Nursing Professional Development and Future

Nursing is a challenging and intense field of work that requires workers to grow continually and self-develop. It has become one of the fastest-growing fields of work. Therefore, this group of medical workers can implement specific long-lasting changes to the healthcare system of the USA. Nurses have proximity to patients as well as to other healthcare professionals, whom they work. As a result, they manage to note considerable patterns and figure out ways to alter them in favor of both parties: workers and patients. This paper will consider the effects the Institute of Medicines 2010 report The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. had on nursing practice.

Four Messages Outlined in the IOM Report

The 2010 report created four key ideas for improving the health care system and how nurses can contribute to it. The first key idea is that nurses should work to the fullest capacity of their skills and education level. It presents the concept where healthcare should be performed based solely on the individual needs of patients, and not on workers interests. The next idea presented concerns the changes required in the education system for the higher level of training to be accessible to nurses. The insufficiency of clinical placement and nursing facilities causes many qualified students to be rejected from schools. The report presents possible improvements for the education system, which will teach nurses fundamental values and ethics in the workplace. The third key message explains how nurses can make changes to the healthcare system. It marks that nurses have direct and most frequent contact with patients, as well as with other medical professionals. Therefore, they see a bigger picture and should communicate their suggestions to their colleagues and point out the flaws in the system. The fourth key message states that for specific changes to be made to the system, the research has to take place first (Institute of Medicine, 2010). The research implies that the healthcare workforce needs to be better explored.

Influence of the IOM report on Nursing Education and Nursing Leadership

After the Institute of Medicine released its report in 2010, they made another one in December 2015 to trace the progress and any advancements made in health care and education. The Campaign for Action, which was developed as a result of the IOM 2010 report by AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has taken action countrywide since 2010 to carry out IOM recommendations (IOM: 80% of registered nurses, 2017). According to data from the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, more nurses are returning to schools to advance their education and gain degrees (as cited in Returning to school, n.d.). Consequently, more BSN nurses emerge, which causes them to obtain more leadership-based positions and get higher-paying wages. The IOM report did not go unnoticed, and specific organizations took action to make a change.

An Aging and Increasingly Diverse Population, Nurses Role and Education

An aging population continues to increase across the country, which is directly linked to the Baby Boomers generation growing old and having health issues. This brings a more significant demand for healthcare providers. Since the Boomers generation outnumbers the next ones, it creates an imbalance between the youth and elders, who now require somebody to provide them with care. The increasingly diverse population is linked to immigration statuses and different cultural development. The education system needs to consider all these factors and teach nurses exceptional details about the health condition of certain minority groups.

Significance of Professional Development and Its Relevance in Caring for Diverse Populations Across the Life Span and Within the Health-Illness Continuum

Along with medical advancements and researches being made, newer textbooks are published each year in universities. The education system evolves as a result of cures being created or novel healthcare methods developed. New or rare illnesses might grow in number with time, which requires healthcare professionals to obtain updated information on some issues. This creates modern solutions to the problems that were hard to solve before. Similarly, innovated, advanced medical gear continues to appear, which also requires a certain level of training for all employees. Therefore, lifelong learning is crucial when it comes to caring for various populations.

Managing Patient Care Within an Evolving Health Care System

As mentioned above, nursing is among the fastest-growing professions. Nurses are responsible for taking care of and interacting with patients directly. However, this does not make them free of scientific medical care, as they also work closely alongside surgeons and other healthcare workers. With such a rapid rate of growth among nurses in the healthcare field, they have the power to change and make the system evolve. For improvements to be made, nurses must see policies as something they can shape, instead of something that they are part of.

As a result of the 2010 IOM report, many actions were taken to improve the healthcare system in the US. Some of them include better, more thorough, and more accessible education and nursing programs, including the programs for Registered Nurses who wish to obtain a BSN degree. The modern education system was also influenced by the report, as it started exploring various developing demographics, such as the elderly population or different cultural minority groups. As a result, more nurses received higher-paying jobs, and lower positions became vacant for interns. The Institute of Medicine report caused many positive changes to the healthcare and education system.