The Importance Of Continuum Of Care In Nursing

Current literature continues to reiterate the indicators of a major shortage of registered nurses (RNs) in the United States. The total RN population has been increasing since 1980, which means that we have more RNs in this country than ever before (Nursing Shortage). Even though the RN population is increasing, it is growing at a much slower rate then when compared to the rate of growth of the U.S. population (Nursing Shortage). We are seeing less skilled nurses “at a time of an increasingly aging population with complex care

The role expansion of nurses to meet efficiency targets has meant that nurse-led services in the healthcare setting are expanding as one means of coping with a growing, increasingly ageing population. For those nurses running nurse-led services the focus for that reason, needs to be on treatment that improves the quality of someone’s life and represents an

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare or ACA, was signed into law in March 2010 with the goal to expand insurance coverage to millions of Americans over a period of several years. Since its enactment six years ago, there have been millions of Americans that have gained access to coverage. The most notable of this population would be the disabled, mentally ill, and impoverished. In order to continue to provide quality outcomes for patients, especially patients of vulnerable populations, extra focus must be given to ensure access to healthcare, decreasing disparities, and harvesting improvement in areas such as preventative care, education, and maximizing quality of life. With this influx of people entering the healthcare field, the role of nurses and nurse leaders is also expected to change. Nursing scope of practice and education will be expanded to create an elite healthcare provider. This will include maximizing knowledge in areas of holistic care, education, and preventative care. The incorporation of the ACA into healthcare for vulnerable populations will have several implications for nurses including expanding leadership roles, changing the healthcare delivery model, and providing a broad range of care.

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

Long-term care is a variety of services that includes medical and non-medical care to people who have a chronic illness or disability. Long-term care helps meet health or personal needs. Most long-term care is to assist people with support services such as activities of daily living like dressing, bathing, eating, and using the bathroom. Long-term care can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living or in nursing homes. Long-term care can be given at any age depending on

Over the past few decades, many drastic changes occurred in U.S health care delivery.   Our current healthcare trends demand nurses to take more active role in the health care decisions in hospital setting, long term care setting and in community healthcare setting. Since “nursing is based upon a body of knowledge that is always changing with new discoveries and innovation” Potter and Perry (2005), nursing profession is compelled to grow from being just a traditional bedside nurse. IOM’s future of nursing report which is released in 2010 calls nurses to be “more highly educated, diverse nursing workforce”.

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

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 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.

Smith, C., & Maurer, F. (2013). Community/Public Health Nursing Practice (5th ed.). :. []. http://dx.doi.org/. Retrieved from www.evolve.elsiver

In November of 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health”. This special report examined the current state of nursing and changing landscape of the American healthcare system and offered recommendations for the future role nurses should play. The committee that released the report, Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, divided it into three parts. Part II of the study, focused on transforming the nursing profession in order to improve America’s healthcare system. In order to achieve this transformation, the committee recommended that nurses attain higher levels of education and training, practice to the full extent of that education and training, and assume more

Changes in the Health Care System and the Practice of Nursing have become complex. Technological changes, complicated client needs, short hospital length of stay, and departure from acute care to community based care, all these changes have underscore the need for professional nurses to think critically in order to provide safe and effective client care. A better educated nursing workforce can provide good health education to patients and their families. The affordable care of 2010 has required the need for nurses to expand their role of practice to meet complicated patient demands. This has prompted the Institute Of Medicine to review the “Future of Nursing, Leading change and Advancing Health”. {Creasia & Fribery,2011}

For all of mankind, the cost of health care is a major daily stressor. This article stated an interesting fact that, “A concern of businesses and governments for at least 30 years, the cost of health care in the United States has approached 15 percent of the total gross national product (Barbara R. Heller, Marla T. Oros, and Jane Durney-Crowley, 2013, para. 19).” Even with that fact, there are over 40 million individuals living in the United States that do not have health care coverage. The total health care spending in America surpasses that of any other developed country. This is due to technological advances that are readily available and breakthroughs in medicine. Still, there are present concerns in nursing practices, such as: the affects on the nursing profession, treatment options for their patients, and the patients participation in their own care. This article stated, “Nursing professionals, who have historically taken the lead in health education and health promotion, are disappointed by the lack of financing and reimbursement available through managed care organizations for

Historically, nurses focused on the diagnosis and treatment of a disease, sickness or condition and emphasis on health promotion was nonexistent. However, today that has all changed. Nurses are now expected to expand their primary care services to include psychosocial nursing, advocacy, behavioral science, counseling and advocacy in addition to patient assessment, clinical diagnosis and patient-case management. In the article “Defining Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice: Expanding Primary Care Services,” Sherwood, Brown, and Wardell (1997) state “the role of the nurse practitioner continues to evolve in response to changing societal and health care needs as consumers in all settings seek increasing services”. (Sherwood, Brown and Wardell, 1997).

After reading The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health article by the Institute of Medicine, I gained a clearer view of the overall goal for nursing. Although there are many diverse parties that need to be associated in perfecting the continuously changing health care system, nurses vital to the contribution. Nurses provide direct patient care, deal with the health care system and health care policies, as well as interact with the interdisciplinary team. So the Institute of Medicine has a great nursing blueprint for help nurses make a different for not only the future of the health care system