While it hasn’t happened quite yet, a major shift may come for people pursuing nursing jobs as these professionals may need at least a four-year degree for some roles.
According to the Albany Times Union, 45 percent of registered nurses hold a bachelor’s degree and that number may be increasing.
North Shore LIJ, a New York hospital, may be part of an emerging trend of medical centers requiring those who hold registered nursing jobs to have obtained a bachelor’s. The news source reports that the hospital requires all newly hired nurses to have obtained such a degree within five years.
This emerging trend is hardly confined to New York however. A recent report from the Institute of Medicine regarding the future of the nursing profession said that it would push for 80 percent of registered nurses to hold a bachelor’s by 2020.
In addition, the Institute said that less than 1 percent of nurses hold a doctorate degree. It recommends that figure be doubled by the end of the decade as these nurses with advanced degrees perform research that helps advance nursing science.