A systematic review of the impact of master's-educated nurses on inpatient care

Aim: Review the impact of master's-educated nurses on inpatient care in different healthcare systems and specialties. Background: Improved healthcare service quality and efficiency are needed due to a number of factors, including an aging population, advancing medical technology and increasingly complex methods of healthcare delivery. Overcoming these challenges requires nurses with more than a basic nursing education. However, masters training for Chinese nurses is a relatively new development, and, therefore, the cost effectiveness of master's-educated nurses in China and extent to which they contribute to improvements in access to Chinese healthcare services and the quality of those services remains unknown. Method: A systematic review of quantitative studies was conducted using PubMed and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Studies were included in this review if they met the inclusion criteria. Results: Nine papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. These studies indicated that palliative care, continuity of care, mental health, transition care, post-transplant care and central venous catheter care were improved when patient care was delivered by master's-educated nurses. Conclusion: Developing master's education for nurses may improve the current standard of health care and help meet modern challenges. This topic deserves additional attention at the academic and policy level. This review provides an important reference for Chinese nursing educators and policy makers.