The nursing profession is an important profession in the healthcare sector. Nurses help other health professionals in making healthcare accessible to those in need. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Institute of Medicine launched an initiative to transform the nursing profession. The action advised that nurses should achieve higher levels of education and train. That is achieved through improving the nursing educational system which promotes a seamless academic progress. That is because the current nursing education does not incorporate care transitions and coordination. The current nursing education focuses on the following aspects; public health, primary care, and long-term care for patients. It fails to address adequately the skills needed to navigate the regulatory and administrative access stipulations which determine the patients’ eligibility to be enrolled in health and social service programs, understand how the programs work and their effect on patients. Therefore, it is necessary to review the nursing curriculum and incorporate the above-stated aspects for patient’s and interested people benefit.
We should appreciate the fact that there is a tremendous growth in the profession regarding research and knowledge. That has caused the curricula to be broad and more instructional experts are no needed. It is for that reason that new educational models must be developed in the information in the nursing field. The new curricula will involve the use of fundamental concepts applicable across many settings in the profession during teaching and application. Also, there is a need to ensure that learners understand and practice using the knowledge taught instead of simply memorizing it for use during the testing periods.
Additionally, new topics and educational units must be included in the curricula, among these are; team leadership, quality improvement, systems thinking and others, most of which are emerging competencies in decision making while in the nursing profession.
Perle and Sue (2011) state that nowadays, nurses are required to make critical decisions for their patients, especially those with conditions and diseases that are hard to manage or cure, in advanced stages of a terminal or chronic illness and so forth. They also use complex technology to aid their work delivery. Even care outside a hospital is more demanding than it previously was as nurses are now expected to coordinate care among clinicians, prevent acute episodes among terminally ill patients and even, delay the progress of a disease. To do so adequately, the nursing education should be overhauled to incorporate these aspects of the profession. There is an acute need for a more educated nursing task force that will competently handle the above requirements of the profession. Additionally, nurses should strive to gain higher levels of education and not just their Bachelor Degree in Nursing. That is because upon achieving higher educational levels, they become more knowledgeable and competent, as well as confident in their work. An educated nursing staff will competently and skillfully make decisions for the patients under its care, improving their health.
References
Nursing., I. o. (2010). Summary of the February 2010 Forum on the Future of Nursing : Education. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press.
Perle Slavik Cowen, S. M. (2011). Current Issues in Nursing. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby Elsevier.
