Vision for the Future of the Nursing Profession - Assignment Example

Any profession, regardless of scope must necessarily integrate with the need for change and evolution. This is done as a means of keeping vision andstrategy in line with pressing needs and changes within the future environment. As such, the following brief analysis will provide and propose something of a vision for the nursing profession with regards to such factors as demographic shift, alternative medicine, due to changes within technology and science, projected changes in challenges to nursing education, and the challenge of continuing to integrate professional nursing institutions with the needs of their stakeholders. The creation of such a vision and the establishment of some of the factors that have been listed will be done as a means of engaging the reader with a thoughtful analysis of some of the likely scenarios and trends that may exhibit themselves within the next several years (Waters et al., 2012). As a means of being prepared for these externalities, the nursing professional can be more attuned to the way in which personal awareness and key changes can impact upon the profession as a whole. Accordingly, the first determine which will be discussed, the changes to demographics, genetic issues, and the increasing use of alternative medicine, it must be within the consciousness of the medical healthcare professional to be mindful of the fact that changing demographics of medical care mean that a far larger percentage of the elderly will begin to make up the majority of those individuals treated by the healthcare profession in the near future. Such a simple statement of fact is merely with regards to the understanding that the baby boomer generation has neared retirement and will likely place a heavy strain upon the available staffing resources. In much the same way, genetic issues must also be taken seriously due to the rapid increase in understanding of the science and biology surrounding these. Furthermore, complementary and alternative medicine is another paradigm shift that must be increasingly understood and appreciated within the healthcare profession. Previously, it was the understanding of many individuals that alternative medicine and complementary medicine were merely a form of pseudoscience. However, as a relevant journal entries and medical science had delineated, these in fact share a responsible and useful podium with regards to the other traditional treatments that have been integrated in the past. Another component part of the changing environment that the medical professional, specifically the nurse, must be salient Lee aware of is with regards to the changes that science is beginning to exhibit with regards to the approach that is taken to a litany of different treatments and/or illnesses. One can readily note the impact that medical discovery has had upon medical science merely by tracing the treatment patterns for any number of diseases and/or illnesses within the past several decades. As a means of preparing for the all but certain shift in understandings with regards to science and technology, it is the role of the medical healthcare provider to ensure that they are not only well read, but also informed of any matters that regard research and changing approaches that are evidenced within the field (Clark, 2013). Relying upon others, namely doctors, to delineate and be aware of these is not an excuse for maintaining a level of vigilance with regards to literature and being well-informed of the ways in which the profession itself is redeveloping and informing the treatment of disease and illness. As a direct result of the near continuous change that has been illustrated by the previously mentioned factors, nursing education in and of itself is destined to experience a continual state of evolution itself. As a means of being prepared for this, the nursing professional must not only be prepared for changes with regards to the current curriculum, they must also be prepared for an increased level of continuing education and a further focus upon national standards and the means through which treatment is understood and applied (Douglas & Kerfoot, 2011). Lastly, challenges to the nursing profession and/or professional nursing associations will be contingent upon the degree and extent to which these entities can incorporate further levels of certification and measurement with regards to the skills that nursing professionals must reflect. Just as within the past, it will no longer be appropriate for nursing professionals to merely represent a level of sufficiency with regards to the requirements of their certification, ongoing training will continue to of all the way in which such certification is measured and appreciated throughout the system. References Clark, C. S. (2013). Resistance to Change in the Nursing Profession: Creative Transdisciplinary Solutions. Creative Nursing,19(2), 70-76. doi:10.1891/1078-4535.19.2.70 Douglas, K., & Kerfoot, K. M. (2011). A Provocative Conversation With... Peter I. Buerhaus, PhD, RN, FAAN. Nursing Economic$, 29(4), 169-182. Waters, C., Rochester, S., & Mcmillan, M. (2012). Drivers for renewal and reform of contemporary nursing curricula: A blueprint for change. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession, 41(2), 206-215. Read More