Future of Nursing Profession

¶ … IOM Future of Nursing Report The future of nursing is an issue that has attracted considerable attention in the recent past because of the current issues in the nursing profession and field. The various stakeholders in this field have not only expressed concerns regarding the existing challenges but have also adopted several measures to help address the current problems.

Actually, in the past few years, much of the focus in nursing has been centered on addressing nursing shortage, meeting the ever-increasing patient demands, enhancing nursing education, and delivery of improved care services. The initiatives adopted by these stakeholders have yielded several results including the development of a manual on future of nursing, which addresses the various issues in this profession and field.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Committee Initiative One of the major initiatives that have been carried out in the field of nursing in relation to the future of profession is the work by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in collaboration with the Institute of Medicine. The two organizations launched a two-year initiative in 2008 that focused on responding to the need to evaluate and transform the field of nursing (National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, 2010).

The main objective of this work was to develop a report that would make suggestions for an action-oriented blueprint for the future of this profession or practice. This initiative was carried out on the premise that nurses experiences several barriers that prevented them from responding effectively to the rapidly changing health care system and settings. In order for nurses to lead change and advance health in the future, it is important for them to overcome barriers to ensure they are well-positioned.

The two-year initiative considered nurses from various settings, roles, and academic levels since these professionals practice across different settings and have varying levels of competencies and education. In addition, nurses have different roles in relation to the delivery of patient care services and promoting health. Following these considerations and in light of the existing challenges in nursing, RWJF and IOM developed four major categories that provided the framework for recommendations for the future of nursing.

This culminated in the production of a report that focuses on the future of nursing based on recommendations to improve the profession. Significance of the Report Institute of Medicine's Future of Nursing report is significant with regards to nursing education, nursing practice, and nursing workforce development. In relation to nursing education, the report highlights the need for these professionals to practice to the full extent of their education and training. This is primarily because nurse practitioners' tasks are usually determined by their level of education and training.

Moreover, this report provides recommendations on how nurses can obtain higher educational and training levels. In this case, the report proposes the need for an enhanced education system that promotes seamless educational progression. The significance of the report with regards to nursing workforce development is that it provides suggestions for improved data collection and information infrastructure, which helps in systematic evaluation of supply of nurse workers across settings.

With regards to nurse practice, the report not only recommends that nurse practice based on the full extent of their education and training but also emphasizes the need for these practitioners to become full partners with other health professionals in patient care delivery. Role of State-based Action Coalitions The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action is an initiative that is geared towards dealing with the increased care demands through the use of knowledge, skills, talents, and experience of nurse practitioners ("Campaign for Action," 2011).

Generally, the main goal of this initiative is to direct the implementation of recommendations in the report on future of nursing. In order to achieve these objectives, the Campaign for Action incorporates several stakeholders including state-based coalitions. As the name suggests, state-based action coalitions are diverse groups of stakeholders that are convened at the state level to generate sustainable change within the state.

The role of state-based action coalitions is to identify best practices and research needs, track lessons learned, and determine replicable models within the state and utilize them to enhance improvements. These coalitions advance the goals of Campaign for Action through establishing clearly defined goals, educating decision-makers and policy makers, mobilizing stakeholders towards creating a blueprint for action, and seeking for financial support for their initiatives.

California's Action Coalition An example of a state-based action coalition that plays an important role in advancing the goals of Campaign for Action is California's Action Coalition. This coalition acts as the state's drive force towards changing health care and improving the population's health. California's Action Coalition carries out several initiatives to achieve its goals including the Academic Progression in Nursing (APIN) program and conducting a gap analysis for scope of practice barriers.

The APIN program is a collaborative initiative between various academic institutions to help increase the proportion of nurses and promote engagement of nurses in life-long learning (Dickow, 2015). In contrast the gap analysis is an initiative that seeks to eliminate scope of practice barriers based on recommendations in IOM Future of Nursing report. The initiatives advance the nursing profession through increase the number of nurses, enhancing nursing competence among current practitioners, promoting nurses' career development, and ensuring best practices are utilized in provision of patient care.

However, there are some barriers to advancement in California including the decreased number of students interested in nursing courses, lack of adequate funds for collaborative projects, increased nursing shortage, and sluggish development.