In the United States there is always a high need for nurses in the hospitals. There are many things that have changed throughout the years. There has been a great change in the education, a large increase in traveling nurses, and the technology that is helping the nurse and medical field. These large changes are helping the medical field become a better place, and hence improving many hospitals all over the country. These changes have become a necessity for the medical field to become better, and improve patient security as well as their satisfaction with medical attention. There have been several changes that have occurred to make schooling for future nurses better for them, and their patients. The schooling that nurse all undertake have strict rules, and policies that all must obey. Hippa is the protection of patient privacy that all nurse, and other professionals of the medical field must follow. Hippa protects the patient 's privacy, and other knowledge of the patient’s medical records remain private. This matter came into effect in 1996. “Hippa” is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability. It has dramatically impacted the privacy of patients to make them feel more safe in hospitals. This has been a positive change in the security of patient 's records secure. Hippa as well as other hands on learning experiences that are given for nurses to practice have made another impact on the increase of the medical field. Nurses have to go to school for two or more
Staffing needs affect the nursing department’s budget, staff productivity, the quality of care provided to patients and even the retention of nurses (Jooste, 2013). The nurse manager has to explain to the management of the benefits of change in providing adequate staffing all the time. Adequate staffing helps staff retention. Staff retention saves a lot of money in terms of orienting new people to the unit. Safe staffing always helps in the reduction of falls, infection rates, pressure ulcers, decrease hospital stays and death. Flexible and creative scheduling is essential for retaining staff and promoting a positive work climate (Grohar-Murray & Langan, 2011). Adequate staffing with good staffing ratio will help nurses to concentrate on their patient care which may help in a reduction in medical errors and lawsuits to the hospital.
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
In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA. The purpose of HIPAA is to provide guidance and tools to protect and secure patient’s medical records. There are two sections of the act that will be today’s focus – the Privacy Rule and the Security Rule. At the end of this training, employees will understand what HIPAA is, how it applies to [Hospital], and the penalties for violation.
HIPAA requires nurses and nursing students to keep patients’ medical records confidential at all time. For instance, I used computer to review patient’s diagnosis, I made sure that I signed off the computer after using it. I also made sure that all the information I brought home with me did not include patient’s name and other information that identify patient identity.
The nursing shortage has been influenced by the aging workforce, shortage of nursing faculty, professional alternatives, poor working conditions and poor nursing image. By 2020, there will be an increase in demand for registered nurses (RNs) due to the increase need for healthcare services to meet the needs of the baby boom generation (Keenan & Kennedy, 2003). It is estimated that the nursing shortage will range from 400,000 to 808,000 full-time equivalents (FTE) RNs. The nursing shortage has impacted the intensive care units (ICU), medical surgical units and operating rooms (Keenan & Kennedy).
According to Peter Buerhaus of Vanderbilt School of Nursing who has studied the problem on staff shortage. “Nursing care in America's hospitals has reached a critical shortage -- the worst in 50 years.”(1)
With over three million nurses in the United States nurses play an important role in healthcare today. As the future of health care changes the nurses’ role will change as well. In 2008, The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) combined partnership and put together a committee to assess nursing practices and make recommendations for the future transformations in the health care system. This report was released in 2010 and included four key components in which three will be discussed in this paper.
Adequate nurse staffing is clearly a crucial element in safe, effective hospital care. A 2011 study by nurse researchers concluded that adding more nurses to a unit markedly improves patient outcomes and safety in hospitals (Griffith, Ball, Murrel, Jons & Rufferty,
Whenever people are sick or have an emergency and have to go to the hospital, nurses are always there to comfort them. Nursing is a fast growing occupation here in the United States and makes up the vast majority of the healthcare industry. Nursing is a career that allows people to care for others. Aside from the greatness of helping others, it also comes with stressful situations that require plenty of responsibility because the medical field is always evolving. There is a high demand for nurses. Nurses play a huge role in the medical field, particularly nurse practitioners. Although doctors tend to get the most recognition for patient care, the reality is
This, in turn, means that the patients that are in the hospital are more acute and require intensive nursing care. The role of the registered nurse must now include greater professional judgment, management of complex systems, and greater clinical autonomy (Lippincott, 2003). The pressure to contain costs and meet the needs of the rising levels of severe illnesses of inpatients make it imperative for hospitals to seek out ways to redesign delivery of care without compromising quality of care (Tappen, 2004). The structure, organization and financing of health care are rapidly changing. Patients previously hospitalized are now treated on an outpatient basis, relying on care through different delivery systems. Hospital communities are trying to increase health care services while raising prices as little as possible.
The present nursing industry has, however witnessed several changes because of increased technological advancement. Another characteristic associated with nurses is the consistency of determination to improve social conditions and health
In recent years, the healthcare industry has seen a significant decline in the quality of patient care it provides. This has been the result of reduced staffing levels, overworked nurses, and an extremely high nurse to patient ratio. The importance of nurse staffing in hospital settings is an issue of great controversy. Too much staff results in costs that are too great for the facility to bear, but too little staffing results in patient care that is greatly hindered. Moreover, the shaky economy has led to widespread budget cuts; this, combined with the financial pressures associated with Medicare and private insurance companies have forced facilities to make due with fewer
In today’s society, the medical field is constantly thriving with technological improvements and the growth of educated individuals that contribute to the well-being of others. Nurses make up the largest majority of the industry, and with that, nursing is the fastest growing occupation. Nursing is a job that allows people to not only take care of the sick but also to experience, learn, and further their interests of the human body.
Nurses are known as the heart of health care. Being a nurse is a demanding job that requires commitment, but does not lack rewards. A fact stated by the American Association of Colleges of Nurses claims that “Nurses comprise the largest single component of hospital staff, are the primary providers of hospital patient care, and deliver most of the nation 's long-term care” (“Nursing Fact Sheet”). With many roles throughout the healthcare system as a whole, nurses are a large, very important role that interacts with every other part of the health care system. They have great qualities that not everyone has. They are highly compassionate, caring, professional, diligent and understanding individuals. A nurse experiences people at their worst and still care for patients in a way that no one else would. All these honest points prove that nurses are the most important members of the health care system because, nurses spend the most time with patients, nurses are the managers of patient care; they are teachers and are great with conflict resolution.
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