The Institute of Medicine and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation worked together to create a report that would change the future of nursing. The two teams worked on this project for two years. During this time they came up with four key messages.
The four key messages are as stated, “ Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training, nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression, nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health care professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States, and effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and information infrastructure.
” (The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health 2010) The IOM report shows the importance of a nurse and how this will help change the future of nursing. The Institute of Medicine report informs everyone how important nurses are in giving high-quality, safe, patient centered care. The IOM report wants nurses to continue their education and help with the health care system. The future of nursing report wants more nurses to have a baccalaureate and doctoral degree in nursing. The nurse must commit to continue learning new information for the rest of their life or career.
Nurse should also function to the full extent of their scope of practice. When caring for patients you are caring for them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. (Fights S. D. 2012) The Institute of Medicine report has a big impact on nursing education. According to the report and one of its key messages, “Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression. ” (The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health 2010) Nurses are required to have 24 continuous education hours every time they renew their license.
Nurses are always learning new protocols and procedures when they are at work. Most hospitals are beginning to require you have a bachelor’s degree to even get hired on at their facility. They want more nurses to achieve their bachelor’s degree in nursing. In nursing school the instructors are teaching more public health, preventative care, and are preparing the nurses to be able to use their learned knowledge on the job. I think schools are making it easier for nurses to begin working with the clinical setting teaching. Most of the test taken in school is based on clinical setting questions rather than knowledge based questions.
Through this type of testing you must use your critical thinking skills in the classroom first before using it on the job. The Institute of Medicine report also has a big impact on the nursing practice. The goal to caring for patients is care for them at their own individual needs and not at the nurse’s convenience. The care of a patient must be centered on the patient. Instead of having just acute care or specialty care, the care has been broken into more define groups. Some of the groups include preventative care, palliative care, primary care, chronic conditions, and hospital-acquired infections.
Every nurse must practice to their full potential of their education and training. Teaching is a major way you can help your patients with their health. Most patients take medications and don’t even know what they are taking them for. When patients are educated about their condition and the preventative care they can better care for them self and know signs and symptoms to report to you and the physician. The Institute of Medicine report has had a big impact on the nurse’s role as a leader. When you are a nurse you must take charge and be the leader to care for your patients.
Many people are working with each patient and one person needs to know what is going on with that patient at all times and that would be the nurse. The nurse plays a very important leadership role. Nurses must communicate with the physicians concerns about the patient. Nurses also need to communicate with other nurses for report or if they need help with a patient. Everyone needs to work together as a team in order to provide the patient with safe, patient centered care. I will make sure I am communicating all my concerns to the physician and fellow nurses to better care for my patient.
The IOM report shows the importance of a nurse and how this will help change the future of nursing. Nurses are the main person caring for the patients while they are following the physicians’ orders. The nurse is the one who will notice changes in the patient first and needs to be able to communication with the physicians and other nurses efficiently. Caring for patients is a team effort. Physicians, nurses, and other specialized medical staff needs to work together in order to provide safe care. By focusing on the patient and their unique needs you can provide safe, effective, patient centered care.
Nurses are very important to help maintain the health of patients to their full potential. References Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine,Institute of Medicine. “Front Matter. ” The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2011 Fights, S. D. (2012). Nurses Lead From Where We Stand: How Can You Impact the Future Of Nursing?. MEDSURG Nursing, 21(2), 57-58. The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health. (2010). Connecticut Nursing News, 83(4), 1.