Case Study: Leadership
Mary’s concerns are genuine and shared by many other nurses doing their MSN courses. Everyone would wonder why they have to do a course twice while they had already completed the course before. There are courses in MSN programs that have been done before in BSN programs. The course Theoretical Basis for Advanced Nursing Practice is just an example. But all the repetition happens for a reason.
Learning as we know it never ceases. Part of the professional nurse standards stipulates that it is the responsibility of nurses to continue adding to their knowledge through all means (Gerard, Kazer, Babington, & Quell, 2014). Continuing education is one of the best avenues to which one can add to knowledge to what they already have. Additionally, Mary needs to know that the health care environment is dynamic and ever-changing; the things she learned fifteen years ago cannot still hold water now. More studies were done that have added knowledge to what is already known (Duffy et al., 2014). It is therefore fair to say that more knowledge has existed.
Moreover, taking the MSN program is a significant step towards specialization. Being a master’s degree holder in nursing means that one has special or consultant level of knowledge in a given field (Gerard, Kazer, Babington, & Quell, 2014). The MSN program narrows down knowledge on a particular topic. What one may have learned at the BSN level is general nursing knowledge on the subject and can therefore not be compared to what one learns at the MSN level (Duffy et al., 2014). In, conclusion, nurses like Mary should fell reassured that they are not learning the same thing over again, rather they’re adding to their knowledge (Gerard, Kazer, Babington, & Quell, 2014). They are also specializing in the various fields they have chosen to pursue.
References
Duffy, M., Friesen, M., Speroni, K., Swengros, D., Shanks, L., Waiter, P., & Sheridan, M. (2014). BSN Completion Barriers, Challenges, Incentives, and Strategies. JONA: The Journal Of Nursing Administration, 44(4), 232-236. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/nna.0000000000000054
Gerard, S., Kazer, M., Babington, L., & Quell, T. (2014). Past, Present, and Future Trends of Master’s Education in Nursing. Journal Of Professional Nursing, 30(4), 326-332. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2014.01.005
