The Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree as Entry Level for Practice

The requirement for the baccalaureate degree for entry into nursing practice is spreading throughout many countries of the world. In the United States, a similar movement has lain dormant for 4 decades. Here, the nursing education settings of the United States and Australia are compared and contrasted, describing how the systems, which were once similar, went in different directions as the United States began to rely heavily on 2-year associate's degree programs. This article advances the importance of developing a vision for the future of nursing in the United States, in which the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree is the entry-level standard.