COMPUTER SIMULATION OF NURSING EDUCATION POLICY IN MINNESOTA: IMPACT OF THE BACCALAUREATE DEGREE REQUIREMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE (SYSTEM DYNAMICS, DYNAMO).
Contributors: University of Minnesota.
Published: 1985
Number of pages: 215
Subjects: Education, Administration.
Description: Professional nursing education programs produce the major workforce of our health care delivery system. Studies of nursing workforce production have primarily used the econometric approach and few investigations have been conducted to determine the quantitative effects of policies affecting nursing education. The Minnesota Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association have approved a policy which states that by 1990 the baccalaureate degree will be required to enter professional nursing practice. This structural change in the nursing education system could have far-reaching effects on health care delivery, the size and credentials of the nursing workforce, and the number and type of nursing schools.

Using system dynamics methodology, a model of the nursing education system in Minnesota was constructed to address the following questions: (1) What effect will the Basic Entry Level (BEL) policy have on the total production of nursing labor in Minnesota?, (2) What effect will the BEL policy have on nursing enrollments in various nursing education programs?, and (3) What effect will the BEL policy have on the number and type of nursing education programs needed to maintain the production of nursing labor in Minnesota?.

The model consisted of four educational subsystems--the practical nursing education subsystem, the associate degree nursing education subsystem, the diploma nursing education subsystem, and the baccalaureate nursing education subsystem. The model was translated into Dynamo simulation language equations and was initialized with National League for Nursing data. Model validity was established by replicating ten years of subsystem enrollments and graduations. Three policy test scenarios were generated from expert opinion, translated into equations, and simulated on the computer.

Each of the scenarios resulted in the production of fewer total nurses compared to the projected baseline production and a dramatic decrease in the number of registered nurses who are eligible to perform the responsibilities of professional nurses as currently defined by the Minnesota Nurse Practice Act. The results of this simulation indicate that the implementation of the BEL policy could have consequences which are antithetical to the goal of the policy.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-07, Section: A, page: 1797.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, 1985.

School code: 0130.