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The Future of Nursing

Decent Essays

The Future of Nursing
Grand Canyon University
Professional Dynamics
NRS-430V

The Future of Nursing
Looking back over 150 years ago, the nursing profession has changed drastically. Even just the uniform of nurses changed from the white dresses with panty hose and a white cap to scrubs with pants. Here are a few other examples of change in the profession: “there was a time in the past when only physicians took blood pressures, performed phlebotomy and administered blood; and not so long ago, only RNs – not LPNs – were allowed to administer IV medications” (Daley, 2013, p.4433). With our ever changing health care industry, including the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the nursing profession needs to continue to improve their …show more content…

Strong leadership is important for the future of nursing. With all the changes being made today, nurses need to step up and advocate for their profession and working conditions. According to the IOM (2010), nurses should “act as full partners with physicians and other health professionals in redesign and reform efforts across the health care system”. Just as the leaders before us, such as Florence Nightingale, Jean Watson and Betty Neuman, made great contributions to the change in the nursing profession, we need those leaders today to continue making contributions to improve our practice.
Change in my Practice
As a new graduate nurse, it is difficult to talk about changing my practice because I am always changing my practice with my growing knowledge. The IOM report has helped me realize that even later down the road when I am a seasoned nurse, my practice should still always be changing. Nurses that are stuck in their old routines are not providing the best patient care possible.
It is great to have resources such as the Institute of Medicine (IOM), American Nurses Association (ANA) and the Joint Commission: Accreditation Health Care (JCAHO) to help improve the nursing practice. The IOM report provided many suggestions to tackle some of the major health concerns in the United States today. Now, we just need to implement these changes right away to ensure top notch patient care is being provided.
References
Creasia, J. L., & Friberg, E. (2011).

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