The second key message focused on the recommendation that registered nurses receive greater levels of training and education. This message emphasized the need for nurses to enter the work force with a baccalaureate degree, or obtain it shortly afterwards. It also stressed the need more graduate nurses, specifically “nurse faculty and researchers at the doctoral level” (IOM, 2011, p. 164). Innovative solutions were devised to speak to nursing school capacity and curriculum in order to attain the IOM recommended goal of 80 percent of nurses holding a BSN by the year 2020.
Some aspects of the nurse’s job have been made easy and facilitated with the aid of other well trained professionals within their working environments. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA) (2012), registered nurse’s performance has greatly improved over the years as a result of their coordination and partnership with the health care system with other health care providers. As a result, registered nurses are today seen to occupy important leadership positions in the healthcare system and they participate when they are making decisions for patients as well as for other
Today, nursing is regarded in a much different light than in years gone by. That is because the role of the nurse has changed but also because the world has changed and thereby so has its perception
Mason, D. J., Gardner, D. B., Outlaw, F. H., & O’Grady, E. T. (2016). Policy and politics in nursing and health care (7th Ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
The field of medicine is a continually evolving field. There are developments in medicine made daily that affect both medical professionals and patients. While the positive progress of medicine offers many obvious advantages, it is important that the knowledge of everyone involved with health care grows with these advancements. With the evident importance of nurses in the healthcare setting, the education of nurses is clearly significant. There are many problems in the nursing field that are associated with the inability to set standards at the entry level (Jacobs et al., 1998). The writer believes that the nursing degree should always be advanced to a bachelor’s degree, and then fostered with continuing education courses. Furthermore, the bachelor’s program should place an importance on forming a good knowledge foundation and then building clinical skills. Ultimately the writer believes a highly clinical and critical thinking bachelor’s program is the best educational preparation for an entry level nurse.
Nursing is a growing and constantly changing profession, making a bigger impact in healthcare with every turn. In fact, it was not so long ago that nursing was not even thought of as a profession and we have come a long way since the pioneer days of Florence Nightingale. Nursing is steadily evolving in terms of opportunities, educational requirements, professional recognition, and the advancement of nursing theories. These theories influence the environment, the patient, health, and overall nursing. Nursing theories will continue to evolve and guide as we continue to explore and learn new ways to improve overall nursing practice not only for the sake of the patients, but also for the future of nursing as a whole. However, when one looks to the future of nursing, they must also remember where it started; the basics of Florence Nightingale and that “Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better” (Nightingale, 1859).
In 1965, the American Nurses Association shared its vision for the future of nursing education. A primary goal in its message was that a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) becomes the minimum requirement for entry into nursing practice (Nelson, 2002). Fifty years later, debates on this issue continue. In its report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change and Advancing Healthcare, the Institute of Medicine shared its recommendation that 80% of nurses possess a bachelor’s degree by the year 2020. A significant number of health care facilities have adopted the practice of hiring nurses with BSN over those with two year Associate’s Degree of Nursing (ADN) or a three-year hospital based diploma program. Stakeholders in the Registered Nurse (RN)
...uickly changing medical technology and environment. The bickering and infighting amongst nurses has to come to a stop if the profession is to move forward alongside the other medical professions. It is too late to take nursing back to the point of basic care of the 19th century now fulfilled by certified nurse aides. A nurse is the first and last person many people will ever see. They provide complex care, recognize symptoms and changes when the ever shrinking physician pool is not available, advocate for patient and families, and care deeply for their patients recovery. In this paper the author used past nursing history, current medical demands and advancements, and clinical patient outcomes to argue that the minimum education for a nurse should be a Baccalaureate degree in order to meet the Institute of Medicines goal of 80% of nurses should have BSNs by 2020.
The nursing profession that has a workforce of over three million registered nurses is the backbone of the United States of America’s healthcare system that efficiently responds to the nations’ health needs. However, the nursing fraternity faces a number of challenges that make it strenuous for it to meet the present and future needs of the health care sector. Shortage in the number of nurses, a fewer number of experienced nurses in terms of advancing education as well as technological change pose a great danger for the future of nursing and the healthcare sector as a whole. Thus, these challenges have to be solved so as to ensure a reliable, stable and competent nursing workforce functioning at all levels of health
Nursing is a balance of professional qualities like caring, ethics and competencies. Science and technology are weaved in to provide safe practices for now and in the future. In the following paragraphs; I define what a professional is in my opinion along with how I came to find myself in the nursing program, how research is important and the past and the future of nursing.
“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy – I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” Art Williams describes people who are looking for the easy option with this quote. Something may be simple, but not necessarily easy to do for most people. It’s the people who willingly do the task many times, which make it look easy. Repetition improves skill to its greatest. Nursing school isn’t the easiest to overcome, but if you study and are willing to put in the effort, then you will eventually succeed at being a qualified nurse. Nurses are a necessity because they are the ones that spend more direct time with the patient, they are on the Frontline of administering the patients treatment. When you are a patient, nurses are your
This week I have learned about the importance and nurse’s role in the healthcare policy making. Nurses provide essential services and knowledgeable about client needs. They interact with healthcare consumers in a wide variety of settings. This provide nurses a wide knowledge about patients health needs, an understanding of factors that affect the health of patient and their families and have insight into how people respond to various strategies and services. Nurses play a vital role in interpreting people's needs and expectations for healthcare. They also understand the expectations and needs of society's vulnerable groups. Therefore, they have an important role in the development and enactment of policies that promote health and wellness
There has been a drastic cut in both the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates. According to Robert (2012), “cuts of more than $360 billion to Medicare and Medicaid will be made over the next 10 years. The focus of nursing needs to emphasize more on wellness care and prevention rather than acute care” (McNeal, G., 2012). Nursing practice will need to shift more towards community and population focused nursing. Baccalaureate prepared nurses are provided with a curriculum that includes both community health and leadership skills that are not included in the associate program. By encouraging associate’s degree nurses to obtain a bachelor’s degree in nursing, an increase in the awareness of the needs of the community and population may be seen. The IOM report has outlined the anticipated obstacles that healthcare will face if changes are not made. By allowing nurses to provide care within their full scope of practice, quality care may be provided at an affordable cost to the population. The use of advanced practice nurses in primary care may provide quality, access, and cost efficient healthcare to high-risk populations and possibly decrease hospital admission rates, thus lowering the overall cost of healthcare. If nurses partner with doctors and other healthcare providers, it may improve healthcare by providing seamless transitions (Institute of Medicine,
Policy analysis encompasses the progress of ascertaining and evaluating alternative policies or program that intended to relieve or lessen economic, physical or social problems in the population (Patton, 2011). In determining the necessary steps of health care policy assessment that assist to shape the nursing practice environment, El-Jardali, et al., (2014) reported that policy analysis application offers results that are essential for the stakeholders and policymakers that can utilized in reviewing some of the laws in nursing laws in order to grasp an operative alternative that is feasible. Constructively, the aims of the policy analysis is to create a comprehensive vision on the process of making public policies, then recognize the issues
Encouraging nurses to maintain a watchful eye on the current on health care policies and trends that may affect practice presents a challenge to the profession. As the workload for the average nurse increases it becomes difficult to dedicate time to policies. However, this is a fault that many must overcome and put forth effort as not being current on trends and policies may result missing a change leading to poor outcomes and patient harm. Facilities may have committees or groups that focus keeping up with current trends then must rely on the group to disperse information to the rest of the staff. Nurses that continually keep surveillance on the community and legislative changes bridge the gap between patient and the needs of the community