Winter 2014
Attitudes of Health Care Recruiters toward Online and For-Profit Nursing Degrees Registered Nurses Have Four Options for BSN Degree Completion Traditional College, Classroom Study Traditional College, Online Learning
?
For-Profit College, Classroom Study For-Profit College, Online Learning
Survey of Health Care Recruiters Responses from 116 health care recruiters in a national survey indicated that health care recruiters prefer RN to BSN degrees earned from traditional colleges and classroom study. Online RN to BSN degrees from traditional colleges were also favored over online RN to BSN from for-profit colleges.
Advantage in the Hiring Process If experience and other qualifications were equal, how much of an advantage in the hiring process would a registered nurse job applicant with the following degrees have in comparison to a job applicant with an associate degree in Nursing from a community college? Percentage of Ratings for “Significant Advantage”
37.4% Traditional College + Classroom Instruction
21.7% Traditional College + Online Instruction
18.3% For-Profit College + Classroom Instruction
10.5% For-Profit College and Online Instruction
Credibility How would you rate the credibility of the following nursing degrees? Percentage of Ratings for “High”
86% Traditional College + Classroom Instruction
37.5% Traditional College + Online Instruction
49.6% For-Profit College + Classroom Instruction
23.9% For-Profit College and Online Instruction
Likelihood to Hire How likely would you be to recommend hiring a registered nurse job applicant with the following degrees?
Research Brief: Health Care Recruiters Favor Traditional Nursing Degrees James Kineer, PhD Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development at Indiana Regional Medical Center in Indiana, Pennsylvania The United States is facing a critical shortage of registered nurses holding bachelor’s degrees. According to HRSA, only 50% of registered nurses hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Health Resources and Services Administration, 2010). Higher educational attainment among registered nurses has been associated with improved patient safety and clinical outcomes (Aiken, Clarke, Cheung, Sloane, & Silber, 2003; Estabrooks, Midodzi, Cummings, Ricker, & Giovanetti, 2005; Friese, Lake, Aiken, Silber, & Sochalski, 2008). Many organizations have called for an increase in the number of baccalaureate degree prepared registered nurses. Among these organizations is the Institute of Medicine who has called to increase the number of registered nurses with bachelor’s degrees to 80% by 2020. The Institute of Medicine has also suggested that online education and for-profit colleges may play a role in closing this gap (Institute of Medicine, 2010). This article outlines the findings of a research study I conducted that found significant differences in health care recruiters’ perception of nursing degrees based on the method of instruction (classroom or online) and the for-profit/ nonprofit status of the school. The findings are based on the responses of 116 active members of the NAHCR members to an online questionnaire. The survey tool asked respondents to rate four different RN-to-BSN options on four criteria: advantage in the hiring process, credibility, concerns about credentials and likelihood to hire. In all four criteria, a RN-to-BSN degree from a combination of classroom study at a traditional college was clearly perceived the most favorably. Nursing degrees from a combination of online study at for-profit colleges were consistently rated the lowest. An analysis of comments provided by respondents provided further insight into these ratings. The accreditation status of a nursing degree program was the dominant concern. Participants in the study also expressed concern that online education cannot provide the same level of direct experience as classroom based education. While the recruiters in the study preferred job applicants with degrees from traditional colleges and classroom instruction, the participant comments indicated that a hiring decision is often a complex process and that the source of a nursing degree may be less important than other factors such as experience, performance in the interview and organizational fit.
Percentage of Ratings for “Very Likely”
73.9% Traditional College + Classroom Instruction
48.6% Traditional College + Online Instruction
45% For-Profit College + Classroom Instruction
38.9% For-Profit College and Online Instruction
Source: Kinneer, J. W. (2014). A comparison of health care recruiters' attitudes toward RN-to-BSN degrees based on instructional delivery method and college for-profit/nonprofit status (Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University of Pennsylvania).
Dr. James W. Kinneer is the Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development at Indiana Regional Medical Center in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He completed his doctoral studies in Communications Media and Instructional Technology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to James Kinneer, 2680 Melloney Lane, Indiana, PA 15701. Contact: jkinneer@outlook.com
NAHCR • P.O. Box 14365 • Lenexa, KS 66285-4365 • Phone: 913.895.4627 • Fax: 913.895.4652 • Email: nahcr@goAMP.com
Winter 2014 Table 1
If experience and other qualifications were equal, how much of an advantage in the hiring process would a registered nurse job applicant with the following degrees have in comparison to a job applicant with an Associate Degree in Nursing from a community college? No Advantage
Little Advantage
Some Advantage
Significant Advantage
Traditional College and Classroom Instruction
13.9%
7.8%
40.9%
37.4%
Traditional College and Online Instruction
17.9%
24.3%
36.6%
21.7%
For-Profit College and Classroom Instruction
18.3%
15.7%
47.8%
18.3%
For-Profit College and Online Instruction
21.9%
36.0%
31.6%
10.5%
Very Low
Low
Moderate
High
0%
0%
14%
86%
Table 2
How would you rate the credibility of the following nursing degrees? Traditional College and Classroom Instruction Traditional College and Online Instruction
0%
0%
54.5%
37.5%
For-Profit College and Classroom Instruction
.9%
4.4%
45.1%
49.6%
For-Profit College and Online Instruction
8%
22.1%
46%
23.9%
Table 3
How much concern would you have about the credentials of a registered nurse job applicant with each of the following degrees? No Concern
Little Concern
Moderate Concern
Significant Concern
Traditional College and Classroom Instruction
71.7%
25.6%
1.8%
0%
Traditional College and Online Instruction
38.4%
43.8%
15.2%
2.7%
For-Profit College and Classroom Instruction
44.2%
43.4%
11.5%
0.9%
For-Profit College and Online Instruction
25.4%
36.8%
22.8%
14.9%
Table 4
How likely would you be to recommend hiring a registered nurse job applicant with the following degrees? Very Unlikely
Unlikely
Likely
Very Likely
Traditional College and Classroom Instruction
.9%
0%
25.2%
73.9%
Traditional College and Online Instruction
.9%
8.3%
42.2%
48.6%
For-Profit College and Classroom Instruction
.9%
4.6%
49.5%
45%
For-Profit College and Online Instruction
5.5%
23.6%
40%
30.9%
References Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., Cheung, R. B., Sloane, D. M., & Silber, J. H. (2003). Educational levels of hospital nurses and surgical patient mortality. Journal of the American Medical Association, 290(12), 1617-1623. doi:10.1001/jama.290.12.1617 Estabrooks, C. A., Midodzi, W. K., Cummings, G. C., Ricker, K. L., & Giovanetti, P. (2005). The impact of hospital nursing characteristics on 30-day mortality. Nursing Research, 54(2), 72-84. doi:10.1097/00006199-200503000-00002 Friese, C. R., Lake, E. T., Aiken, L. H., Silber, J. H., & Sochalski, J. (2008). Hospital nurse practice environments and outcomes for surgical oncology patients. Health Services Research, 43(4), 1145-1163. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2007.00825.x Health Resources and Services Administration. (2010). The registered nurse population: Findings from the 2008 national sample survey of registered nurses. Retrieved from http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/rnsurvey/2008/nssrn2008.pdf Institute of Medicine. (2010). The future of nursing: Focus on education. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Retrieved from http:// www.iom.edu/~/Media/Files/Report%20Files/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing/Nursing%20Education%202010%20Brief.pdf
NAHCR • P.O. Box 14365 • Lenexa, KS 66285-4365 • Phone: 913.895.4627 • Fax: 913.895.4652 • Email: nahcr@goAMP.com