The Importance of the IOM “Future of Nursing” Report to Nursing Issues

The Importance of the IOM “Future of Nursing” Report to Nursing Issues

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a private philanthropy, it is the nation’s largest and is dedicated solely to improving the health and healthcare of Americans. In October 2010, the Institute of Medicine published a report called “The Future of Nursing, Leading Change, Advancing Health”, (National Academy of Sciences, 2010). This report was produced in a collaboration between the Institute of Medicine and The Robert Wood Jonson Foundation who together in 2009 launched an initiative on the Future of Nursing to address ways to reduce the nursing shortage and improving the quality of healthcare, (Davis, American Nurse Today, 2011). The goal of this important publication is to transform the health of Americans and has a significant focus on nursing education, (Shultz, The Outcomes and Competencies Monograph, 2010). According to Shultz, this report is a pivotal publication which encompasses over 500 pages of published observations as well as studies of leading scholars, nurses included. An important feature of this report is that the emphasis is on nurses as being crucial at meeting future as well as current health care needs, not employers, physicians or insurers. What makes “The Future of Nursing” report so important is that it recognizes the distinctive qualities that nurses bring to efforts towards healthcare reform, (Roberts, MedSurg Nursing, 2011).

The IOM “The Future of Nursing Report” is of great importance to Nursing practice, education and workforce development because it recognizes nurses alone, as being vital in bringing health care reform and that through collaboration with physicians, government, businesses and other health care disciplines. This report is important to Nursing practice because it empowers nurses and give them a blueprint in which to navigate and lead the way to reforming Health Care.

The IOM appointed the Committee on the RWJF initiative to create a report and propose recommendations. They developed a vision to totally transform Americas health care system and addressed many health care issues in America (Committee, Robert & IOM, 2011). With continuous debate about the Affordable Care Act in the Congress, a demand for quality health care was recognized and is still being argued today. The committee believed that health care should be affordable and able to meet the needs of an ever-growing diverse American population.

The IOM Report” The Future of Nursing” delivered four key messages that are vital in helping nurses lead the way in health care reform. These messages are that nurses should practice to the full extent of their training and education, and that through an improved educational system that promotes seamless academic progression, nurses should achieve higher levels of training and education. Nurses should have full partnerships with physicians and other health care professionals. Better data collection and infrastructure is needed for effective workforce planning and policy making.

The IOM Report, “The Future of Nursing is of importance to nursing practice, education as well as workforce development because it recommends the removal of scope-of-practice barriers, and also encouraging nurses to engage in lifelong learning as well as recommending that 80% of nurses earn a baccalaureate degree by 2020, Ulrich, Nephrology Nursing Journal, 2010). This detailed report had and continues to have an important impact on nursing at areas such as individual, organizational and policy levels, (University of Saint Mary, 2019). According to University of Saint Mary, The IOM report addresses how health care is changing due to demographics, technology and other factors that affect the demands and expectations on nursing as well as recognizing obstacles that nurses face such as regulatory, policy barriers as well as historical. The report found that state regulations created inflexible working environments and were limiting, such as individual states having their own Nurse Practice Acts that cover nursing education standards, licensure requirements, scope of practice and more. needed in developing exact predictions of the kind and number of the workforce needed.

State Action Coalitions are considered “the driving force of the Campaign”, this is due to their ability to effect change at local levels by working as a network These State Coalition member’s focus on priority areas from the Campaign, ( Allen, Potee, Voas, National Academy of Sciences, 2016). These coalitions focus on how to improve health standards for most Americans and on issues such as partnering with other sectors of the economy to improve healthcare and to reduce healthcare cost. Action Coalitions work with the campaign to enact the Institute of Medicine report recommendations. In this writer’s state, the Florida Action Coalition focuses to provide leadership and advancing the nursing profession in order to provide Floridians with access to high quality and safe health care, where nurses are essential partners contributing in this process, (Campaign for Action, 2019).

Two initiative spearheaded by the State of Florida action coalition are Increasing Diversity in Nursing and Improving population health by building healthier communities. Florida Action Coalition gathered together with diverse nurse leaders from throughout the state in the fall of 2014 in order to create a diversity think tank. These participants joined forces to find a common ground to direct nursing policies and develop a plan to increase the number of nurse leaders from diverse backgrounds in Florida. In spring of 2015, another round table was held to further disseminate and develop strategies to improve diversity in nursing leadership with input from the Philippine Nurses Association of America Northeast Florida. This is an important move as in 2015, 90 % of the nation’s nurses were female and 83% of the nation’s nurses were white, (Campaign for Action, 2015).Fostering and creating a more diverse workforce of nurses reflecting America’s changing demographics helps in providing culturally competent care and reducing health disparities among different ethnic, racial, religious and socio-economic groups.

The Florida Action Coalition partners with nonprofit organizations, businesses and schools to help build healthier communities. Nurses play an important role in addressing various aspects of health in order to build healthier communities. In addition to helping build healthier communities the North Central Florida HealthCare Coalition helps communities to prepare for emergencies and disasters, in order to maintain the health of the population and have healthier outcomes during the event of Hurricane or other disaster, (Northcentral Florida HealthCare Coalition, 2019).

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References

Action Coalitions – Future of Nursing. (2019). Retrieved August 2, 2019, from https://campaignforaction.org/our-network/state-action-coalitions/

Allen, K., Potee, R., & Voas, J. (2016, May 6). The Communities That Care Coalition Model for Improving Community Health through Clinical Community Partnerships: A Population Health Case Report. Retrieved August 2, 2019, from https://name:edu/the communites-that-care-coalition-model-for-improving-comminty-health-through-clinical-partnerships

Building a More Diverse Nursing Workforce. (2015, April 22). Retrieved August 2, 2019, from https://campaignforaction.org/building-diverse-nursing-workforce/

Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine., Robert Wood Johnson Foundation., & Institute of Medicine (U.S.). (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press

Davis, H., Jr., RN, BSN. (2011, April 11). A staff nurse perspective on the IOM Future of Nursing Report. Retrieved August 2, 2019, from www.americannursetoday.com

Roberts, D., MSN. (2011). What is the Future of Nursing? MedSurg Nursing, 20(5). Retrieved August 2, 2019

Shultz, C. M. (2010). Transformation: The Institute of Medicine Report on the Future of Nursing. The Outcomes and Competencies Monograph, 31(6). Retrieved August 2, 2019.

The Institute of Medicine’s “Future of Nursing” Report: Key Messages. (2019). Retrieved August 2, 2019, from https://online.stmary.edu/rn-bsn/resources/iom-report-part-1

Ulrich, B., EdD, RN, FACHE, FAAN. (2010). The Future of Nursing. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 37(6). Retrieved August 2, 2019.

Update on IOM committee on the Future of Nursing. (2010, March/April). Retrieved August 2, 2019, from www.NursingWorld.org

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