The Future of Nursing
In 2010, the Robert Woods Foundation and the Institute of Medicine released the Future of Nursing Report after doing extensive research to gather evidence supporting their claims in the report. The report was, on the whole, positive for nurses because it said that they should be given more responsibility and be more autonomous. It also called for more education for nurses and increased access to resources so that nurses could engage in research to address the issues that arise in their practices. The IOM report’s purpose was to improve nursing by giving them more control, more knowledge and more support.
Four Messages in the IOM Report
The four main messages of the IOM report are that:
• Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training.
• Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.
• Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health care professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States.
• Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and information infrastructure (IOM, 2011)
Allowing nurses to practice to the full extent of their education and training is important for several reasons including the fact that doing so will provide greater healthcare coverage of patients and relieve some of the burden of patient care that physicians have. Not only that, it gives nurses the respect that they deserve after completing a rigorous course of college education that qualifies them for more than they have often been allowed to do in the past. With that said, higher levels of education will help nurses to earn the respect and give them the means to practice more autonomously. Physicians will be able to rely on nurses with better education so that their burden is eased some, and nurses can partner with physicians in practices so that the types of issues they are trained to address can be shifted to their authority. Finally, better education for nurses will result in nurses that know how to find evidence to help them address issues their patients may have. If the resources and funding are provided, nurses will be able to research evidence-based solutions because their training will facilitate it and their authority will require it.
Effect of the IOM Report on Nursing Education
Since the IOM report led to nursing students being encouraged to get their bachelors degree rather than stopping with an associates degree. This is because those healthcare organizations who have more nurses with their BSN than those with their ADN had fewer medical errors, lower mortality rates, and generally better patient outcomes. The IOM report (2011) talks about the challenges that nurses face in the twenty-first century, which differ from those of the twentieth century. The report says, “There is a shortage of faculty to teach nurses . . . . Many nursing schools have dealt with the explosion of research and knowledge needed to provide health care in an increasingly complex system by adding layers of content that requires more instruction” (IOM, 2011). After the report, and as part of the ACA (2010), the capacity of nursing schools in the United States was increased. More nurses are encouraged to get their BSNs including those with ADNs.
The Significance of Professional Development
The obvious reason for nurses to engage in professional development throughout their careers is so they learn the new innovations in healthcare that are constantly being added to the body of knowledge. Another reason is that globalization has made it easier to live and work as a nurse anywhere in the world. Sources of cultural knowledge are important for nurses to develop and continuing education can provide that. However, there are other reasons as well. Price and Reichert (2017) of Administrative Sciences say nurses have “an understanding that best practices and patient care standards were constantly evolving, and there was a desire for access to information through training and education to provide the best care possible to patients. Nurses at this stage described continuing education as an investment in their expertise that would improve the care they were able to provide to their patients” (Price & Reichert, 2017, p. 8). The words “professional development” encapsulate the benefit of continuing education for nurses—they develop their professional capabilities by engaging in continuing education.
Managing Patient Care in an Evolving Healthcare System
Today’s nurses must understand what drives the change that they see in healthcare. They must understand why there are mandates for practice change, and the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they will need to effect the change not only in themselves but throughout the healthcare system. Salmond and Echevarria (2017) of Orthopedic Nursing say, “To deliver these outcomes, nurses, from the chief nursing officer to the staff nurse, must understand how nursing practice must be dramatically different to deliver the expected level of quality care and proactively and passionately become involved in the change. These changes will require a new or enhanced skill set on wellness and population care, with a renewed focus on patient-centered care, care coordination, data analytics, and quality improvement” (Salmond & Echevarria, 2017, pp. 19, 21). Nurses will need to be well educated to achieve this, and they will need to be given the respect and autonomy for which that education qualifies them.
Conclusion
The IOM report was a surprising critique of the nursing profession. It included both what nurses can do to become recognized as professionals in their own right and how the healthcare system can change the way nurses are perceived so that they are given the opportunity to demonstrate their professional qualities. It boils down to education, respect and resources being provided for nurses so that they can help to address the rising population of people who need to access health care and the rapid changes occurring in the field.
References
IOM. (2011). Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington D.C.: National Academies Press. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/b...
Price, S., & Reichert, C. (2017). The importance of continuing professional development to career satisfaction and patient care: meeting the needs of novice to mid-to late-career nurses throughout their career span. Administrative Sciences, 7(2), 1-13. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/journal/a...
Salmond, S. W., & Echevarria, M. (2017). Healthcare Transformation and Changing Roles for Nursing. Orthopedic Nursing, 36(1), 12-25. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...
