The value of nursing education in Canada: the choice of diploma or baccalaureate degree

This paper examines the annual earnings of two categories of higher education levels (baccalaureate, diploma) with age patterns of Canadian-trained female registered nurses in the human capital framework. It engages me in employing benefit-cost analysis to measure the value of baccalaureate degrees to Canadian registered nurses (RNs) and to assess whether the evidence is consistent with implications of human capital theory. While baccalaureate nurses need one more year of education compared to diploma nurses, the study suggests that both paid tuition and forgone earnings for the year of education in a university nursing program can be compensated sufficiently by exploring age-earnings profiles.