Advancing the Education of Registered Nurses: The New York Initiative

In 2003, the New York State Board for Nursing (BON), an umbrella board under the New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions, unanimously approved a bold motion recommending regulatory or statutory change to increase the educational level of future licensees. The motion permitted the continuing licensure of future applicants educated at the diploma or associate-degree level but required these licensees to obtain a bachelor of science (BS) in Nursing within 10 years of their licensure. This article describes the impact of the motion and the challenges. The 2010 Institute of Medicine report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, with its recommendation that 80% of the nursing workforce hold a BS degree by 2020, is described as a factor that may well drive the BON's recommendation to actualization.