Even in retirement I have been able to preserve subscription to Becker's and saw an article today describing statistics around enrollment in nursing schools post pandemic. The short story is that, while enrollment in entry-level Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) has increased slightly from 2022 to 2023, enrollment in RN-to-BSN programs has declined by 10%, and enrollment in advanced degree programs has also declined. The other academic program that saw an slight increase was for Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, which is intended to prepare post-masters nurses for leadership and advanced clinical roles (I admit that I had to look this one up).
Of additional interest was the report in this article that the declines noted are not new; declines in enrollment in advanced academic degrees are reported to have been occurring for a decade.
Does this mean that enrollees in these programs intend to be practicing nurses rather than academicians (I use the word "practicing" broadly to include nurse practitioner and leadership roles)? If so, what is lost to nursing when the number of enrollees pursuing Masters and Doctorate programs are declining?
For those of us practicing in acute care environments, these can become consequential questions. A friend and mentor of mine once opined that the requirement for 24 x 7 nursing care was the only reason for hospitalization. Lacking that need, services provided by hospitals were increasingly available in the ambulatory space. If the declines in advanced academic degrees continues, who prepares Nursing as a profession for the increasingly fast pace of change that is occurring in healthcare?
All this made me wonder how pharmacy would appear if the same metrics were reported about Pharmacy? How many of us in pharmacy pursue advanced academic degrees? How has that affected our ability to teach and research? How has that affected our ability to pursue leadership and educational roles? Would we achieve our professional goals faster if more of us had advanced degrees (beyond the Pharm.D.)?
I admit I don't know the answers. Do you? What do you think?
Dennis A. Tribble, Pharm.D., FASHP
Retired
Ormond Beach, FL
datdoc@aol.com