Importance of requiring a bachelor's degree to enter the nursing professionThe fact that technological scientific advances and the advancement of health care practices and techniques are inexorably coupled is a undeniable fact. While this close and dynamic relationship is certainly an exciting prospect, it is also somewhat daunting in that it raises a host of questions about how healthcare professionals can be expected to keep pace with a field so dynamic that it changes daily (Taylor, 2008, p. 611). Scientific discoveries can serve as inspiration for creating new, more effective medical practices, but until these advances can be consistently and appropriately applied in a clinical setting, the insights gained from them will be of little use for the evolution of medicine as a field. This gap between discovery and reality requires that nurses, as healthcare professionals, possess not only the scientific training required to understand and adequately apply the advances that contribute to their field, but also the critical thinking and communication skills. leadership that such a demanding profession requires to enable them to grow and excel in their vocation. It is clear, then, that if nurses are to adapt to the changing health care climate, they must enter the field equipped with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) if they are to provide exemplary care and grow as professionals. . Nurses, although they represent the largest population of health care providers, are also the least educated members of the health care profession. Among all the other professionals with whom they work on a daily basis, nurses are in fact the only healthcare professionals for whom holding a bachelor's degree is not a minimum...... middle of paper ......d benefit alongside their patients following the requirement of a baccalaureate for entry into nursing practice (Jacobs et al., 1998, p. 228). It is clear that by failing to require a baccalaureate degree for entry into nursing practice, the ANA has wreaked havoc on the unity, public perception, competence and pride of nurses. Although it first proposed a baccalaureate requirement for nursing practice in 1965, the ANA has still not fulfilled this promise and thus left the field fragmented (McEwen et al., 2013 , p.549). As new medical advances are constantly discovered, it is essential not only for patient outcomes, but also for the credibility, progress and evolution of the nursing profession, that stakeholders in the field come together to demand a baccalaureate as the minimum standard for entry into nursing practice (Taylor, 2008, p..611).