Robert Wood Foundation Committee Initiative that led to the IOM report, "Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health."
The nursing profession has up to three million members in the United States, which makes it the largest workforce segment in the country’s healthcare. Nurses are central when it comes to patient care, and this makes them vital when it comes to the accomplishment of the set goals in the Affordable Care Act of 2010. However, there are several barriers that make it impossible for nurses to stay effective when it comes to responding to the continuously evolving healthcare systems and settings (Kershaw, 2011) . It is important that these barriers are overcome to ensure that the nurses are better positioned to promote advancement in health.
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It is in light of this that the IOM and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) launched an initiative in 2008, which was geared towards the assessment and transformation of the nursing profession. A committee was appointed for this Future of Nursing initiative, and the goal was to develop a report that would act as an action-oriented blueprint to direct the future of nursing. The RWJF initiative gives the United States the opportunity to bring about a transformation in the nation’s healthcare system with the nurses being at the forefront of this transformation (Kershaw, 2011) . In this case, everyone from the nurses, insurance industry, professional associations, healthcare organizations, businesses, and the government are brought on board on this role of improving the current business, organizational, and regulatory conditions. All the involved parties are brought together to ensure the provision of quality, affordable, and seamless healthcare for all (Kershaw, 2011).
The four "Key Messages" that structure the IOM Report recommendations.
Key Message One: Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training ("The Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” Report: Key Messages", 2019).
This message acknowledges that while nurses might have a wide range of experience and education, they are not able to maximize their potential because of the various barriers existing in the field. Some of these barriers include the complexity and fragmented nature of the healthcare system, the rocky transition from theoretical to the practical knowledge, and the existing policy, regulatory, and historical barriers. According to the IOM report, regulations are the main barriers that result in inflexibility in the working environment. For instance, every state in the U.S. has a unique Nurse Practice Act that focuses on different licensure requirements and educational standards. The fact that such legislation is decided by politicians and not the medical department makes the barrier even more intensively felt ("The Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” Report: Key Messages", 2019) . This key message seeks to alleviate all these barriers that the nurses face while in operation.
Key Message Two: Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression ("The Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” Report: Key Messages", 2019).
According to this report on the “Future of Nursing,” the core competencies in the nursing field have been increasingly expanding over the past couple of years to cover change management, teamwork, leadership, public health, and geriatrics, among others. Furthermore, nurses are increasingly being required to use technology in their operations, something that is necessitating increased levels of training and education as suggested by the IOM report.
Key Message Three: Nurses should be full partners with physicians and other health professionals in redesigning health care in the United States ("The Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” Report: Key Messages", 2019).
Nurses are full partners when it comes to healthcare, which means that they should take on responsibility when it comes to the health of their patients. These goals can be accomplished by having the nurses work in collaboration with other professionals in the healthcare field. The IOM report further suggests the need to have leadership skills considered as a core competency in the nursing curricula. That way, nurses will be empowered to identify inefficiencies and problems, implement strategies geared towards improvement, and be able to assess and redesign these strategies as necessary.
Key Message Four Effective workforce planning and policymaking require better data collection and improved information infrastructure ("The Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” Report: Key Messages", 2019) .
According to the IOM report on the “Future of Nursing,” it is important that the healthcare industry maintains a systematic data collection method for such data as the numbers and specialization of healthcare professionals in the U.S., their roles and duties, and areas of operation. Such a structured process will make it possible to identify the areas where healthcare needs are appropriately availed and where they are not. As a result, it will be possible to come up with a more effective strategy of availing the nursing workforce needs in the states ("The Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” Report: Key Messages", 2019).
The role of state-based action coalitions and how they help advance the goals specified in the IOM report, "Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health." Research the initiatives on which your state's action coalition is working. Summarize two initiatives spearheaded by your state's action coalition and how they advance the nursing profession.
The state-based action coalitions were enacted as the dynamic strength pillars for the operation of the IOM report, and they provide a set guideline on how research on this report is conducted. These action coalitions are assigned to cater to up to twenty-one state-based associations with the goal of diversifying the nursing workforce and promoting data collection in the healthcare field. All this is in line with the four key messages that structure the IOM report recommendations ("The Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” Report: Key Messages", 2019) .
An example of these state-based action coalitions is the Indiana Action Coalition (IAC), which was founded in 2011 as a joint collaboration between the Indiana Area Health Education Centers and the Indiana Center for Nursing. The two initiatives for Indiana include:
Scholarship programs aimed at supporting the education of future nurses, where the IAC has raised up to one million dollars to train and educate young nurses.
Easy access to healthcare, which is achieved by communication and collaboration between more than thirty healthcare organizations across the state (Kershaw, 2011) .
Barriers to Advancement and how to overcome them
The healthcare landscape in the United States is increasingly changing, something that is necessitating a wholesome shift in how care is delivered in the nation. However, there are a couple of barriers that are preventing the advancement of this shift, with the key one being the shortage of healthcare professionals in the nation. This barrier could be overcome by allowing the advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to fully maximize their training and education (William L., 2010). That way, it will be possible to boost the workforce that is needed to meet the primary care of the nation and also use their unique skills to deliver a wholesome community-based and patient-centered healthcare plan.
Other barriers that prevent the APRNs from fully maximizing their potential are the outdated reimbursement models for insurance companies, institutional culture and practices, federal policies, and state laws. There are a couple of policy recommendations that are geared towards overcoming the listed barriers, and these include licensing the APRNs and giving them reimbursements and privileges that are in line with their training and education levels. Also, using standard policies as directed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN’s) is key to overcoming these policies and statutory barriers (William L., 2010).
References
Kershaw, B. (2011). The Future of Nursing – Leading Change, Advancing Health. The Future of Nursing – Leading Change, Advancing Health. Nursing Standard , 26 (7), 31-31. Doi: 10.7748/ns2011.10.26.7.31.b1274
The Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” Report: Key Messages. (2019). Retrieved 13 December 2019, from https://online.stmary.edu/rn-bsn/resources/iom-report-part-1
William L., H. (2010). Future of nursing: Institute of Medicine report. Japan Journal of Nursing Science , 7 (2), 119-120. DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-7924.2010.00168.x
