An historical review of positions in baccalaureate education in nursing as basic preparation for professional nursing practice 1960-1984.

"The call for the baccalaureate degree in nursing as the educational basis for the profession has a lengthy history. Nursing leaders have suggested the need for the baccalaureate for more than a half century" (Education for, 1983, p. 3). The article culls comments concerning baccalaureate education as entry into professional nursing practice from published statements of selected organizations and groups, and places them in a historical perspective from 1960-1984. Materials from the American Nurses' Association (ANA), National League for Nursing (NLN), American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), American Society for Nursing Service Administrators (ASNSA), Institute of Medicine (IOM), and the National Commission on Nursing are included.