Discussion 2

Nursing Discussion 2: Factors affecting Nursing Education In the last few years, nursing education like all the other professions has developed its own reforms which continue to be in a similar pace with those of the higher education.
One of the factors that affect nursing education is the shifting demographics in the health care sector. In addition there is an increasing diversity in the population. There is now an increased life expectancy for the people who are suffering from acute and chronic conditions. As a result, such a section in the population will challenge the American government’s health care system and its ability to continue offering efficient care. The significant increase in a population that is diverse is likely to continue affecting the nature of diseases. Thus, it will require continued changes in the nursing practice because the learners and faculty have to learn how to respect the diverse population with different beliefs and values. As noted by Diekelmann, (2012) in page 6, there is also a shortage of nursing faculty which has a constraint on nursing education. There are also changes in student demographics because the racial and ethnic diversity among students in schools is increasing. In addition, students are now entering nursing schools at older ages with different work experiences. Many are raising families and there are those with full-time careers. This has a constraint on their education because it needs a lot of flexible schedules.
The other factor affecting nursing education is the technological explosion in the health sector. A look at the current scenario in the health care sector shows that there is rapid growth in technology resulting to a radical impact on how nurses get educated (Willis Commission on Nursing Education, 2012). It has promoted the technological applications for example, telemedicine. Therefore, nurses in this century not only have to learn on concepts of health promotion, reduction of risks and disease prevention among others but need to be skilled in the use of computers. There is also distance learning that links students from different locations with the nursing faculty. The advancing technology continues to stimulate the critical thinking of students and their acquisition of skills in environments which are user-friendly.
References
Diekelmann, N. (2012). Teaching the practitioners of care: New pedagogies for the health professions. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Willis Commission on Nursing Education. (2012). Quality with compassion: the future of nursing education. Willis Commission Report, Retrieved from http://goo. gl/bpD6Ed