The Nursing Profession Has Gone Through Numerous Transformations Throughout The 21st Century

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).

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

Transitioning from the hospital and working for the local department of Health and Human Services as a registered nurse is a dream job. The position is first shift, no required weekends and absolutely no on call. The days of being requested to come “help on the unit” have completely diminished. Employee insurance is provided with a nominal monthly payment and low copayments for office or emergency care visits. Twelve calendar paid days a year, guaranteed Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving Day off without the hassle of shift switching. A state retirement and a lifetime pension plan, depending on years of service pension can be transferred to your spouse. Never did the thought occur regarding how the government regulates healthcare delivery and the direct relationship is has on all program funding at local health departments. During my employment at the department of Health and Human Services nearly every year issues arise and nurses are requested to notify local city council members and state officials with a letter or phone call. These notifications are designed to justify or plea importance of programs and request funding be continued. Healthcare delivery is constantly evolving which causes health professionals to question what circumstances lead to healthcare reform, how the nursing profession will be impacted and imagine what the future holds for healthcare in the United States.

In 1963, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Consultant Group on Nursing identified a nationwide nursing shortage. This led to the Comprehensive Nurse Training Act of 1964 that created nurse education and training programs and also supplied grant funds for student loans, nursing school, and education grants (Smith, 2009). A year later the Comprehensive Nurse Training Act led to the American Nurses Association Committee on Education to look at nursing education, practice, scope, and responsibilities. While looking into nursing education, concerns were raised about hospital-based diploma programs and the increasing complexity of healthcare. As a result, the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) released their 1965 position paper on entry into nursing practice. In their 1965 position paper the ANA recommended three things they

Nursing is a profession that will never go out of style. It continues to evolve today to meet the needs of society and will continue for as long as human beings are getting sick. Many conditions shape the direction that nursing is headed. Nursing technique changes as resources shift, as technology improves, and education aims to satisfy the public's need. As needs for nursing transform it is important to make sure quality of care is only increasing and becoming more efficient. There has been an on-going debate for nearly the past fifty years about whether a Baccalaureate degree should be the minimum degree required to be a nurse (McEwen & White, September 13, 2013). When discussing this topic it is important to understand the differences

In sharing my brief report to colleagues with regard to the changes in nursing practice, the mandates from the ACA and also the recommendations gleaned from the 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) “Future of Nursing Report,” there was one common theme in their responses. One immediate colleague, another who I recently worked with and a niece currently in nursing school, all remarked that the future of nursing while bright, needs to restructure or improve its educational requirements in order to keep up with the ever changing landscape in our health care industry. “One concern I have is the limited amount of mandatory continuing education classes my healthcare company require” (K. Madrid, personal communication May 25, 2018). “I am keenly aware of the tuition reimbursement offered in our hospital and some educational opportunities. However, our department

The nursing shortage is an issue that is battled worldwide. There is evidence that there was a growing concern of a nursing shortage in the United States dating back to the early 1960’s. In a March 2012 report it was noted that the healthcare job market is exceeding the growth realized in 2011. This growth accounts for one out of every five new jobs in 2012 according the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). Registered Nursing will be the top occupation in terms of job growth through 2020 with the number of employed nurses increasing by 712,000 which is a 26% increase. (Rosseter, 2012) Will this growth satisfy the increasing demand for healthcare services? It is important

Within the next ten years more than one million registered nurses in the United States will be eligible for retirement. This will potentially leave the nursing profession with the largest shortage in history. The need for health care is only growing due to the aging baby boomer population. “Nursing researchers have noted that the projected nursing shortage, if not rectified, is expected to affect healthcare cost, job satisfaction and quality patient care” (Lartey, 2014). Without an adequate number of nurses what will happen to our hospitals, schools, nursing homes, nursing programs, and more importantly our patients? There are three main issues that if addressed can serve as possible solutions to the upcoming nursing shortage. First hospitals and jobs need to retain their trained, experienced nurses. Second the nursing profession needs to be promoted to increase the enrolment number and bridge the gap between retirement and new nursing graduates. Thirdly nurses and society need to be educated to end the stereotypes and poor images of the nursing profession.

After entering the RN workforce, many nurses attain additional education to advance in their careers and to prepare them for advanced practice and teaching or research roles ( ). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) nursing report, entitled “Future of

There are many reports and articles in the world today that address the idea of nurses needing to increase their education level to better address the needs of an increasingly complex health care system. The IOM report, The Future of Nursing (2010) claims that the amount of nurses with a baccalaureate degree should be increased to 80 percent by 2020. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) wants to require the Bachelor of Science degree in nursing as the lowest educational requirement for professional nursing practice (“The Future of Nursing”). A big reason for this change is because of the critical thinking and research skills that come with a baccalaureate degree. As healthcare is shifting away from hospital-centered

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Initiative on The Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (Committee) was formed to identify the ways how to transform the profession of nursing, so it will meet the goals, objectives and upcoming challenges with the health care system, so patients and their families will continue to receive quality of care. The report on their findings was released 2010. According to this report committee made several changes regarding the education and training of both pre licensure and established nursed throughout the career. Their main focus was on preparing a student’s career in nursing at associate, undergraduate and graduate levels. This was very important for the committee to recognize that how to well-prepared nurses across the health care continuum to arrange opportunities for nurses to improve their

Recognizing the changing health care system, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), launched a two-year initiative to assess and transform the nursing profession. The report produced by the IOM & RWJF, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, called out four key messages to guide the changes needed to heighten the future of nursing. One of these messages, nurses achieving higher levels of education- increasing baccalaureate prepared nurses to 80% by 2020, enforces the need for nurses to obtain higher degrees and changes the requirements for entry-level nurses. Improving education levels in the nursing workforce is beneficial to both the nurse receiving the education and the patient receiving care, however with expensive degree programs and an older workforce not willing to go back to school, turmoil has erupted within the profession. This paper uses evidence to review both sides of the argument and its significance to both nursing and patient care outcomes.

They states the current percentage of Registered Nurses in the workforce that holds a bachelors’ degree or higher are on the rise and understanding the demand for nurses with higher educational level is vital to ensure access to effective healthcare system. They argue that while Registered nurses can enter the workforce at different education levels such as with a diploma or an associate’s degree, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends for future nurses entering the nursing field to obtain higher levels of education to increase the percentage of nurses with a bachelor’s degree and higher to 80 percent by the year 2020. This is to further prepare them with the essential skills and knowledge required to care for the most complex patients’ population as well as to prepare them for roles in advanced nursing practice such as teaching and research.

In today’s world of complex illnesses and disease processes it is more important than ever that every member of the health care team be as educated and up to date on current evidence based practices and technological advances as possible. When this criteria is met statistics show we can lower patient mortality, post op pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thrombosis and shorten patient hospital stays, to name just a few. In an article published in the August 2008 edition of Health Services Research, Dr. Christopher Friese and his associates stated, “Nurses prepared at the Baccalaureate level were linked with lower mortality and failure-to-rescue rates.” They concluded that “Moving to a nurse workforce in which higher proportions of staff nurses have at least a Baccalaureate-level education would result in substantially fewer adverse patient outcomes.”

Below are the two key messages that apply to the chosen topic from the IOM's recommendation taken from National Academy of Sciences (2010). First, that nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression. This does not only pertains to the