Do you feel that nurses who initially graduate from Baccalaureate programs are better prepared to provide care to patients than those who graduate from diploma or traditional nursing degree programs?

In nursing there are several paths that lead to obtaining a license and becoming a member of the profession. In this class some have obtained a license either as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or a registered nurse (RN) through the traditional nursing program or diploma program.
It has been believed in the past that a nurse is a nurse is a nurse because even though nurses were prepared in different programs that varied in length and content graduates of the programs were all called nurse.
Do you feel that nurses who initially graduate from Baccalaureate programs are better prepared to provide care to patients than those who graduate from diploma or traditional nursing degree programs?
What do you think is driving the push for the Baccalaureate degree in the nursing profession?
Where do you go from here? As nursing and nurses have become more autonomous and independent is it enough to have a Baccalaureate degree?
Think about how the educational requirements of the nursing profession compare with other professions such as therapists for example.