d might be so that it could begin to prepare for the educational requirements at that time.
             "It was the passage of the Comprehensive Nurse Training Act in 1964 that prompted the ANA Committee on Education to study nursing education, practice, and scope of responsibilities. The study recognized the increasing complexity of health care and raised concerns about the hospital-based diploma programs(Nelson, 2005)."
             At that time the ANA released its belief that the minimum educational requirement for a nursing student who wanted to enter the field as a professional should be a bachelors degree(Hess, 1996).
             The first step in accomplishing that goal was the belief that hospital based diploma programs should be phased out and nursing hopefuls should be required to attend four year universities where they would be assured the chance to get their general education as well as the specialized medical education that would create a well rounded degree in the field of nursing.
             Several decades ago during a severe nationwide nursing shortage the ANA decided to also endorse and support associate nursing degree programs, in which associate degree holders and hospital diploma gr
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