The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health” focuses on a number of initiatives that can be implemented to ensure nurse practitioners (NPs) meet the needs of more underserved populations. The report was informed by the major gaps that were making it impossible for nurses to achieve advanced educational levels and practice in accordance with their skills. This paper describes the impact of the 2010 IOM report on different aspects of nursing practice.
Impact of the Report on Nursing Education
According to the IOM report of 2010, different states had failed to evolve with the changing needs of patients and their healthcare providers. Nurses who had completed their educational levels were unable to offer specific care due to the nature of laws and policies in different states. The report, therefore, proposes that nurses should be allowed to practice and offer care depending on their competencies. Additionally, curriculum developers were encouraged to develop better programs that could equip learners with adequate competencies and make it easier for them to practice in different health settings (Hassmiller & Reinhard, 2015). The inclusion of residency programs, according to the report, could ensure that more nurses were able to offer timely and high-quality acute care.
New changes in the country’s health education system can ensure that every student is equipped with appropriate competencies, concepts, and ideas. The targeted practitioners will deliver safe, efficient, personalized, high-quality, and culturally competent care across all settings (Hooper, 2016). The new education system should empower nurses to make critical decisions and practice in diverse settings. The system should also expand every skill associated with the profession such as leadership, evidence-based practice, and teamwork. The model will also ensure that nurses have “opportunities for seamless transition to higher degree programs” (Campbell, 2017, p. 165). That being the case, the implementation of the IOM report will result in an improved nursing education that meets the health needs of more citizens. It will also become a platform that supports the concept of lifelong learning.
Impact on Nursing Practice: Primary Care
The IOM report is expected to transform the quality and nature of health services available in different primary care settings. To begin with, when nurses achieve advanced levels of learning, it becomes easier for them to provide quality care. The report also proposes a situation whereby nurses can practice to the extent of their training or education (Hassmiller & Reinhard, 2015). This means that they can use their skills efficiently to meet the needs of more persons in need of primary care. When nurses partner with different health professionals, it will be easier for them to design superior models for delivering quality primary care. The report also suggests that an effective planning will empower nurses to prescribe drugs, diagnose illnesses, and admit patients. Such measures will eventually improve the quality of primary services available to more citizens.
Personally, I will develop a new philosophy that can be updated periodically in an attempt to achieve my objectives. I will engage in continuous learning, complete different programs, and focus on new concepts that can support my goals as a nurse practitioner. I will focus on the best approaches to improve my communication, critical thinking, and leadership competencies. I will form new teams to ensure quality services are available to more patients. I will also engage in lifelong learning in order to acquire new skills and concepts that can make me a competent provider of evidence-based and high-quality health services. I will make timely decisions to meet the needs of patients in need of primary care. I will use my cultural competences to address the needs of more people from diverse backgrounds. Such changes in my practice will make it easier for me to meet the goals of the IOM report.
Impact on the Nurse’s Leadership Role
The report indicates that all healthcare professionals can collaborate to offer efficient and timely health services. A new style of management or leadership is needed is this objective is to be achieved. The IOM report promotes a new approach whereby practitioners share roles, ideas, and decisions (Campbell, 2017). Every participant should, therefore, be keen to act as a change agent and implement desirable action plans. Leadership attributes should also be exhibited by every nurse. Future practitioners will become competent leaders who possess adequate competencies such as good communication, attentive listening, and problem-solving.
With this kind o leadership, more nurses will become partners and focus on new concepts that can result in positive patient outcomes. Specific competencies such as ethics, policy making, patient safety, process improvement, cost management will be exhibited by every nurse (Hooper, 2016). Consequently, nurses will assume a wide range of leadership roles in different settings to ensure quality services are available to more patients.
Conclusion
The recommendations outlined in the IOM report are aimed at supporting evidence-based ideas to improve the United States’ health system and ensure that every nurse is capable of delivering desirable patient care. The report supports issues such as redefined leadership, education attainment, and improved care delivery models. If every stakeholder in the country’s health system embraces such recommendations, it will be easier for nurse practitioners to respond to the evolving health needs of every citizen.
References
Campbell, K. N. (2017). History, passion, and performance. Workplace Health & Safety, 65(4), 164-167. Web.
Hassmiller, S. B., & Reinhard, S. C. (2015). A bold new vision for America’s health care system. Nursing Outlook, 63(1), 41-47. Web.
Hooper, V. D. (2016). The Institute of Medicine report on the future of nursing: Where are we 5 years later? Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 31(5), 367-369. Web.