Nursing Specialty Areas

A nursing theory allows the nursing profession to define and differentiate nursing care practice from other professional disciplines. The work of Patricia Benner has been crucial in setting a stage to standardize education and career progression for the nursing profession. The nursing care practice has been changing exponentially since the development of the theory From Novice to Expert. It has enabled facilities across the nation to achieve a higher level of patient care due to its ability to identify the needs of each of the stages of a professional nurse’s career progression.

For instance, in 2014, Hain and Fleck discuss some of the barriers that nurse practitioners including Family Nurse Practitioners, in the wake of the various reforms taking place in the nursing profession. In their article, "Barriers to Nurse Practitioner Practice that Impact Healthcare Redesign", they examine some of the recent reforms and changes introduced in the nursing practitioners field in order to respond to growing demand for healthcare services. For instance, education for Nursing Practitioners began as a certificate course before advancing to the bachelors and master’s degree levels in order to impart nurses with appropriate skills that would help address emerging health challenges (Hain, & Fleck, 2014). The target population for nurse practitioners also broadened from pediatric and family to other areas such as women’s health, gerontology, and many other areas of specialty practice. Today, nurse practitioners play a crucial role in providing quality patient centered healthcare in different settings (Hain, & Fleck, 2014). As such, the role of NPs in healthcare in contemporary practice is very much different from what it was when the field emerged a few years

These competencies are used to promote excellence within the advanced role as a nurse educator. Also, they help to identify the specialty area of nursing education and allow for a platform in which faculty are able to demonstrate and explore the entirety of their role. The nurse educator is equipped to prepare students in the academic or clinical setting. The curriculum within the nurse educator program is designed to integrate clinical foundations with advanced nursing concepts. Together, these concepts result in focused courses for the nurse educator profession (NLN, 2017). In my perspective, nurse educators are creative in their approach to combine their past experiences and passion for educating students as they educate and mentor future

Advanced practice nurses have core competencies that are similar or are specific to each specialization defined as an advanced practice. The profession of nursing presents favorable circumstances for nurses to specialize in roles with distinct responsibilities and opportunities to contribute to the function of a health care industry with growing demands and complexity. The profession of nursing continues to debate to whom the title advanced practice nurse applies to. Examination of the core concept frame works described by nurse leaders and professional organizations tend to either support or refute the argument related to the use of the term, advanced practice nurse for nursing administrators and educators. For the purpose of this paper the author will explore the core competency similarities and differences of a nurse practitioner and a nurse educator. Nurse educators and nurse practitioners are registered nurses that possess advanced education, skills, and experience. Each specialty nurse has defined scopes of practice with distinct sets of responsibilities, requirements, and skills. Each role represents distinct educational requirements and activities that contribute to the complex and diverse health care industry.

Healthcare systems and the way safe, quality health care is delivered are continually changing to better serve patients and communities. Professional nursing practice is a large component in the healthcare system today. Back in the 1960s, professional nursing leaders tried to adopt the bachelor degree programs as the only educational track to become a registered nurse (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). Due to nursing shortages and demands this motive did not hold fast. Individuals entering the nursing profession today must first decide which educational pathway to take to become a Registered Nurse (RN).

Nursing lacks the standardization requirements that other professions require which leads to failure to unify nurse’s identity in allocating the furtherance of education in the profession (Black, 2014). Lack of resolution in these educational requirements undermines the nursing development as

Nursing education has progressed throughout history from one of uneducated lay persons to the current standards we know today. As the career has progressed it has become apparent that there is a need for a skilled labor forced trained to deal with the sick and dying, “the provision of nursing care by American women…demonstrated the effectiveness of skilled nursing on improving outcomes for sick and injured soldiers” (Creasia & Friberg, 2011, p. 4). However, as the career progresses so does the need for more specialized training amongst nurses to help them deal with the changing atmosphere of patient care. The future

Change is always vital to progress and the field of nursing is constantly in change. The world that we live in today is creating a higher need for more nurses, changing the way that nurses are educated and creating new approaches to utilize nurses out in the field. On October 5th, 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released the report “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” The report elaborates on the need for the nursing profession to prepare for the changes that are occurring due to the health care reform and the current

Key Message #2: “Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.” (Institute of Medicine, 2010, p. 163) As the IOM reports, changes in the health care system are requiring major changes in the nursing education requirements to meet the immediate needs of our patients. Nurses need to understand the importance of obtaining a higher level of education so that they can practice to their fullest

Healthcare and the nursing profession are continually changing, and curriculum will have to evolve to ensure that nursing students are being taught the most relevant information. Iwasiw and Goldenberg (2015) illustrated curriculum work, change, and faculty development as an intertwining and infinite process. Nurse educators and faculty need to participate in curriculum design, implementation and evaluation otherwise nursing education does not change and progress is limited (Iwasiw and Goldenberg, 2015). The National League of Nursing (2016) identifies participation in curriculum design and evaluation of program outcomes as a nurse educator core competency that entails the responsibility of preparing graduates to work in the health care field

The impact of The Institute of Medicine Report (IOM) 2010 has a major influence on nursing education. The first issue addressed in the report is an increased emphasis on public and community nursing. In the past, only nurses holding a bachelors degree were experienced and trained in community and public health, and the IOM wants to change that. One particular area of change is that now associate degree nurses are being trained in these areas in order be able to transition into these fields more smoothly and directly from nursing school. Another area that is

“The curriculum provides learning experiences that prepare graduates to assume roles that are essential to quality nursing practice, including but not limited to roles of care provider, patient advocate, teacher, communicator, change agent, care coordinator, user of information technology, collaborator, and decision maker”

Furthermore, licensing and accreditation standards must be heightened to insure the quality of the nurses that enter the workforce. Certifying organizations must therefore mandate the proper demonstration of core competencies and skills prior to endowing students with the nursing title. The nursing profession, according to the IOM report, must undergo fundamental changes within the overall education of nurses. In many respects the basic

Improving education and training is one of the strategies to address nursing shortage. Increase in federal funding to compensate current faculties and graduate students faculty is essential in addressing the issues. This will decrease vacancy rates and help to improve workload. Development of a program among regional and statewide nursing schools is another factor to consider. This promotes joint efforts with faculties allowing them to make use of resources efficiently which also assist in students nurse advancement. Moreover, it

With a consistent change in modernizing medicine, along with the continuing advancement in technology, continuing education in nursing is essential for a variety of reasons. The nurse’s main concern is providing safe, efficient, and effective patient care with positive patient outcomes. This paper will examine the differences in competencies between nurses prepared at an associate-degree level versus a baccalaureate-degree level, in order to provide an evidenced-based understanding of the variation in the educational preparation of nurses.