Recent Accelerated Second-Degree Baccalaureate Graduates’ Perceptions of Educational Preparation

As of 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor is predicting a need for greater than one million new registered nurses by the year 2016 (American Associations of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2008). One way that nursing schools around the country are dealing with this issue is through the creation of accelerated second-degree programs for non-nursing graduates. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the perceptions of educational preparation of accelerated second-degree baccalaureate graduates, who have been out of school for at least one year, but no longer than four years. The sample consisted of 54 graduates from an accelerated nursing program in either Idaho or Nevada. Using the Survey of Nurses’ Perceptions of Educational Preparation (SNPEP), it was found that the majority of participants indicated that their accelerated nursing program prepared them for their first job, provided them with management skills, leadership skills, communication skills, documentation skills, decision making skills, organizational skills, provided instructors who acted as role models, encouraged independent problem solving, utilized multiple evaluation strategies, and helped them to feel confident in their ability