Professional Development& IOM report
Introduction
For the United States to provide quality care that is easily reachable to the different communities in the country, the role of the health care providers should be increased. According
to (Arnold, 2015), primary care and prevention have been identified as the critical tools to enhance the achievement of the goals of the health care system in the upcoming days. To achieve the provision of primary care and prevent together with the provision of health care services with affordable prices that minimize limited access of health care services by individuals and different communities, change in the nursing profession must occur.
Messages
The critical message that was summarized in the IOM report is as follows. The first
message is that “nurses should practice according to the training of their education and to the full
extent of it” (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,2016). Nurses pose a
lot of knowledge and skills that can aid in innovative interventions to advance the health care
system. Barriers that include regulatory, historical and policy barriers have hindered the nurses
from full utilization of their knowledge and skills to enhance widespread transformation in the
nursing profession. Most of the problems in the nursing professions are caused by varied scope
of practice related to the regulatory regimes of various states and the federal government.
Therefore, the federal government is working towards the promotion of effective reforms to
ensure the bests practices are disseminated across the country.
The second message was on an “improved education system that promotes seamless
academic progression should allow nurses to achieve higher levels of education and training”
(National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016). The changes in the health
Professional development 3
care system in the United States require an equal change in the education and training system of
the country. The improved education is in high demand to ensure that the nurses can provide
quality and safe care to the patients today and in the future.
The third message is that “nurses should partner with physicians and other health care
professionals in redesigning health care in the United States” (National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine, 2016). Nursing profession should train and mentor leaders who can
be able to represent them from the bedside to the boardroom who will play the role of
representing with other professionals in the health care and the physicians in the health care
system. The nurses should also serve well in the advocacy committee where the policy decisions
are being made to improve patient care through the advancement of the health systems.
The fourth message requires that “effective workforce planning and policy making
require better data collection and improved information infrastructure” (National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016). A balance of skills among the health care
professionals, including the nurses is vital for the change of the health care system to be
accomplished. Consistent delivery of reliable data is also required, which can be achieved
through strategic planning of the health care workforce. The information is needed to help in
determining the needs of the target populations and in the preparation of the required strategies
and interventions that help in curbing with the health problems identified.
Nursing education and leadership
Previously, the traditional nursing practice would inhibit a nurse from advancing in
learning and training because of various restriction of the nurse to develop in the areas of
practice (Arnold, 2015). The well-educated nurses are leading in the charge to bring into board
Professional development 4
the issues that are causing a rapid change in the health care system and the leadership frontline.
IOM recommends that nurses will extend their scope of practice following their higher education
and advancement in various field of nursing.
The nursing practice is turning out to be complex every day following technology
changes, reduced length of hospital stay and the complication of the client’s needs. The rapid
changes demand that the nurses need to think critically to provide high-quality care that is safer
to the patient. Better education and training of the nurses will increase the knowledge of good
health education to the patient and the entire family. Also, the nurses will be able to meet the
complication of the patient needs.
Ageing and diverse population
Currently, people are living longer than ever before, and the number of older people are
expected to increase exponentially in the future. Strategies on how to allow older people to live
for long years but at the same time depending on their self, primarily health wise. Besides,
(Altman, Butler & Shern, 2016) argues that the ageing population is placing demands on the
health care providers mainly the nurses who play a crucial role in the education of the older
adults on the management of the chronic diseases. The older adults further require high-quality
care in the hospital set up and the support to the family members and friends who are taking care
of the old loved ones with a disability and mental illnesses.
Old adults have several health care needs that nurses should be educated and well skilled
to anticipate the development of illnesses and ensure proper adjustment are made to enhance
appropriate care and optimal patient outcome. The older adults are prone to multiple chronic,
which will further cause stress and mental health challenges following polypharmacy. Nurses
Professional development 5
with leadership and critical thinking skills are required to advocate and to care for elderly
patients. In another situation, the elderly individual will have to be taken care of in home-based
care. Therefore well-educated and trained nurses are required.
Professional development
According to (Price & Reichert, 2017) professional development ensures that quality and
safe health care services are delivered to the patients consistently and is reliable to any individual
in need of health care. Health care professionals, especially the nurses, will acquire more and
new knowledge on the latest theories and evidence-based practice that will enhance the
competency of the nurse in the delivery of quality and safe health care services. Health care
professionals also develop the skills on methods of providing feedback on the practices that work
in the care of patients and on the traditions that should not be used anymore in the responsibility
of the patients. Continuous learning and lifetime learning will also ensure that new knowledge is
used in the health care system, and the old methods of intervention are not used. This because the
experience that was much useful in the past years may not be useful at the moment and may be
found to be inadequate in the care of the patients soon.
With the changing and redesigning of the health care system, nurses are assuming
expanded roles for a broader range of patients from both the community and hospital-based care
(Manning, 2016). The nurses are even taking the roles of Interprofessional collaboration that are
being called to perform. They are also involved in the expansion of health care access and
ensuring improved quality of care at a lower cost. Some of the nurses take the role of research
conduction to help in improving the quality of care that the patients receive and in enhancing
innovations that help in shaping the quality and safety of the care.
Professional development 6
References
Altman, S. H., Butler, A. S., & Shern, L. (Eds.). (2016). Assessing progress on the Institute of
Medicine report The Future of Nursing. National Academies Press.
Arnold, E. C. (2015). Identifies selected conceptual frameworks relevant to the study of client-
centred communication and professional relationships in a contemporary health care
system. Socioeconomic factors related to health care reform and the driving forces of the
Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports outlining some of the changes. Interpersonal
Relationships-E-Book: Professional Communication Skills for Nurses. 1.
Manning, J. (2016). The influence of nurse manager leadership style on staff nurse work
engagement. Journal of Nursing Administration, 46(9), 438-443.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Assessing progress on the
Institute of Medicine report The Future of Nursing. National Academies Press.
Professional development 7
Price, S., & Reichert, C. (2017). The importance of continuing professional development to
career satisfaction and patient care: meeting the needs of novice to mid-to late-career
nurses throughout their career span. Administrative Sciences, 7(2), 17.
