Institute of Medicine Report
The Institute of Medicine released its report “The Future of Nursing” in 2011. This report continues to have a significant effect on nursing at the organizational, policy, and individual levels that are not easy to overstate. The goal of the IOM report is to enhance healthcare and the outcome of patients for diverse people through the lifespan. Nursing is a crucial element required to achieve this goal. The report discusses how healthcare changes as a result of demographics, technology, and other aspects affect demands and expectations on nursing. Besides, it provides particular recommendations on how the field of nursing can take appropriate actions to adapt to education, practice, and policies to achieve its goals in the rapidly changing environment.
The first key message of the IOM report is that nurses have to practice the full extent of their training and education (Institute of Medicine, 2011). Although nurses may have exceptional experience and knowledge, some obstacles may hinder them from exploiting their full potential. These are policy, regulatory and historical barriers, fragmented and complex healthcare system, as well as rocky transitions to practice from school.
The second message is that nurses need to attain higher training and education levels through enhanced systems of education that offer seamless progression in education (Institute of Medicine, 2011). The primary competencies of nursing have significantly expanded. Furthermore, nurses are taking care of complex health conditions with the use of technology, and synthesizing and digesting data from different sources. These aspects require more education.
The third message states that nurses should fully partner with physicians and medical professionals to redesign healthcare in the US (Institute of Medicine, 2011). They have to be fully responsible for their work and collaborate with other professionals, including dietitians and doctors. This goal can be achieved if skills of leadership are recognized as central competency in every nursing level.
The final message of the report is that effective policy and planning of the workforce need an effective collection of data and enhanced information infrastructure (Institute of Medicine, 2011). The collected information will be used in identifying areas where healthcare issues are being met and where they are not attained. It would also help show potential overlap in tasks and responsibilities among providers of healthcare. Also, it could be used in assessing and planning for the future. These four messages are significant in the nursing practice because they help in ensuring that nurses deliver professional and effective care to all patients. They also make sure that health practitioners and other stakeholders plan for the future.
The direct influence of the report on education and leadership in nursing focusses on attaining high education levels and practice from enhanced systems of education. The IOM report comprises of improvement in the standards of nursing education. The report recommends nurses to have independent skills to increase their workforces in healthcare settings as well as to attain further education in high degree courses to elevate their professional levels (Institute of Medicine, 2011). Coupled with education, nurses need to develop skills of leadership in their education to keep their organizations productive. BSN-prepared nurses enjoy many benefits and opportunities. They can offer compassionate and competent care to patients across the lifespan. They are also equipped in working across a range of healthcare settings like orphanages, nursing homes, among others. They also enjoy the opportunity of gathering and evaluating the information on new patients. Other benefits include the application of clinical reasoning in both simple and complex circumstances, effective interaction with patients from different backgrounds, and adjusting to developments in the delivery of health care services.
The role and education of nurses must evolve to achieve the need for aging and diverse populations. The aging populations have severe health conditions that require special care. Most of the aging people suffer from chronic health conditions that challenge health care providers. Different people require different attention. For this reason, nurses should have different roles and high education levels to meet the needs of every patient.
Lifelong learning or professional development is significant as it is beneficial to the individual, the public, and the profession. It ensures that the individual can keep pace with the existing standards in the profession. Lifelong learning also helps in the maintenance and enhancement of skills and knowledge needed to offer quality service to clients. Most populations demand special health care. Besides, health conditions are getting more challenging from day today. In so doing, professional development in nursing is becoming more relevant. Lifelong learning ensures that nursing is always at pace with the high changing health issues and that patients in diverse populations get the necessary and effective health care.
Research and advancement in technology are driving the evolvement of the healthcare system. Thus, nurses can use these systems to manage patient care effectively. They can achieve this by using digital technology to monitor patients with critical conditions or deliver drugs using the smart system. Nurses can also use technology in educating patients on how they can use technology to track some basic parameters like temperature, sugar level, respiratory rate, and pulse, access a wide range of expertise in controlling and preventing diseases. They can also manage health care by communicating with patients using video and audio mode in remote areas.
Reference
Institute of Medicine (US). Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.