Professional Development of Nursing Professionals

This public health policy paper will discuss and outline the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as well as barriers and controversies surrounding the policy and its relevance in nursing profession. The ACA will eventually affect everyone. Statistics reflecting United States health outcomes have proven the need for the initiation of policy formation within the United States healthcare system. “In March 2010, President Obama signed into law a comprehensive health reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).” (Estes, Chapman, Dodd, Hollister, Harrington, 2013, p. 144) The ACA promotes preventive care—including related services and family planning—that should result in improved health outcomes and

As popular as the ADN is today, there is a huge momentum to encourage nurses to receive their BSN instead of an ADN. Nurses that are already entering the workforce at the BSN level are not only more skilled at following and understanding evidenced based practice, but they are also more prepared to go on to school to complete their masters or doctorate degrees. In the changing face of healthcare, more nurses with advanced degrees will be needed to provide primary care as in the role of nurse practitioners. APRNs are going to be in higher demand in community care, public health nursing, evidence based practice, research, and leadership. Shortages of nurses in these positions create a “barrier to advancing the profession and improving the delivery of care to patients” (IOM, 2010, p. 170). Shortages of APRNs and the increasing need for nurse practitioners to provide primary care is why the IOM is recommending to increase the amount of BSN educated nurses entering the workforce to 80% and to double the number of doctorate nurses by 2020 (IOM, 2010, p. 173) The goal to increase the nursing workforce to 80% BSN educated nurses and double the amount of nurses with doctorate degrees is a formidable goal, but increasingly necessary. Patients are becoming more complex inside and outside of the hospital setting with chronic multiple comorbidities. BSN educated nurses are not only better prepared to care for these

The Affordable Care Act was passed to provide American’s better access to health insurance coverage. In addition to better access the ACA improved health care quality and lowered health care cost. The ACA reformed health insurance by expanding coverage, holding insurance companies accountable, lowering health care costs, guaranteeing more choices, and enhancing the quality of care. Although some states have not implemented all the benefits of the ACA, most citizens do have access to health insurance. This paper will address some of the general highlights of the ACA, how it impacted healthcare and the nursing practice.

The Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report on The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health acknowledges the changing healthcare sector in the US and describes future vision of healthcare and the role of nurses to fulfill that vision. The United States always strives to provide affordable and quality healthcare to the entire population of the country. In order to achieve this goal an overall restructuring of the healthcare system was necessitated. Nurses are considered to be the central part of the healthcare system to provide high quality and safe patient care. Nursing in the US is the single largest segment of the healthcare workforce with almost 3 million nurses working in different areas across the county. The changing

xi). The IOM stressed that “nurses have key roles to play as team members and leaders for a reformed and better-integrated, patient-centered health care system” (IOM, 2011, p. xi).

“The ACA outlines some new health care arrangements, and with these structures will come new opportunities for new roles. 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. If the system is to capitalize on this opportunity, however, the

Nursing career is one of the few fastest growing fields in the health care industry not only in the United States but also in the world. Nurse practice has drastically changed in the last decade and as a result the need for changes in nursing practice is becoming more and more important. The Institute of Medicine report discusses so many aspects in nursing but this paper requires detailing the impacts on Nursing Practice (Transforming Practice), Nursing Education (Transforming Education), and the Nurse’s role as a Leader (Transforming Leadership). These three key aspects are discussed in the following pages.

This paper seeks to expand upon the 2010 Institute of Medicine’s report on the future of nursing, leading change, advancing health and illustrating its impact on nursing education, practice and leadership. There is an ongoing transformation in the healthcare system necessitated by the need to achieve a patient centered care in the community, public, and primary care settings in contrast to previous times. Nurses occupying vital roles in the healthcare system, need improvements in the areas mentioned above to

Healthcare has been around for many decades. It has always been a problem for many Americans. Whether it be too expensive or individuals do not qualify to be covered under medical insurance. Many Americans have spent years trying to get some type of medical coverage. This can be a frustrating task because it is not easy. In 2010 the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by congress. This law made healthcare affordable and accessible to all Americans. While it is a good attempt at changing previous healthcare rules, many Americans still go uninsured. In this paper I will look at two components the American Nursing Association feel need to be reformed.

The IOM report delivers the following key messages to the world about the future of nursing (IOM Report, 2010):

The role of Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) has changed dramatically in recent years. Currently, the Unite States (U.S.) health care is focusing on delivering a cost -effective health care to all patients. In the last decades, there were many efforts to control health care over spending in the U.S. One of such efforts is to focus on applying proven principles of evidence-based practice and cost-effectiveness to find the least expensive way to produce a specific clinical service of acceptable quality (Bauer, 2010). The vast changes in health care system, such as cost, need for high productivity, limitation on reimbursement, and the inadequacy on access have made APNs to think in a way where they most fit to provide independent care for

In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by the United States government and is the largest health care reform since Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. With this new legislation, there will be a huge transformation of the health care system we know today. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is an organization that is independent of government and provides unbiased advice used in making informed legislative decisions about health care. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the largest philanthropy in the United States, collaborated with the IOM to evaluate and transform the nursing profession in order to provide

Healthcare Reform has been and still is a highly debated controversial political issue in this country. It has been a hot topic of past presidential campaigns, with many proposed solutions, none of which were enacted upon by Congress. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010. This law or Obamacare, as it is commonly called, was designed to cover the 48 million Americans, including about 1 million in New Jersey who did not have health insurance. It is envisioned to provide seamless, affordable, quality care that is accessible to all. Great emphasis will be placed on transforming our current “sick care” hospital system into a community “health care” system of prevention and health promotion. This paper discusses the evolving and future roles of nurses under the new system. It also examines the proposals of a joint committee made up of members of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), as an initiative to help nurses in their new leadership roles to a healthier nation.

Impact on Nursing of the 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) on the future of nursing.

Nursing practice is also one of the key messages addressed in the IOM report. The report suggests that “nurses should practice to full extent of their education and training”. Furthermore, “nurses should be full partners with physicians and other health professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States. This report has a great impact on nursing practice. The IOM report suggests that greater focus on managing the transition from nursing to practice. It recommends that regulatory reforms must be made to allow nurses to expand their scope of practice (IOM report, 2010).