Purpose: This study examines the current status of a second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program in South Korea, identifies its advantages and limitations, and provides future directions for improving the program. Methods: A mixed-methods, sequential explanatory design was employed. A cross-sectional survey (n=28 faculty members, 122 enrolled students, 20 graduates) was conducted, followed by focus group interviews (n=six faculty members, 13 enrolled students, six graduates). Results: Among the 28 nursing colleges, 19 had a second-degree BSN program enrollment capacity of less than 10% of their total student capacity, whereas six colleges had a capacity ranging from 20% to 30%. The advantages of the program included producing nurses with diverse backgrounds, demonstrating a strong aspiration for the nursing profession, diligent attitude, and mature interpersonal skills among the second-degree BSN students. The limitations included inadequate support and resources for program operations, difficulties in ensuring the quality of classes and clinical practice, and limited opportunities for interaction with other students. Conclusion This study highlights the importance of establishing clear policies and guidelines for such programs and developing standardized curricula to ensure high-quality nursing education while accommodating an increasing number of students.

Purpose: This study examines the current status of a second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program in South Korea, identifies its advantages and limitations, and provides future directions for improving the program. Methods: A mixed-methods, sequential explanatory design was employed. A cross-sectional survey (n=28 faculty members, 122 enrolled students, 20 graduates) was conducted, followed by focus group interviews (n=six faculty members, 13 enrolled students, six graduates). Results: Among the 28 nursing colleges, 19 had a second-degree BSN program enrollment capacity of less than 10% of their total student capacity, whereas six colleges had a capacity ranging from 20% to 30%. The advantages of the program included producing nurses with diverse backgrounds, demonstrating a strong aspiration for the nursing profession, diligent attitude, and mature interpersonal skills among the second-degree BSN students. The limitations included inadequate support and resources for program operations, difficulties in ensuring the quality of classes and clinical practice, and limited opportunities for interaction with other students. Conclusion This study highlights the importance of establishing clear policies and guidelines for such programs and developing standardized curricula to ensure high-quality nursing education while accommodating an increasing number of students.

Purpose: This study examines the current status of a second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program in South Korea, identifies its advantages and limitations, and provides future directions for improving the program. Methods: A mixed-methods, sequential explanatory design was employed. A cross-sectional survey (n=28 faculty members, 122 enrolled students, 20 graduates) was conducted, followed by focus group interviews (n=six faculty members, 13 enrolled students, six graduates). Results: Among the 28 nursing colleges, 19 had a second-degree BSN program enrollment capacity of less than 10% of their total student capacity, whereas six colleges had a capacity ranging from 20% to 30%. The advantages of the program included producing nurses with diverse backgrounds, demonstrating a strong aspiration for the nursing profession, diligent attitude, and mature interpersonal skills among the second-degree BSN students. The limitations included inadequate support and resources for program operations, difficulties in ensuring the quality of classes and clinical practice, and limited opportunities for interaction with other students. Conclusion This study highlights the importance of establishing clear policies and guidelines for such programs and developing standardized curricula to ensure high-quality nursing education while accommodating an increasing number of students.

Purpose: This study examines the current status of a second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program in South Korea, identifies its advantages and limitations, and provides future directions for improving the program. Methods: A mixed-methods, sequential explanatory design was employed. A cross-sectional survey (n=28 faculty members, 122 enrolled students, 20 graduates) was conducted, followed by focus group interviews (n=six faculty members, 13 enrolled students, six graduates). Results: Among the 28 nursing colleges, 19 had a second-degree BSN program enrollment capacity of less than 10% of their total student capacity, whereas six colleges had a capacity ranging from 20% to 30%. The advantages of the program included producing nurses with diverse backgrounds, demonstrating a strong aspiration for the nursing profession, diligent attitude, and mature interpersonal skills among the second-degree BSN students. The limitations included inadequate support and resources for program operations, difficulties in ensuring the quality of classes and clinical practice, and limited opportunities for interaction with other students. Conclusion This study highlights the importance of establishing clear policies and guidelines for such programs and developing standardized curricula to ensure high-quality nursing education while accommodating an increasing number of students.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of preoperative patient-controlled analgesia(PCA) education program on older patients with spine surgery. Methods: A quasi-experimental research with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was conducted to investigate the impact of a PCA education program before surgery on postoperative pain, pain knowledge and attitudes, and frequency of additional analgesic use. The sample size for experimental and control group was 55 respectively. Results: The experimental group, which underwent the PCA education program, had lower postoperative pain scores compared to the control group. Furthermore, the experimental group exhibited a higher level of knowledge on PCA (p<.001) and more positive attitudes toward analgesic use (p<.001). While there was a significant difference in the use of opioid analgesics for additional pain relief between two groups (p<.001), there was no significant difference in the use of non-opioid analgesics. Conclusion The implementation of the PCA education program was found to increase knowledge and positive attitudes on the use of PCA. Moreover, it significantly alleviated pain, particularly during physical activity, within initial 48 hours after spinal surgey in older patients. Therefore, the findings of this study supported that the PCA education program could be used as a preoperative intervention to alleviate postoperative pain for older patients with spinal surgery.