The IOM Future of Nursing report related to the nursing workforce - Essay Example

? The IOM “Future of Nursing” Report The IOM “Future of Nursing” Report Introduction In 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) launched a major study aimed at producing a report on the future of nursing. The committee evaluated the capacity of the nursing workforce to fulfill the demands of a public health system and healthcare that is reformed in line with theAffordable Care Act of 2010. The committee was mainly charged with the mandate of making recommendations that would be implemented to ensure that the health care system worked efficiently. The committee also identified the important roles that nurses should play in a reformed health care system and how they should be prepared to accomplish their various tasks. Th IOM report on the future of nursing brings into focus various aspects of nursing training and practice that need to be changed so as to ensure that the nursing profession is transformed for a healthier nation. Importance of the IOM “Future of Nursing” Report Nurses practice in various settings such as schools, retail health clinics, battlefields, public health centers, long-term care facilities, homes, and hospitals. They have differing levels of competencies and education in the entire nursing sector. The committee put into consideration nurses at all levels including their settings, education levels, and roles in an attempt to envision the profession’s future (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011). The Future of Nursing report is very important since it addresses some of issues facing nurses such as differing education and competency levels. Several barriers obstruct the nurses from responding effectively to the rapidly transforming health settings as well as the evolving health care system. The barriers have to be overcome to make sure that nurses are in a good position to advance health and lead change. Apart from seeking to remove these barriers, the report recommends the improvement of the nursing education system. This is because patients’ needs are becoming more sophisticated and thus, the nurses have to attain requisite competencies in order to deliver care that is of high quality (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011). Some of the main issues raised by the report are that nurses should practice to the greatest extent considering their training and eductaion; and that the education system that is in place to train nurses should be improved so as to encourage higher training and education of nurses for better servieces(Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011). In this respect, the report recommends that varous boards, government bodies, accrediting societies and healthcare organizations should support nurses during their residency once they have successfully completed the prerequisite courses or when they are taking new areas related to clinical pratice. In addition, the report recommends that the proportion of nurses holding a baccalaureate degree should be inreased from 50% to 80% and the number of nurses with a doctorate dregree doubled by 2020 (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011). In order to achieve this goal, academic nurse leaders should join forces and partner with other organizations to establish a workforce that is responsive to the diverse healthcare needs of the population. Furthermore, the report notes that nurses should participate fully in redisigning the country’s health care. Yet again, the report notes that better information collection and infrustructure is valuable if effective policies have to be made and the workforce properly planned. The Intent of the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action represents an exceptional initiative to tackle the elevated demands for care by using all the talents, experience, skills, and knowledge of nurses. The main aim of the Campaign for Action is to manage the implementation of the IOM landmark report recommendations. The campaign foresees a world in which every American can access top quality patient-centered care in a health care system in which nurses play a major role in the achievement of success (Hunter, 2011, p1). In order to achieve its goals, the campaign utilizes strategies such as collaborating with various stakeholders, activating on the national, state, and local levels, communicating the call to action, and monitoring the outcomes to ensure accountability (Hunter, 2011). Levey (2011) states that the campaign pursues the active participation of individuals (such as philanthropic sectors, government, and education, health care and business), national organizations, and states in order to ensure success. The campaign also makes sure that the recommendations are transformed into actions that lead to enhanced patient-centered care. The Rationale for State-Based Action Coalitions Action Coalitions are chosen through a competitive open application process. The applications are evaluated by the selection committee applying the following criteria: strength of the specified objectives (both long-term and short-term); length and strength of nurse and non-nurse stakeholder partnership; existing infrastructure in the region or state; and strength of the existing assets, current efforts, and experience (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011). The Campaign has selected fifteen states to take leadership functions in steering the recommendations forward at the lower level. The states are referred to as the Future of Nursing Regional Action Coalitions (RACs) and they work as long-term bodies to come up with vital recommendations at the national, state, and local levels (Hunter, 2011). California Action Coalition and its Initiatives The California Action Coalition works as the motivating factor for the implementation or enactment of the recommendations set in the IOM report. There is already an important work underway in the state of California. The California Action Coalition aims to achieve sustainable transformation and it leads in the road to improve its population’s health. California Action Coalition has several initiatives based on the recommendations set in the IOM report (California Action Coalition, 2012). In the recommendation that seeks to remove practice barriers, the coalition is conducting a gap analysis to align the IOM Future of Nursing scope-of-practice recommendations with the states’ regulations that govern registered nurses and their roles in advanced-practice registered (California Action Coalition, 2012). The third recommendation of the report seeks to implement nurse residency programs. The California Action Coalition hopes to have 5% of the hospitals and 3% of the health care associations expressly advocate the transition to nurse residencies or practice programs in the nursing education as a standard practice. The coalition in California also hopes to develop programs for new graduates by establishing numerous opportunities for work at the community level (California Action Coalition, 2012). References California Action Coalition. (2012). Nursing and the future of health care: California action coalition report. California: Author. Hunter, M. (2011). Future of nursing: Campaign for action. Retrieved from http://nursing.illinois.gov/PDF/2011-03-07_RAC_Campaign_Overview_2pgs.pdf Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. (2011). The future of nursing leading change, advancing health: Report recommendations. Washington, DC: Author. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. (2011). The future of nursing leading change, advancing health. Washington, DC: Author. Levey, A. (2011). The North Carolina future of nursing action coalition named an action coalition to help ensure high-quality, patient-centered health care. Retrieved from http://www.ffne.org/library/library/nc-future-of-nursing-action-plan/nc-coalitionpressrelease9-26-112-.pdf Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2011). Action coalition. Retrieved from http://thefutureofnursing.org/content/action-coalitions Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Retrieved from http://www.thefutureofnursing.org/IOM-Report Read More