An ongoing debate over the requirements to become a registered nurse (RN) has been disrupted. Several different educational paths lead to a registered nurse license; however, minimum educational requirements must be standardized at the baccalaureate level for several reasons. Spetz and Bates (2013) published that an increasing number of hospitals prefer to hire nurses with a bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN) because it raises the status of the nursing profession (p. 1). An associate degree in nursing (ADN), as well as an on-the-job training certificate are two other educational pathways to becoming a registered nurse, which can be disadvantageous to the nursing profession in several ways (Tollick 2013; Spetz and Bates 2013). . If entry-level nurses continue to practice without a BSN degree, the deficit of highly qualified nurses will be very detrimental to the nursing profession for years to come (Tollick, 2013). The nursing profession was disrupted by nursing shortages throughout the 20th century. century. Indiana University was the first official school of nursing to intend to institutionalize the baccalaureate as an entry into nursing in 1909 (Jacobs 1998). Subsequently, the nursing shortage led to the creation of hospital programs granting a nursing degree as well as community colleges granting an associate degree in nursing to close the shortage gap (Hess 1996). The intent of these diploma or associate degree programs was to designate these nurses as "technical" nurses expected to work under the direction of the nurse; however, this has not been the case due to the shortage of nurses (Hess, 1996). Nurses with a diploma or ADN can only be considered "semi-professional" because they need to know many things... middle of paper ...... iii. Works Cited Hess, J.D. (1996). Education for entry into practice: an ethical perspective. Journal of Professional Nursing,12(5), 289-296.Taylor, D.L. (2008). Should entry into nursing practice be through the baccalaureate? Aorn Journal, 87(3), 611-620.Blaney, D.R. (1986). A historical review of positions in baccalaureate nursing education as basic preparation for professional nursing practice 1960-1984. Journal of Nursing Education, 25(5), 182-185. Jacobs, L.A. and Bishop, T. (1998). The Bachelor of Science in Nursing as a requirement for entry into professional nursing practice. Journal of Professional Nursing, 14(4), 225-233. Spetz, J. and Timothy, B. (2013). Is a bachelor’s degree in nursing worth it? the return to education, 2000-2008. Health Services Research, 1-20. Tollick, K. (2013). BSN required. New Hampshire Nursing News, 4-5.