Important Issues in Nursing Profession Today

Important Issues in Nursing Profession Today

Introduction

In the United States today, a medical fraternity of nurses comprise the most extensive healthcare profession with exciting features and high demand career. Nurses play a critical role in the health industry in promoting health, combat diseases, and help the patients recover from their illness. In the line of their duties, when administering direct patient care, they are responsible in observing, assessing, record any symptom observed, and monitor patient’s progress and reactions (Pool, Koithan, & Ringdahl, 2018). For effective and high-quality care, nurses primarily collaborate with doctors for high treatment and examination performances, administration of medications, as well as giving direct patient care in recuperation and reintegration. The well-being of nurses significantly influences the attention that the patients are going to receive, and the issues surrounding them, whether directly or indirectly.

Ultimately, nursing as a career irrespective of having extreme rewarding characteristics several challenging activities are portrayed that compromises effectiveness and delivery of high standard care to the patients and entire health sector (Roux & Halstead, 2017). A stable platform becomes substantial to address the main issues nurses they go through to avoid the provision of inferior health care in the jurisdiction they operate. The paper will focus on the three critical issues that are affecting nursing as a profession in the modern era as stipulated in IOM reports and their significance (“Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health: Health and Medicine Division,” 2018). The three critical ones being the improvement of health education through training cost-cutting in the health sectors and health informatics.

IMO and the Future of Nursing on Education Transformation.

IMO is one of the private organizations in the United States that advocate for change and advanced healthcare through improving the quality of nurse profession. In 2010, The Robert WOOD Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the IMO found that it was essential to launch an initiative that was meant to assess and transform the nursing profession for high-quality health care delivery among the nurses in health industry (“Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health: Health and Medicine Division,” 2018). The idea came from the several barriers realized from nurses that hindered efficient response to tremendous changes in health care environments and evolving health structures. Overcoming such obstacles was a critical aspect that would facilitate the nurses to be well-positioned in the work structures for positive change and advanced health. The report published in 2010 by IMO on the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health recommended for an action-focused on a plan for the future of nursing. The committee that was appointed focused mainly on education and training, collaboration, and productive workforce planning and policymaking for efficient data collection and information infrastructure.

Due to changes in the health care system and practice settings in the United States,  nursing education at all levels requires to create a solid grounds for better understanding of and experience in care management, high standard improvement, and any relevant shift of systems-level change. The nursing education should offer settings for continued lifelong learning that incorporates chances for seamless transition of more top learning programs Gorski et al., (2015). The United States has a substantial opportunity to transform healthcare systems, through involving nurses to play this fundamental role by offering full extent education and training. The health care providers and other health staffs such as healthcare organizations, government, businesses, and insurance firms, among others, should collaborate with nurses to play their role in the realization change and advanced health.

The primary goal of nursing education has remained the same, where they should be prepared to address diverse patient’s need, function as a leader, and advance in science for benefits of patients. Also, the nurses should ensure that the education they receive it offers capacity for other health professionals to foster safe, and high-quality patient care Gorski et al., (2015). Effective delivery of professional nursing services, stable foundation of graduates needs to be established through preparing them to collaborate and work closely with other health professionals in a complex and emerging health care structures in different settings. For entry-level of nurses, for instance, that should offer a smooth transition from their education programs for the preparation of various practice settings with an increased emphasis on community and public health environments. For advanced practice program that permit the professionals from assuming to their role of providing primary care, acute care, prolonged care, and speciality practices need to be established Pool et al., (2018). As such, it was grounded by Action campaign by AARP and RWJF through the guide of IMO outline with the primary aim of improving the health in the country through transforming the nursing profession. The goal of the coalition has recommended in IMO report has portrayed positive results of progression, and most colleges and universities with nursing schools have created new programs than facilitating academic continuity. As such, nursing education transformation has played a critical role in the provision of advanced and high-quality care that is free from the high risk associated when handling patients.

Nurse Shortage

The nursing shortage has tremendously increased in the United States, the aspect that has triggered advocacy for nurse staffing as one of the remedies to eradicate it. The nurse shortage is where the demand for nursing professionals have exceeded the supply within health care facility at local, national or globally. The deficit can primarily be measured in when the ratio of nurse-to-patient, nurse-to-population, or the figure of employment opening requirements are higher of nurses than what is currently available Johnson et al., (2016). In the United States, the history of nurse shortage can mainly be traced in the mid-1930s. The first series of scarcity can be located during World War II that plagued the United States health care system over 50 years. The common shortage of nurses was accelerated by the demand-driven shortages of augmented use of registered nurses due to social, economic, technological, and health-related events. The high demand for hospital use, changes in hospital constructions, the complexity of care need by patients and a high number of nurses that offered bedside care, as well as reduction of working prompted the shortage. After the post –World War II, health care and nursing leaders thought that the incorporated nurses in the military would resume in the industry, but it didn’t happen. The economic aspect has improved the feature that made most individuals be attracted in the profession and pursue the program.

According to United States Bureau of Labor Statistics produced a report in Nursing Times showing that for the problem to be eradicated in 2022, additional of 11 million nurses need to be incorporated in the system. Multiple studies have been conducted to give the primary reasons why the profession is being faced with such issue and how they feel about their career. Some of the psychological studies ascertained that nurses experienced burnout and turnovers the aspects that compromised love for the profession and effective delivery of high-quality patient care Johnson et al., (2016). In the country, the job continues to face shortages due to inadequate potential educators, higher turnovers, and unevenly distribution of the workforce. The ageing population in America come 2029 will be significant enough to require improved and high-quality care. The ageing population in the profession is also substantial that will leave a considerable gap if the training and incorporation of upcoming nurses are not done.

