Continued Professional Development

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Body
Conclusion
References

Introduction

In the United States, the nursing profession is facing numerous challenges in providing quality, safe, and effective healthcare. Patient needs are becoming complex with time because the population is aging, hence demanding special care that overwhelms nurses. As an attempt to reform the nursing profession, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends that nurses should pursue lifelong education so that they can gain necessary competencies, which are critical in meeting the diverse needs of patients across all ages (Macintyre, Murray, Teel, & Karshmer, 2009).

Besides allowing nurses to pursue a lifelong education, IOM also recommends that, by 2020, 80% of nurses should have a baccalaureate degree, while those with doctorate education should double their number. In this view, this essay examines how current nurses fit into IOM recommendations in terms of job markets and the role of future nursing.

Body

The IOM recommendations that nurses with a baccalaureate degree should comprise 80% of nurses, while those with a doctorate education should double by the year 2020, will have a significant impact on job markets. Currently, the job market for nurses in the United States is not very competitive as the health care system is experiencing a considerable shortage of nurses. Some of the factors that contribute to the shortage of nurses are insufficient teaching staff and limited clinical sites (Fitzgerald, Gordon, Katz, & Hirsch, 2012). Hence, insufficient numbers of students can access nursing education and clinical experience whereas the demand for nurses is increasing with time.

According to Macintyre, Murray, Teel, Cynthia, & Karshmer (2009), in the United States, “more than 40,000 qualified applicants were denied admission to baccalaureate and graduate programs in 2007 because of limited faculty and clinical education sites” (p. 447). Therefore, increasing the capacity of nursing education will increase the number of qualified nurses. From the perspective of the job market, it implies that increasing the level of education will enable nurses to gain a competitive advantage in the job market that is gradually shrinking.

Increasing the number of nurses with baccalaureate and doctorate levels of education will transform the role of nurses in the health care system. IOM recommendations “call for nurses to practice to the full extent of their education and training, attain higher levels of education and become full partners with physicians in redesigning health care” (Potera, 2011, p. 14). When nurses attain high levels of education, they will expand their roles proportionately to include leadership roles in the health care system. Since nurses face many challenges that range from institutional to policy issues, nurses can resolve these issues if they can partner with the management.

Therefore, the IOM envisions that “nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other healthcare professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States” (Munro, & Savel, 2011, p. 189). By collaborating with other professionals in the health care system, nurses can identify problems, propose solutions, formulate policies, and implement policies as a way of redesigning the roles of nurses in the health care system. Hence, increasing the educational level provides an opportunity where nurses can expand their roles beyond providing health care to patients.

Conclusion

In conclusion, given that the health care system is becoming complex with time as it experiences a shortage of nurses, the promotion of educational development is an effective strategy for increasing the number of nurses. On this basis, the IOM recommendations are timely because nurses need to increase their expertise and expand their roles in nursing so that they can alleviate problems in the health care system.

References

Fitzgerald, C., Gordon, I., Katz, J., & Hirsch, A. (2012). Advanced practice nursing education: Challenges and strategies. Nursing Research and Practice, 20(12), 1-8.

Macintyre, R., Murray, T., Teel, C., & Karshmer, J. (2009). Five recommendations for prelicensure clinical nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 489(8), 447-453.

Munro, C., & Savel, R. (2011). Critical care and the future of nursing. American Journal of Critical Care, 20(2): 188-199.

Potera, C. (2011). Red Cross nursing aligns with IOM recommendations. American Journal of Nursing, 111(2), 14.

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Continued Professional Development

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