IOM Future of Nursing Report: Recommendations & Action Plan
This paper examines the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Institute of Medicine's collaborative initiative to transform the nursing profession in the United States. It outlines the IOM committee's core recommendations addressing nursing practice scope, educational advancement, workforce shortages, and interprofessional collaboration. The paper also discusses the Campaign for Action's state-based Action Coalitions and their role in implementing IOM recommendations, with particular attention to New Mexico's initiatives in nursing diversity assessment and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) enrollment growth. It concludes by considering short- and long-term dimensions of the nursing shortage and the economic factors that influence nurse employment and workforce planning.
- Introduction to the RWJF–IOM Nursing Initiative: Origins and goals of the RWJF–IOM nursing collaboration
- Key Recommendations of the IOM Committee: IOM report's four messages and core recommendations
- The Future of Nursing Campaign for Action: National campaign and state Action Coalition framework
- New Mexico Action Coalition Initiatives: New Mexico diversity assessment and BSN enrollment growth
- Nursing Shortage: Short- and Long-Term Perspectives: Economic factors shaping the nursing workforce shortage
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What makes this paper effective
- Clearly traces the policy chain from foundational report to on-the-ground implementation, giving readers a coherent picture of how national recommendations translate into state-level action.
- Uses concrete data points — such as the 122% rise in BSN enrollment in New Mexico between 2012 and 2014 — to ground abstract policy goals in measurable outcomes.
- Connects macro-level themes (healthcare reform, workforce planning) to a specific regional case study, demonstrating how national frameworks apply locally.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates policy analysis through a structured summary approach: it identifies a foundational document (the IOM report), extracts its principal messages, and then tracks implementation evidence at both national and state levels. This technique — moving from policy framework to empirical outcome — is a standard method in health policy writing and shows students how to situate a primary source within its practical consequences.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by describing the origin and purpose of the RWJF–IOM collaboration, then enumerates the committee's major recommendations and the IOM report's four key messages. It transitions to the Campaign for Action and its state coalition model, narrows to New Mexico's specific initiatives, and closes with a brief analysis of the nursing shortage from economic and workforce perspectives. The references section cites a mix of institutional reports and peer-reviewed journal articles.
Introduction to the RWJF–IOM Nursing Initiative
In 2008, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) proposed a collaborative program with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to evaluate and respond to the need for transforming the nursing profession. Recognizing that nurses face numerous difficulties and barriers in meeting national health requirements and in contributing to a reformed healthcare system, the two organizations launched a two-year initiative focused on the future of nursing. At the center of the program was a committee charged with formulating a report containing an action-based plan for nursing's future, encompassing local-, state-, and national-level changes to institutional and public policy.
The committee explored nurses' ability to satisfy the requirements of a restructured public health and healthcare system. It produced a set of bold, nationwide recommendations, including measures addressing nursing service delivery in environments facing staff shortages and proposals for expanding nursing education capacity. The committee report outlined an explicit action plan and agenda, covering amendments in institutional and public policy at all levels of government. The recommendations addressed a range of system modifications, including innovative approaches to resolving the nationwide nursing staff shortage (Fitzpatrick, 2010).
Recommendations were explored and offered by the committee with the aim of identifying critical nursing roles in the design and implementation of a more efficient and effective healthcare system. The specific problem areas addressed included:
- Re-conceptualizing nurses' roles by considering overall staffing levels, the shortage of nursing professionals, existing and emerging technology, and societal issues;
- Enlarging nursing faculty, enhancing the capacity of nursing education and training institutions, and reforming nursing education to ensure it produces a sufficient number of adequately prepared nursing professionals capable of handling present and future healthcare needs;
- Exploring innovative solutions related to education and care delivery across the health professions, and in particular nursing education and nursing service delivery; and
- Attracting and retaining qualified nurses across various healthcare settings, including primary care, acute care, ambulatory care, long-term patient care, and public and community healthcare (Fitzpatrick, 2010).
References
American Nurse Association (n.d.). Twelve new state action coalitions. Retrieved January 8, 2016, from http://www.theamericannurse.org/index.php/2012/04/02/twelve-new-state-action-coalitions/
Campaign for Action (n.d.). New Mexico. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://campaignforaction.org/state/new-mexico
Centre for New Mexico Nursing Excellence. (n.d.). White paper: Nursing in New Mexico 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.nmnursingexcellence.org/resource/resmgr/imported/NM%20Nursing%20White%20Paper%20Jan%2011%20w.attachments.pdf
Chacon, E. (2015). Help for prospective and new nursing graduates. Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://www.nursingald.com/uploads/publication/pdf/1164/New_Mexico_Nurse_4_15.pdf
Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2010). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(6), 347–348.
Hinkle, J. L., Sullivan, C., Villanueva, N., & Hickey, J. V. (2012). Integrating the Institute of Medicine Future of Nursing report into the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses strategic plan. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 44(3), 164–167.
Institute of Medicine (IOM). (2010). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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