Introduction
In the book ‘Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health’, a report published by Robert Wood in collaboration with the Institute of Medicine has been given much priority. The book was published by the National Academic Press in 2011. It addresses major milestones in the United States health care system and proposes more pragmatic solutions to high quality and affordable healthcare delivery. It primarily suggests ways of improving nursing care largely by instituting proper training and capacity building among the nursing fraternity. Besides, the social context of the book attempts to address rapid changes taking place in healthcare systems as well as highlighting barriers that undermine competence in the nursing profession (Dee & Garver, 2009).
A brief overview of the book
This book has several sections which were intentionally created to enhance readability. In its content, there is a brief summary followed by an overview of the report. Additionally, there is a section addressing fundamental issues in the nursing profession. This section elaborates on how to transform education, nursing practice and leadership in meeting the needs of the nursing workforce. Moreover, there is an appendix that contains the author’s information as well as data sources (Johnson, 2011).
Meanwhile, Wood points out the need of reinforcing collective responsibility in reforming education that will empower skills in nursing (Anon., 2010). The author urges policymakers, educators and stakeholders to coordinate in improving competence in the nursing workforce. By so doing, they will be in a position to eliminate regulatory hindrances to nursing practices. Additionally, he points out that nursing education should be improved up to higher levels of study to give room to those willing to advance their skills (Anon, 2010). Emphasizing that, he asserts that nurses have been obscured from practicing to the full term of their training, occasioning them to serve primary roles only.
Being a visionary author, Wood laments that implementing interdisciplinary education will help the nursing fraternity gain a wide range of skills and competencies. Moreover, the Institute of Medicine has collaborated with Wood on ensuring that the number of nurses doubles by 2020 (Anon., 2010). This will greatly assist in reducing the shortage of nurses. They also aim at improving earnings and benefits that are market competitive, in order to encourage more entry of nursing students for training purposes. It is evident that there is increased demand for health care. This has compelled the author to feel that nurses should work collaboratively with other healthcare personnel in assuming leadership responsibilities (Johnson, 2011).
Strength of the book
Certainly, Wood’s initiative has triggered public attention to explore challenges and consider the opportunities in nursing care and training. It is imperative to note that his vision is long-term that will have a positive attribute towards a nursing career (Institute of Medicine, 2010). Moreover, this report has strongly synthesized on shortage of nurses and increased demand for health services (Dee & Garver, 2009). The author is a bit critical in devising ways of solving nursing care challenges in the new millennium. Indeed, the book is an eye-opener to various levels of governance on improving health care services related to nursing (Institute of Medicine, 2009).
Weakness of the book
Contrastingly, the report failed to elaborate on various roles played by nurses in hospitals. It is controversial in the sense that roles executed by nurses in hospitals do not rhyme with what they are trained. In most cases, hospitals design tasks for nurses that sometimes they have no idea how to perform duties (Meleis, 2011). They only perform to secure their positions. Moreover, although the United States government is making efforts to transform its health care services, this does not solely consider nurses only (Institute of Medicine, 2010).
Critique summary
Wood should have tried to address other health care providers like doctors since they are affected in some ways in spite of the healthcare services they offer to patients. It is definite that improving nursing care per se may not fully transform healthcare delivery to patients. Other fields are also necessary if efficient and up-to-date health care will be a reality to the populace (Dreher Glasgow & Mazurek, 2010). Therefore, the report needs to be rectified in order to capture larger areas of health care such as insurance. This will ensure that health services are accessible and also affordable to all in need (Institute of Medicine, 2009).
Recommendation/Conclusion
To recap it all, it is highly recommended for relevant government officials to peruse the report since it is useful for nursing care planning and improvement. Such a report may be adopted as a guide in transforming the nursing workforce. Moreover, it is also a wake-up call for government agencies dealing with healthcare to boost capacity building and training of nurses.
References
Anon. (2011). Institute of Medicine Report: The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Web.
Dee M. & Garver, M. (2009). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. Ontario: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
Dreher, M., Glasgow, M. & Mazurek, M. (2010). Role Development for Doctoral Advanced Nursing Practice. New York: Springer Publishing Company, Inc.
Institute of Medicine (2009). A Summary of the October 2009 Forum on the Future of Nursing: Acute Care. Washington DC: National Academic Press.
Institute of Medicine. (2010). A Summary of the October 2009 Forum on the Future of Nursing: Acute Care. Washington DC: National Academic Press.
Johnson, W. (2010). A Summary of the February 2010 Forum on the Future of Nursing: Education. Washington DC: National Academic Press.
Johnson, W. (2011).The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington DC: National Academies Press
Meleis, I. (2011). Theoretical Nursing: Development and Progress. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.