The Future of NursingFebruary 10, 2013The Future of Nursing For total patient-centered care to be successful, all multidisciplinary teams must be in collaboration with each other and the patient on a day-to-day basis. Nurses are the patient advocate to organize and oversee that all care is appropriate.
The registered nurse collaborates with the physician, other nurses, other nursing staff, internal disciplines, patient, families, and support systems outside the hospital care to assure a return to health is maintained. To keep up with the fast changing medical practice, nurses have to originate new policies, review and revise policies to meet the challenges of health care today. Nurses will have numerous opportunities to assume leadership roles in health care organizations and impact health care for Americans. ??? What nursing brings to the future is a steadfast commitment to patient care, improved safety and quality, and better outcomes??? (Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies , 2010). There are three main focuses of the IOM report including transforming education, transforming practice and transforming the leadership role of nurses.
Transforming Education For nurses to continue to reach for higher education and knowledge to improve patient outcomes, certification in specialty areas is a necessary way to demonstrate improved knowledge. Fights (2012) states, ??? While not all nurses are prepared to embark on a journey for a further degree, continuing nursing education in other forms is plentiful???. In order to successfully transform education in nursing, nurses must understand and respect the importance of continuing education. Fights (2012) goes on to explain, ??? Continuing education is available in the form of journals, online journals, webinars, conferences and other sources. ??? Nursing education should serve as a platform for continued lifelong learning and include opportunities for seamless transition to higher degree programs??? (IOM, 2010).
Opportunities for financial assistance through grants, scholarships, and tuition reimbursements from employers makes continuing education for advanced degrees more attractive to current practicing nurses. College advisors should be more apt to encourage nursing students to obtain a BSN rather than an ADN for entry level into nursing practice. If more students were entering the nursing field with the higher level BSN degree, they may be more apt to achieve a master or doctorate degree as a professional goal. Transforming Nursing Practice Nursing practice is a momentously changing part of the health care system with many different levels of care. Despite the changes of nursing practice, patient centered care must remain the focus of our day-to-day practice. ??? Nurses have the opportunity to play a central role in transforming the health care system to create a more accessible, high-quality, and value-driven environment for patients??? (IOM, 2010). Continuing Education plays a huge role in transforming practice. It is essential for all nurses to remain updated on changes in the scope of practice in order to successfully and safely attain the challenges of modern healthcare.
??? We must be committed to applying our interment knowledge of healthcare to the nation??™s problems, and to playing an active part in a new approach that will secure it??™s future??? (Roberts, 2011). Transforming the Leadership role Characteristics of a great nursing leader include compassion, efficiency, knowledge, confidence, ability to foster inter-professional collaboration, experience in nursing care, and ability to focus on the specific needs of the patient. ??? All nurses from students, to bedside and community nurses, to CNOs and members of nursing organizations, to researchers, must develop leadership competencies and serve as full partners with physicians and other health professionals in efforts to improve the health care system and the delivery of care??? (IOM, 2010). It is critical to have strong leadership within the nursing field to keep the health care system moving in the right direction in order to provide safe and efficient patient care. We must look at the experiences of great nurses throughout history, such as Florence Nightingale. Her achievements in medicine were possible not only because of her great knowledge and willingness to continue to learn, but also because of her leadership skills and holistic approach to patient care.
According to Bamford-Wade & Moss (2010), ??? Practical leadership is needed to offer hope for a better future, and to offer strategies that could advance the effectiveness of nursing within the new models of health services.??? Education, practice and leadership roles are all key elements to achieving high quality, safe patient centered care. As nurses, we must remember that patients and their families rely on us as professionals to maintain competencies within nursing practice and to most importantly, be a patient advocate providing compassionate care. Patients trust and confide in the nurse more than any other healthcare provider. It is imperative for nurses to further their education, improve practice and have strong leadership abilities to adequately provide the best possible care for the future. ReferencesBAMFORD-WADE, A.
, & MOSS, C. (2010). Transformational leadership and shared governance: an action study. Journal Of Nursing Management, 18(7), 815-821. doi: 10. 1111/j. 1365-2834. 2010. 01134. x
