Does Increasing Education Increase the Probability of Promotion? The Case of Registered Nurses in Canada

Little research has examined the effect of education on promotional opportunities for nurses. This article adds to the literature by addressing this question. This study uses data from the confidential master files from the 2001 Canadian Census on Individuals. The results of this study show that there is an increased probability of promotion to supervisory positions for registered nurses with a bachelor's degree. For both the male and female samples it was found that having a bachelor of nursing certification yields a 4% higher probability of promotion to a supervisory position compared with other educational credentials. Existing studies found that increases in education yield higher earnings, and this study also shows that increases in education can result in higher probabilities of promotion to supervisory positions. This can be viewed as another benefit of increased educational credentials for individuals in the nursing profession. J Contin Educ Nurs 2010;41(3):123-132.