A study of associate degree nurses' perceptions and beliefs of advancing their formal education at the baccalaureate level

The purpose of the quantitative, descriptive study was to determine if demographics, perceptions, and beliefs affected associate degree nurses from advancing their education to the baccalaureate degree level. The study surveyed registered nurses at a large community hospital that employed a large percentage of associate degree nurses. The Attitudes Towards BSN Education scale was the instrument used to gather data. A socio-demographic questionnaire was also part of the survey to obtain pertinent demographics including gender, age, marital status, race, ethnicity, employment status, shift work, work setting, number of years licensed as registered nurse, and encouragement or social pressure to return to school. The findings suggested that associate degree nurses had predetermined perceptions and beliefs about returning to school to obtain a baccalaureate degree, and that a larger percentage of older women in their 40's to late 50's were more interested in returning to school than younger 20-39 year old nurses. The results also indicated that the age group of nurses in their late 50's showed a more positive attitude toward BSN education, but only in smaller numbers. Other findings showed that perceptions and beliefs did not coincide with the actions of the nurses. A majority of nurses felt that obtaining a baccalaureate degree in nursing was essential, yet a high percentage of nurses were not returning to school to advance their education. Therefore, it is important to invest and support nurses returning to school to achieve higher educational levels. The findings suggested that work needs to be done to improve nurses' attitudes toward continuing their formal education while also conducting research to understand what would be required to entice nurses to return to school.