As a dean charged with the leadership of a school of nursing, I have had the opportunity to look at the real role of accreditation. The answer is that we do. We need accreditation to promote consistently high standards in nursing education. The ultimate goal of any nursing program, I believe, is to prepare the highest quality of graduate for practice today and tomorrow. Every activity, course, admission decision, clinical site selection, and evaluation is driven by that goal.
Accreditation has to be a measure of quality.
In the dynamic state of nursing education today, accreditation must act as illumination to help programs move forward in sustaining current quality programs, developing new relevant programs, and creating an environment which promotes positive trends in nursing education. The answer is that we do. We need accreditation to promote consistently high standards in nursing education. It needs to be a measure above the regulatory requirements of minimum standards. Too often today, we are caught up in fads and fancy phrases which can get someone's attention but have little substance.