Perceived Facilitators and Barriers to Baccalaureate Degree Completion Among Registered Nurses With an Associate's Degree

BACKGROUND: A strong movement is underway in the United States to increase the percentage of baccalaureate-prepared registered nurses (RNs). However, the percentage of associate's-prepared RNs who go on to pursue baccalaureate education remains low. The authors sought to determine facilitators and barriers that associate's-prepared RNs experience in progressing toward baccalaureate nursing education. METHOD: A convenience sample (n = 81) of associate's-prepared RNs was used to collect data on perceived facilitators and barriers to progression toward baccalaureate nursing education. RESULTS: Facilitators included a desire for personal growth, professional and career enhancement, programmatic and articulation friendliness, and encouragement by others. Barriers included family and job constraints, financial concerns, and lack of differential treatment between associate's-prepared RNs and baccalaureate-prepared RNs. CONCLUSION: Although at first glance the identification of four facilitators and three barriers may appear to indicate an advance toward progression to baccalaureate education, the magnitude of the barriers may outweigh that of the facilitators. Therefore, the magnitude of both facilitators and barriers is worthy of future study.