Implementation of the IOM Future of Nursing Report
The Institute of Medicine report, the Future of Nursing is a thorough examination that contains how nurses should change their roles and responsibilities together with education systems. The changes are aimed at being able to adequately take care of the aging population, the highly diverse population and responding to the complex healthcare system which is rapidly evolving. The main aim of the future of nursing is to lead change and advance health. The plan was launched by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Committee Initiative (Institute of Medicine, US, 2016). The report highlights that the reforms will succeed with the strengthening of nurses who make up the largest component of the healthcare profession. The reforms will succeed with the involvement of nurses in different capacities including leadership development.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) came up with the RWJF initiative upon observing that available and high-quality care cannot be achieved in the absence of exceptional nursing care and leadership. The foundation also sponsored all the activities of the committee. The initiative came up due to the collaboration of the IOM with staff from RWJF. The team took up different roles to provide expertise in nursing, research, and communications(Institute of Medicine, US, 2016). The Committee on The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation was given the mandate to come up with a report regarding the possible changes in the nursing profession at different levels.
The committee conceptualized the role of nurses and evaluated the current issues affecting the profession including shortage, societal and technological issues. The committee also focused on the expansion of the nursing faculty and increase of the capacity of schools of nursing. It also aimed at coming up with a plan to redesign the structure of nursing education such that an adequate number of nurses could be produced to meet not only current but also future needs(Institute of Medicine, US, 2016). RWJF also examined the innovative solutions for both the health care system and education for the health care workforce. Finally, RWJF also came up with strategies that could be used to attract and retain nurses in the different fields of the nursing profession.
The initiative is essential for the transformation of care provided to all the Americans. The primary goal of the initiative is to increase access to healthcare, improve quality and reduce costs. There are many it is also essential for the advancement of nursing education. Americans who are currently struggling with the issue of access to healthcare. The nation has not yet achieved the countrywide coverage and access to healthcare as targeted, unlike the other developed countries. The future of nursing highlights the plan to see everyone obtain care which is accessible and affordable (Ellerbe&Regen, 2012). There is a high disease burden among the poor population in America, and most of the diseases could have been diagnosed and treated early with adequate access to healthcare. The disease burden of chronic illness is very high among the poor populations, and these could be avoided if these minority communities afforded a routine wellness checkup and followed up.
The implementation of the strategies laid down in the future of nursing will lead to the delivery of high-quality care to patients and the society as a whole. The quality of healthcare is a growing concern in the modern world as many clients are worried not just about care provision but high-quality care(Ellerbe & Regen, 2012). Surprisingly, research shows that the quality of care is on the decline given that the nursing profession which makes up the greatest component of the health care workforce is on the decline.
The quality of care in the United States has not reached the desired levels given that the disease burden of the nation is increasing due to growing elderly population yet the number of nurses has remained relatively the same. The demand for nurses is outgrowing the supply, and according to Snavely (2016),it is estimated that there will be around 1.2 million vacancies in the nursing profession by the year 2022. Understaffing deems nurses incapable of providing high-quality care given the high nurse-patient ratios and overtime job. The patients suffer from many adverse events which lower the quality of care. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Committee Initiative and the Institute of Medicine report, therefore, aims at overcoming these challenges and giving patients the best quality of care possible.
Minimization of costs is also another concern for the health care professionals in the modern world. The medical profession is not just a clinical entity but also a business entity that aims at making profits in the long run(Ellerbe & Regen, 2012). The provision of high-quality care draws more clients to the hospital which reflects as better income. A satisfactory quality of care also avoids the challenge of adverse patient events, and the hospital does not incur excessive costs related to compensation of the affected patients and families.
There is need to have better nursing education as outlined in the committee report. The health care profession needs very high qualified nurses who can offer care based on their academic background and engage in health care policy development. Improvement of the nursing education will facilitate the bridging of the gaps in the health care delivery system concerning professionals (Grossman & Valiga, 2016). Nurses are at liberty to step up into the interdisciplinary opportunities in the profession upon the implementation of the healthcare reforms.
The role of the committees is to work towards the achievement of the recommendations made for the future of nursing by the IOM report. The states have the mandate to come up with an individualized plan which suits the needs of each state. The action committees carry bout campaigns and implement strategies to actualize the IOM report(Grossman & Valiga, 2016). The different states of the United States come up with plans that suit their needs in an individualized manner as well as meet the IOM recommendations. The action emphasizes the involvement of individuals at the grassroots levels hence encouraging support to the strategy.
The California Action Coalition (CA AC) has taken up several strategies for the success of the IOM report on the future of nursing. The state has been able to achieve significant developments despite the numerous stumbling blocks encountered. California has had an 8.3% increase in the number of Baccalaureate nurses prepared. 61.5% of all the nurses in California currently have a BSN degree or higher (Bellot et al, 2013). The state has also implemented various leadership mentorship programs to equip nurses with the necessary skills for leadership.
The main challenge facing the California action coalition is the refusal for change and the maintenance of status quo. Some nursing professionals are laggards and do not desire to see the implementation of change. Such individuals are not willing to come out of their comfort zones and as a result the campaigns take long to take root. Nurses also lag behind in strengthening and uniting with each other for action. The primary solution to this problem is to divide nurses into small and manageable groups where they can encourage each other to embrace the change(Grossman & Valiga, 2016). Creating short term wins for each team is essential for each member to feel appreciated in the whole encounter.
References
Bellot, J. L., Carthron, D., O’Connor, M., Rose, K., Shillam, C., Van Cleave, J., & Vogelsmeier, A. (2013). Advancing the Future of Nursing: A Report by the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing.
Ellerbe, S., & Regen, D. (2012). Responding to health care reform by addressing the Institute of Medicine report on the future of nursing. JONA’S healthcare law, ethics and regulation, 14(4), 124-128.
Grossman, S., & Valiga, T. M. (2016). The new leadership challenge: Creating the future of nursing. FA Davis.
Institute of Medicine (US). Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Snavely, T. M. (2016). A brief economic analysis of the looming nursing shortage in the United States. Nursing Economics, 34(2), 98.
