Introduction
Without any doubt, the nursing profession is crucial to US society. Individuals who work in this field contribute to people’s everyday life on an extremely high level. Collaborating with physicians and therapists, nurses focus on taking care of patients, maintaining their well-being and quality of life. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine released a report, where it outlined four messages that are significant for the nursing practice. Points from the IOM report have an enormous impact on nursing practice in the US.
Key Messages from the IOM Report
The first key point is that nurses should be really well-prepared both academically and practically. In the current US health care system, there are quite a lot of serious limitations that prevent nurses from working to the best of their ability. Those include historical, regulatory, and policy barriers, which do not let people in this professional field have widespread transformation. Nurses gain a lot of valuable knowledge at schools so they should have an opportunity to demonstrate it after graduation to have a proper transition from academic institutions to practice.
The second key point states that academic progression has to be accessible for nurses. In today’s life, due to the rapid development of technologies, health care also is becoming more and more complex. Therefore, professionals have to get a better education to be more competent as well as to be able to work within complex structures. In order to achieve that, nurses have to have access to a variety of educational and training programs.
The third message is that nurses should be active participants in the US health care system operations. It is essential for physicians’ and therapists’ helpers to participate in decision-making processes as well as to develop leadership communities in the system. There is a necessity to make nurses more involved by placing them on advisory committees and boards, where they will be able to present their ideas.
The fourth key point is that more information should be provided to achieve better workforce planning. In order to understand the system’s needs, it is necessary to be able to accumulate them and then have access to reliable data and statistics. This is crucial for adequate strategic managing and planning implementation, which will allow getting satisfying results. The government should provide enough funding for research so all efforts put into improving operations will not be wasted.
The Significance of Nursing Education and Leadership
Of course, the IOM report has a direct influence on nursing education and nursing leadership. It highlights the key points people in this profession should keep in mind and, therefore, implement in their career paths. One of them refers to the benefits and opportunities for BSN-prepared nurses that cannot be understated. Anbari (2019) refers to the recommendation from The National Academy of Medicine and leading nursing organizations that 80% of registered nurses should receive a bachelor’s degree so they will be able to contribute to patient outcome improvements. Individuals who receive a higher level of education are most likely to have better knowledge about current tendencies in the American health care system.
Nurses and Diverse Population
Nowadays, the population in the US is becoming more and more diverse. Therefore, nurses have to be capable to provide adequate care for all patients. According to Metzger, Dowling, Guinn, and Wilson (2019), in order to achieve excellence in nursing education, there has to be inclusivity in all academic communities. Students have to learn more about different groups of people and which specific traits, features, and experiences they possess. That will help caregivers to have a deeper understanding of patient needs.
The Importance of Lifelong Learning and Professional Development
In addition, nurses that acquire knowledge of various communities should be aware of the dynamic changes within diverse populations and understand the necessity to be updated on them across the life span. A great way to do it might be creating social media communities where the health professionals will share ideas and discuss relevant topics. It might be even more effective if potential nurses start communicating on these platforms while they are still at school. Stevens and Nies argue “responding proactively with social media integration through a responsive curriculum delivery system would serve to enhance student engagement and improve collaborative learning opportunities” (p. 31). That should not be too difficult to implement those strategies because nowadays the Internet is quite accessible across the USA. Also, it is crucial for caregivers to know how to work with older people. According to Haddad and Toney-Buttler (2019), “currently, the United States has the highest number of Americans over the age of 65 than any other time in history” (p.1). It might require professionals to acquire special knowledge and learn additional skills.
Nurses in the Evolving Health Care System
Finally, nurses can make a remarkable impact in the effective management of patient care within an evolving care system. For example, they can participate in assessing all implemented governmental practices and provide evaluations or reports after new health care programs are implemented. Also, well-educated professionals, who are aware of the needs of people from various communities, can play a tremendous role in increasing the overall quality of the services as well as enhancing health equity.
Conclusion
To conclude, the vital part that the nursing profession has in the world should not be underrated. Everyday people, who work in this field, help to make the life of citizens better. Therefore, it is definitely worth it for the US government to invest a substantial amount of money in doctors’ helpers’ education, training, and development. The officials have to make sure that all of the key points mentioned in the IOM report are carefully scrutinized and applied.
References
Anbari, A. B. (2019). What makes a BSN a BSN? Western Journal of Nursing Research, 41(2), 167–170. Web.
Haddad, L. M., & Toney-Butler, T. J. (2019). Nursing shortage. StatPearls. Web.
Metzger, M., Dowling, T., Guinn, J., & Wilson, D. T. (2019). Inclusivity in baccalaureate nursing education: a scoping study. Journal of Professional Nursing.
Stevens, K. P., & Nies, M. A. (2018). Transforming nursing education in a 140-character world: The efficacy of becoming social. Journal of Professional Nursing,34(1), 31-34. Web.