sentence above, it must be definition 4a--grammatically def 2 does not fit.

(e) The following is my comments.
(i) Here is "a list of Board-approved nursing education programs" by Board of Registration in Nursing, Division of Health Professions Licensure, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/quality/boards/rnnecpro.pdf,
which includes practical nursing program, registered nurse associate degree program, registered nurse baccalaureate degree program, registered nurse entry level graduate program, and registered nurse hospital based diploma program.
(ii) In other words, only two hospitals in Massachusetts offer nursing programs: The private hospital in City of Brocton offers a diploma but not an associate degree, though it takes two years to complete a day program; and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) offers BSN and MSN (master's of science in nursing).  
(A) Signature Healthcare Brocton Hospital School of Nursing

* History
http://bhson.org/history/
(established in 1897)
* Admissions
http://bhson.org/admissions/
("We hope you choose to apply to either the Two Year Day Division Diploma Program or the Four Year Evening/Weekend Diploma Program")

(B) School of Nursing/ Degree Options. MGH Institute of Health Profession, undated.
http://www.mghihp.edu/academics/ ... ptions/default.aspx

Quote:

"Direct-Entry Degrees (for non-nursing backgrounds)[:] Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) [14 months]; Master of Science in Nursing (MS) to become a nurse practitioner (NP) [three years]

Post-Professional Degrees (for RNs)[:] Master of Science, Nursing (MS) to become a nurse practitioner (NP); Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) (three tracks)"

(iii) Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing does not lists Doctor of Nursing, which is likely under jurisdiction of state Department of Education.

(ii) Hayley Harrison, Difference Between a Certified Nursing Assistant & a Licensed Practical Nurse. eHow, undated.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_565915 ... ractical-nurse.html

CNA and LPN are both below RN (registered nurse).