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Future of Nursing

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The Future of Nursing July 14, 2013 The Future of Nursing According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the nursing profession is the largest population in the nation 's health care workforce with over three million members. Because of this, nurses have a fundamental role in the transformation of the nation 's rapidly changing health care environment. To achieve this role, the IOM addressed several key recommendations to serve as a guide to the direction of the future of nursing (Institute of Medicine, 2010). This paper will focus on three areas that the IOM considers as obstacles the nursing profession encounter as they tackle the challenges of the changing health care system and how it will impact the future of nursing. …show more content…

However, much of the challenge in this area comes from legislations and legal barriers in many states that inhibit the nurses to practice their full scope of education and training, especially advanced practiced nurses. Because each State Board of Nursing regulates their own nursing scope of practice, activities that qualified nurses may perform vary widely from state to state. The IOM recommends removing scope of practice barriers and allowing nurses to practice to their full potential according to their training and education (IOM,2010). This is vital for advanced practice nurses who collaborate with physicians in providing primary care in the community. The push for legislation to reform scope of practice regulations will have a great impact on the transformation of the nursing practice, enabling nurses to perform expanded roles in acute and community settings based on their education levels. One example of this transformation is the implementation of Residency Programs that provide clinical training preparing nurses, especially advanced practice nurses, after graduating from their educational programs. Under the Affordable Care Act, funding will be allocated to create such residency programs for advanced practice nurses helping them gain skills to provide primary and preventative care in the community (New Jersey Nurse, 2011). Allowing nurses to evolve their practice with the

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