nursing education trends and how the VA helps nurses advance their careers

EDUCATION

The VA has been a leader in providing nurses the incentive and opportunity to advance their education and improve patient care.  Through the Nurse Qualification Standards and the National Nursing Education Initiative (NNEI) the VA has created a “career ladder” program for its nursing workforce. 

The VA has committed significant resources to nurses seeking to advance to their next level of their nursing career.  The National Nursing Education Initiative (NNEI) program awards tuition support to nurses to obtain their baccalaureate or post-graduate degrees and training.  The average awardees receive $11,000 in tuition assistance. The latest NNEI program statistics indicate that there are

2,702 total participants with 61% enrolled in a baccalaureate program. Nursing is a knowledge-based profession.  The ANA has always maintained that nurses have a responsibility for lifelong learning and works to make higher education accessible to both new students and practicing nurses.

The Department of Veterans Affairs approved new Nurse Qualification Standards on November 10, 1999.  These standards define the performance and education requirements for a RN to be appointed and promoted within the VHA.  The development and implementation of the new standards involved numerous parties including the American Nurses Association.  The Nurse Qualification Standards create a framework for advancement and appointment based on the education and practice requirements of the veterans health care system.  These standards ensure that RNs are educated to provide the highest quality health care to our veterans, but are flexible enough to recognize and reward performance.  This new standards makes a BSN (bachelors of science in nursing) a criteria for promotion.  The ANA supports efforts designed to make the BSN the standard for entry into nursing practice.

The VA has changed in its delivery of health care, and I am proud to say that the VA nurses have adopted new roles for meeting these changing needs. However, the role of a registered nurse as the direct care giver for patients needs to remain regardless of changes in the VA healthcare system and with all due respect to the advances in medical technology it is the nurse, at the bedside, whose expertise will determine the patient’s outcome. For the VA to remain an “employer of choice” it must continue to recognize the professionalism of nurses.

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