Articulation and Baccalaureate Entry to Practice: The Canadian Context

Abstract

This is a response to the article "Articulation and Baccalaureate Entry to Practice" by Ruth Gallop, in the Winter 1984 issue of Nursing Papers. In the article, she succinctly presented a case against articulation even as a temporary educational alternative for the preparation of a baccalaureate registered nurse, and she concluded that articulation may undermine the very concept of a professional discipline approach. She further asserted that, "In an articulated program the curriculum design would reflect diploma values at the first level" (p. 61) and that, "Articulation is a means by which nursing looks over its shoulder and tries to make up for past mistakes" (p. 61). The purpose of this paper is to present a case for articulation as one mechanism for achieving baccalaureate entry to practice, with specific reference to the Canadian context. As noted by Gallop (1984), debate about the quality and validity of articulated programs has primarily been carried on in the American nursing literature. Stevens (1981) stated that the battle over whether or not American associate degree nursing programs should articulate with baccalaureate programs has raged for almost twenty years without resolution. The development of anti- and pro-articulation camps has made American nursing vulnerable to charges of disorganization and has weakened it as a political body, "since others see us as unable to reach, let alone enact, a single political decision" (Stevens, 1981, p. 706).