The uncertainty in the current health system requires that nurses have to be very instrumental in the role they place in nursing. One report that provides depth insights into the role played by nurses in the health system is "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health". The entire report contains information on the proposal of how the nursing practice, nursing education, and nurse leadership can be transformed positively. This paper will, therefore, review the IOM report and how it was bound to impact the future of nursing ( Shalala, 2011).
Impact of IOM Report on Nursing Education
The IOM report categorically states that there is a need for an enhanced education system that is able to promote a seamless academic progression. The report highlights some of the many challenges that face the nursing education system and further provides some solutions. One of the main challenges cited by the report includes the demographic shift in American population specifically from the young population to the elderly population. Another challenge cited by the report which impedes nursing education is the significant shift in healthcare needs. The standards and concepts of nursing in the 20th century would not be able to effectively deal with the realities of healthcare need in the 21st century.
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The report, therefore, recommends various healthcare education reforms. It recommends that in the near future all nurses should have a bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN). As a result, the nursing profession should also be changed significantly. The IOM report gives a good recommendation of how nursing institutions can be changed to incorporate enhanced educational models. Transformation of the education and training of nurses will therefore not only be important in acquiring a new set of skill but also in ensuring the highest kind of quality patient care. These recommendations if implemented will be helpful in facilitating the ability of nurses to meet the ever-changing collaborative healthcare delivery. Educating the nurses will also be crucial in the development of policies and implementation which will help close the widening gap that exists in the healthcare delivery system. (http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health/Report-Brief-Education.aspx)
The Impact of IOM Report on Nursing Practice
The IOM report has impacted the nursing profession in several ways. The report states that the current nursing practice would not be able to efficiently meet the changes in technologies and the healthcare needs of an aging population. In response to these shifts, there was the enactment of the 2010 Affordable Health Care Act which is said to have changed the healthcare system significantly. This act resulted in a shift from the healthcare provider-centric model or the hospital model to the family and patient-centered model. The importance of this development was that the new model placed emphasis on preventive and chronic care management as opposed to the previous focus on episodic hospitalization. Furthermore, this new model brings out the aspect of moving into public health and community settings.
In addition to focusing on the need for nursing education advancement, this report also highlights some of the challenges that have acted as barriers to the nursing practice. Some of these barriers include laws and regulation, the ever-changing patient demographics of America, as well as the struggle for some nurses to become advanced care nurses and the strain that coincides with this advancement. This report addressed this frustration, as it has stated that nurses are somehow overworked throughout their entire career. For example, alongside providing their services as mid-level practitioners such as evaluating test and diagnosing a patient's condition, APRNs also perform other works such as physical therapy, social works, and nutrition services. The growing need to meet the increase in patient comorbidities, lack of healthcare access hindered by lack of insurance benefit, coupled with the immense strain placed on medical doctors to be ever present and available to see and treat patients, has catapulted a dire need for nurses to progress to advanced practice. These are the primary reasons for the rise in the number of nurses seeking to obtain higher levels of education. To meet the goals of the IOM report, many nurses including myself have begun the process of obtaining higher education via a bachelor's degree in nursing. Obtaining a bachelor's degree in nursing is the foundation of the advancement in nursing care, and will allow us as nurses to be more effective patient advocates as well as highly educated and prepared nurse leaders. (http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health/Report-Brief-Scope-of-Practice.aspx)
Impact of the IOM report on Nurse as a Leader
The IOM in its report calls for a new style of leadership. According to the report, nurses are encouraged to work with others in full partnership in a way that encourages respect and collaboration. This style of leadership is always beneficial because it has a direct association with the patient's outcome as well as great staff satisfaction and morale. The IOM report is in high support of mentorship programs and shared governance as possible interventions established to achieve the transformation of nursing in terms of leadership. Various bodies and associations of nursing should adequately prepare nurses as they assume leadership roles and positions in all levels and practice scopes; whether private, public or governmental.
Nurses are encouraged to develop new sets of competencies in their practice, which not only encourage patient safety but also improvements in nursing ethics and policymaking. Other benefits of molding nurses into leaders include cost management and process improvement. The IOM report categorically states that nurses have an upfront knowledge of the processes of healthcare, therefore portraying a good understanding of the nursing system. These characteristics allow nurses to have an advantage in regard to acting as leaders within healthcare. The report further encourages the promotion of nurses by several associations which have ensured enhanced leadership, teamwork and involvement in the different work setting. (http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health/Recommendations.aspx)
Conclusion
In its conclusion, the report states that the healthcare managers have to come up with measures that can enable them to employ a more educated workforce. The nursing community should also keep on working together. The IOM report was very instrumental in regards to how it impacted on the future of nursing. The report exclusively gives education recommendations that can improve the nursing profession. It further analyses the scope of practicing the profession, the challenges and ways of improving the practice heading into the future. If implemented, the recommendations by IOM will have been a game changer in regards to the future of the nursing practice.
Work cited
Shalala, D., Bolton, L. B., Bleich, M. R., Brennan, T. A., Campbell, R. E., Devlin, L., ... & Harris, C. M. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Natl. Acad. Press Wash. DC. http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health/Report-Brief-Scope-of-Practice.aspx?page=2
http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health/Report-Brief-Education.aspx
http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health/Report-Brief-Scope-of-Practice.aspx
http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health/Recommendations.aspx