As a consequence, the nursing shortage leads to several inferior complications to both patients and nurses themselves. The errors increased morbidity, and death rates are the common issues reported in health care that have a significant impact. In hospitals where the ratio of patients is always high than the nurses, they experience burnout, dissatisfaction, and high patient death rates are experienced as compared to otherwise Johnson et al., (2016). To counteract the issue health industry has started integrating nurse staffing ratio for better job satisfaction, increased retention rates, and minimal desire to quit the profession. Making appropriate and safe nurse staffing can be a primary solution to decrease errors, increased patient contentment, as well as increase nurse’s retention rates. The other clinical significance is that the health industry through understanding nurse shortage a focus and plan can be made to train more nurses in different colleges and universities to replace the retiring population Pool et al., (2018). The focus can also be made on addressing the issues that nurses face in the line of their duties to avoid burnout and turnovers for effective and efficient delivery of high stand care to patients and their benefits as a career.

Informatics in Nursing

The other most important issue in nursing as a profession today is the health informatics that has substantially improved nursing practice. The nursing profession is drastically changing to abide by technological advancements in the healthcare arena. Informatics is playing a pivotal role in the healthcare industry. As technological advances, health providers and organizations, their work of collecting, analyzing and leveraging data more effectively has been facilitated (Mcgonigle, 2017). Also, the system has influenced the mechanism in which the care is being administered, management of resources, and teamwork coordination. Informatics has produced a significant impact in the nursing practice with the roles they play remaining unchanged. Multiple studies show that United States is being faced with severe challenges of an ageing population, incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases, as well as the shortage is nurses and doctors, and informatics seems to offer a stable platform to address the main issues (Roux & Halstead, 2017). Hospitals are portraying substantial interest in reducing costs and concentrating on home cares from hospital care due to information and communication technologies.

The use of mobile health devices, portable technologies, and other devices has helped in supporting remote patient monitoring at-home settings. Another field that informatics has significantly impacted nursing as a profession is through documentation. In the modern era, nurses are using electronic health records to store their information and patient’s medical information that can be accessed easily when in need. Evidence has shown that the use of electronic charting had facilitated nurses to extract information rapidly and efficiently to recuperate the daily performance with consistent workflow. The use of electronic health records has also facilitated proper storage of patient’s information for safety and provision of high-quality care. Through health informatics, has also offered solid grounds that that are integral parts of providing coordinated care in nursing (Roux & Halstead, 2017). The ability established by tracking staff, workflow, and communication have helped nurses to recognize areas where current processes can be upgraded. As such, can ensure staffing levels remain sufficient, the aspect which is critical for providing the very best care for the expense of patients. In health care settings, nurses have been faced with substantial burnouts and turnover due to long working hours, making others feel dissatisfied with the profession. The health informatics has simplified long working hours due to the efficiency of operating and fostering care to the patients. The criterion of structuring out staffing has equilibrated patient-to-nurse ratio that has facilitated the delivery of high standard care on time. The other clinical importance that health informatics has offered in nursing practice is the ability to analyze mass quantities of data collected concerning patients, and the results help in giving best approaches to treat different situations (Mcgonigle, 2017). Extensive data collection and substantial data collection, the more accurate for findings and suitable conclusions. The exponential growth of informatics in nursing as a career as created virgin job titles to individuals with clinical knowledge.

Conclusion

In summation, nursing is one of the current profession that is exponentially growing at a faster rate in the United States. The increased demand of the patients that require care and job being appealing career has triggered the tremendous interest among the population. The profession has the most critical issue in the modern era that is significant in improving patient care and the entire health industry. Some of the essential aspects that nursing as a profession has focused on include education transformation, nursing shortage, and health informatics.

Education transformation has significantly been recommended by the IOM report of 2010 by focusing on the full intent of education and training that is meant to improve the nursing workability and overall healthcare. The nursing shortage has also produced a positive outcome that has made several approaches to be incorporated in nursing practice that are significant for better healthcare performance. The health informatics through the incorporation of various electronics has also established stable settings that permit proper storage of patient information, monitor progress, and solve some of the issues nurses they face in the profession. The nursing as a profession portrays some of the personal benefits of acquiring a living and at the same time offer services to the society to the individuals who are in need.

References

The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health: Health and Medicine Division. (2018, October 19). Retrieved from http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health.aspx

Gorski, M. S., Farmer, P. D., Sroczynski, M., Close, L., & Wortock, J. M. (2015). Nursing Education Transformation: Promising Practices in Academic Progression. Journal of Nursing Education, 54(9), 509-515. doi:10.3928/01484834-20150814-05

Johnson, W. G., Butler, R., Harootunian, G., Wilson, B., & Linan, M. (2016). Registered Nurses: The Curious Case of a Persistent Shortage. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 48(4), 387-396. doi:10.1111/jnu.12218

Mcgonigle. (2017). Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Pool, N., Koithan, M., & Ringdahl, D. (2018). Nursing as an Integrative Healthcare Profession. Integrative Nursing, 350-362. doi:10.1093/med/9780190851040.003.0023

Roux, G., & Halstead, J. A. (2017). Issues and Trends in Nursing. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.