Higher Levels of Nursing Education Associated with Increased Patient Safety

Employing a greater number of nurses with baccalaureate degrees is associated with significantly lower rates of postsurgery mortality, according to the results of a study published in the March 2013 issue of Health Affairs. The researchers analyzed Pennsylvania nurse survey and patient discharge data from 1999 and 2006 and found that a 10-point increase in the percentage of nurses holding a baccalaureate degree in nursing within a hospital was associated with an average reduction of 2.12 deaths for every 1,000 patients. Furthermore, for a subset of patients with complications, the same 10-point increase was associated with an average reduction of 7.47 deaths per 1,000 patients.