Seventy-six percent more registered nurses enrolled in programs for bachelor of science degrees last year as compared to 2007, according to information from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, The Columbus Dispatch reports.
Ohio saw that metric more than quadruple from 2008 to 2011 when the number rose from 1,686 registered nurses to 7,780. Public schools in Ohio handed out 1,918 bachelor's degrees in 2010, which dwarfs the 906 that were handed out in 2002, the Ohio Board of Regents said.
Employers are encouraging staff members who hold nursing jobs to enhance their academic achievements, which also helps patients.
"You have to create incentives in the workplace to get people to go back to school," chief executive officer Gingy Harshey-Meade with the Ohio Nurses Association told the news source. "If you’re working full-time, it's another big, full-time commitment."
Hospitals offer perks such as tuition reimbursement as incentives to push their staff members into returning to school. Nurses with associate degrees are hired and can do the job, yet many employers will not stand in the way of the nurses improving their credentials.