Critically, in 2010, the IOM did integrate a substantial report informing and highlighting the need for change in the nursing education aimed at addressing the changing face of healthcare. One of the recommendations of the report, the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, is the need for a substantial increase in the number of the RNs with BSN to 80 percent by 2020. Critically, nursing is a more complex phenomenon in 21 st century, thus, the need for the transition from the skill-based competencies to the skills assessing knowledge, as well as competence on health policy, improvement of systems, evidence-based practice, complex decision-making, teamwork and collaboration, leadership, and research. Backed by research in the report, BSN-prepared nurses are better equipped to facilitate effective management of increasingly complex nursing care.
National Health Issue Analysis
According to Gerardi, Farmer, & Hoffman (2018), the United States is moving closer to the realization of the 2020 BSN-prepared workforce goal as one of the recommendations of the IOM’s report. In the article, the authors focus on the exploration of the findings of the Academic Progression in Nursing (APIN) associated with the most promising strategies ideal in the creation or development of the more highly educated workforce in addressing the complex nursing field in the 21 st century. Besides, Ricketts & Fraher (2013) support the need for reconfiguring healthcare workforce in the United States to satisfy the needs of the rapidly redesigned health care system. In this recommendation, there is a growing need to liaise training and education with the actual delivery of care as an approach to enable realization of the 2020 80 percent BSN-prepared nurses goal.
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Impact of the Healthcare Issue on My Work Setting
In my work setting, the achievement of this goal is a great step towards the realization of enhanced patient healthcare outcome. For example, the optimization of the BSN-prepared nurses at my workplace will be ideal in enabling nurses to have the chance to practice fully associated with their respective education and training attributes. Besides, such accomplishments create room for the nurses at my workplace to become full partners with the physicians, as well as other health care professionals, thus, the opportunity to contribute effectively and efficiently to redesigning health care across the United States. My workplace is also likely to experience the output of the increase in nurse education as associated with a decrease in inpatient mortality.
For example, in 2003, a 10 percent increase in the BSN proportion of the nurses did contribute to a 4 percent decrease in the risks associated with the deaths among patients. There is also chance for the reduction in the surgical mortality, lengths of stay, and rates of heart-failure related mortality because of the achievement of the BSN-prepared nurses’ goal. From this perspective, there is an increase in scholarship for the evidence-based practice, improved information management, enhanced inter-professional communication and collaboration, ideal organizational, as well as systems leadership, and disease prevention/population health.
Response to the Issue at My Work Setting & Implemented Changes
In my work setting, various strategies are in place to help address the issue. First, there is the integration of the financial incentives for the nurses as a motivation to help more nurses pursue BSN as a platform to help address issues affecting the nursing profession in the 21 st century. This is evident in the salary differentials, as well as optimization of the professional advancement programs that are ideal in the achievement of the BSN-prepared nurses’ goal by 2020. The work setting also focuses on the exploitation of the ideal communication strategies citing the case for the change through identification and illustration of the benefits to the nurses and patients following the IOM recommendations.
Literature Review
In one of the articles on this issue, Boivin (2017) explores the potentiality of nursing meeting the 80/2020 goal. Alternatively, Haag (2017) examines the case of one hospital, enabling staff nurses to pay for the advanced academic degree as a platform to help in the achievement of the 80/2020 goal. As evident in these research articles, it is evident to note that different organizations focus on the utilization of unique approaches to help in the achievement of the goal associated with the selected health issue. For example, in certain organizations, the priority is retention as one outcome while maximizing the funding for the nurses to the greatest possible extent in education and training (Haag, 2017).
The approach uses financial incentives through appropriate identification of the internal funding resources while addressing the issue through the incorporation of the nurses’ feedback and outcomes. Healthcare employers should continue to pour financial resources into unique opportunities for the nurses to gain the desired BSN degrees while funding faculty members to contribute through taking larger class sizes in accommodating more learners (Boivin, 2017). Categorically, it is appropriate to focus on the organizational infrastructure, financial incentives, academic partnerships, and appropriate communication strategies to help facilitate the journey towards the 2020 BSN-prepared nurses’ goal.
Implications
Notably, the achievement of the goal will enable the healthcare sector to optimize the benefits of BSN-prepared nurses, such as satisfaction and pride among the nurses from the realization of the objective. There will also be increased recognition and credibility enabling nurses to practice their profession fully to their education and training. The BSN-prepared nurses have the platform to optimize career expansion opportunities; thus, the chance to help improve patient health outcomes. From this perspective, such nurses will address the complexity of the 21 st nursing profession through fostering skills beyond the basic patient care and focusing on leadership, systems thinking, and continuum of care. These attributes will be beneficial in broadening comprehension of the nursing profession in the 21 st century.
Conclusion
Conclusively, based on the findings of this research paper, BSN-prepared nurses are better equipped to facilitate effective management of increasingly complex nursing care, thus, the need for the healthcare sector to achieve the 2020 80 percent BSN-prepared nurses’ goal. As evident in my work setting, as well as other organizations, various attributes come into play in pursuit of this goal. Some of these include organizational infrastructure, financial incentives, academic partnerships, and appropriate communication strategies, facilitating the journey towards the 2020 BSN-prepared nurses’ goal.
References
Boivin, J. (2017). Can nursing meet the 80/2020 goal? American Nursing Today , 12 (7), 32-35. https://www.americannursetoday.com/can-nursing-meet-802020-goal/
Gerardi, T., Farmer, P., & Hoffman, B. (2018). Moving closer to the 2020 BSN-prepared workforce goal. American Journal of Nursing, 118(2), 43–45. doi:10.1097/01.NAJ.0000530244.15217.aa
Haag, V. (2013). How one hospital helps staff nurses pay for advanced academic degrees. Am Nurse Today , 8(1):63-5. https://www.americannursetoday.com/how-one-hospital-helps-staff-nurses-pay-for-advanced-academic-degrees/
Ricketts, T., & Fraher, E. (2013). Reconfiguring health workforce policy so that education, training, and actual delivery of care are closely connected. Health Affairs, 32(11), 1874–1880. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0531
