Nurses must achieve higher levels of education
and training to respond to these increasing
demands. Education should include opportunities
for seamless transition into higher degree
programs—from licensed practical nurse (LPN)/
licensed vocational nurse (LVN) diplomas; to the
associate’s (ADN) and bachelor’s (BSN) degrees;
to master’s, PhD, and doctor of nursing practice
(DNP) degrees. Nurses also should be educated
with physicians and other health professionals
both as students and throughout their careers in
lifelong learning opportunities. And to improve
the quality of patient care, a greater emphasis
must be placed on making the nursing workforce
more diverse, particularly in the areas of gender
and race/ethnicity