Section I: The current impact on nursing practice
The current U.S. health care system has substantial barriers to providing quality and accessible care at a very affordable price to many communities. It is characterized by a high degree of fragmentation across different sectors and this disconnects public and private services. This makes communications between health care providers difficult and this result to providing lesser quality of service to the people. The 2010 IOM report explored how the nursing profession can be changed to help transform the current health care system, so that it can meet the demand for safe, accessible, affordable quality patient-centered care. It focuses on requiring nurses to have higher education and training in order to provide more quality service to their patients.
The nursing profession has more than 3 million members and it is considered to be the largest section of the country’s health care workforce. Nurses work on the front lines when it comes to patient care that is why they play an important role in helping realize the objectives in changing the health care system. One of the recommendations of the report is that the workforce should consist of highly educated professionals. As of 2013, only 20 percent of the nurses have earned a bachelor’s degree. If the health care employers are serious about following the recommendation, this will highly affect the current nursing workforce as many still don’t have bachelor or advanced degrees (Fackelmann, 2013).
Other hospitals like Johns Hopkins is already following the recommendations and providing training and other programs for their workforce. But they still encourage the workforce to become nurse practitioners and to actively engage in different education and training programs (Haller, 2012). This means that the nursing profession today must focus on education and are expected to practice to the full extent of their training. With that, they should expect that they are now in partner with physicians in giving the best care and services to the patients. The report shows how important the role of nurses in changing the current health care system.
Section II: Future nursing practice
Since many hospitals are already following most of the recommendations of the report, this just shows that the future of nursing will involve more training provided by the health care employers. They are also required to follow and adopt core competencies to measure their skills and ability to provide quality health care services (Stevens, 2013). Many organizations also made the information about core competencies available online. In the future, nurses are expected to know more about the right knowledge, skills and attitudes in order to know what they need to develop. Now that nurses are expected to be well trained, educated and skilled, they are being appreciated more and are now in line with other health professions like pharmacists and physicians.
Another issue that is discussed in the report is the high turnover among the nurses and the different difficulties for many nurses in transitioning from school to professional practice. Although they are considered as the biggest section of the health care workforce, the industry is constantly losing key talents before they can even fully develop. That is why; it recommended focusing on managing the transition of nurses from school to practice. The future will look brighter for many nurses with this recommendation because many hospitals are now giving residency programs that are comprehensive and meet the defined standards of practice. Many schools are also expanding the opportunities for nurses to conduct research and contribute to the improvement efforts of the system (Garner, 2010).
Section III: When changes occur
When the recommendations are followed, the future of the nursing profession will greatly improve. Having higher education and proper skills training, the barriers between the health care workers will now be removed. In the future, nurses will be able to make clinical decisions and provide quality patient care. This also means that more poor communities will be reached by the system.
For all of this to happen, it is urged that more health care organizations provide more education and training to their health care workforce. It is also urged that health care employers to seek highly educated personnel before hiring them. The report aims to increase the baccalaureate nurses to 80% by 2020. Having a baccalaureate degree can prepare the nurses on the different scenarios in the system and also improve patient outcomes with their knowledge. With that, legislation which will require nurses to have baccalaureate education before practicing should be created in order to regulate the people who want to practice the profession. This will ensure that all applying nurses must have higher education in order to work in the health care industry.
The importance of having a baccalaureate degree is important because all training and education provided by the health care organization is based on the knowledge that was given during the time in nursing school. Aside from that, the use of technology is being developed today in order to facilitate meeting the goals of transforming the health care industry. Having higher education makes the professional prepared for the much training that will be provided (Davis Jr., 2011). Those who advocate favoring the baccalaureate degree requirement for entry level nursing practice believe that having baccalaureate education can develop better skills in the future in terms of leadership and critical thinking.
Section IV: The ways nurses can be involved
Nurses who have higher education have the ability to translate their research into their practice. They also have many important skills, like knowledge of population health, which are not addressed in an associate degree program. For this to fully happen, people who want to be nurses must aim to get a baccalaureate degree so that they can use their potential to the full extent. This will also ensure that they are giving the best care to their patients.
The nursing profession has always answered the call to transform the country’s health care system. They are always read to tend to the health care needs of every patient. The current challenges of the barriers and lack of training and proper education must be met with unity and determination by the nursing community. With the recommendations of the report, the future will present exciting opportunities for the professionals in order to expand their practice and later assume more leadership roles in the industry. Also, with the integration of technology and the expansion of the core competencies, this will provide nurses with limitless horizon to learn and improve in providing services to their patients. What is needed now is for the nursing profession to actively participate in this cause by joining trainings and also making sure to gain a baccalaureate degree.
Since they are considered to have the largest number in the health care industry, nurses have the potential capacity to implement changes in the system. Nurses also practice in many settings not only hospitals but also in schools, private and public health clinics, long term facilities and even in the battlefield. With that, varying levels of education and core competencies should be met. Also, acquiring a license can also greatly contribute to direct patient care most especially in nursing homes.
Nurses are also urged to expand their horizons and venture into research so that they can evaluate more effective ways in providing care for patients and also promoting health. Those who have higher degrees must also develop programs where they can teach and counsel their patients in order to understand their health problems. Having more knowledge gives them the opportunity to advice their patients on how they can do better in taking care of their health and refer them to the proper specialists.
References
Davis Jr., H. (2011). From our readersA staff nurse perspective on the IOM Future of Nursing Report. American Nurse Today, 6(4). Retrieved from https://americannursetoday.com/from-our-readersa-staff-nurse-perspective-on-the-iom-future-of-nursing-report/
Fackelmann, K. (2013, December 5). Studies Assess Impact of IOM Report on Nursing Reforms. Retrieved from http://publichealth.gwu.edu/content/studies-assess-impact-iom-report-nursing-reforms
Garner, C. (2010, December 29). IOM Recommendations to Transform Nursing, Part 1. Retrieved from http://www.americansentinel.edu/blog/2010/12/29/iom-issues-recommendations-for-transforming-nursing-practice/
Haller, K. (2012, July 31). The Impact of the Future of Nursing Report. Interview by P. McComas. Retrieved from http://magazine.nursing.jhu.edu/2012/07/the-impact-of-the-future-of-nursing-report-2/
Stevens, K. R. (2013). The Impact of Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing and the Next Big Ideas. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 18(2). Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/813264_5
