Institute of Medicine’s 2010 Report -The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health Review

Institute of Medicine’s 2010 Report -The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health Review

The IOM report on nursing has four main points for the nurses to apply. The first point is that the nurses should be in a position to maximize their knowledge in practice. Their work station should provide enough exposure to the nurses to their work projects. The second point is that the nurses need to get regular training that will advance their knowledge of nursing. It should be integrated into the system so that nurses can easily get access to higher education at an affordable rate. It will improve their performance at work and grow them into fully fledged professionals. The nurses are encouraged to become partners with the other stakeholders in health care. This kind of partnership will be instrumental in making the health care system in the United States more efficient and developed. The final message from the report is that data collection and information structures should be improved so that the planning and policy-making processes of the health care systems are improved. With the right data and workforce, the health care system will change for the best. It is important to note that the issue of health care in the system is constantly changing with the advancement in technology and nursing cannot be left behind.

The IOM has a direct influence on nursing education and nursing leadership because it points out all the shortcomings that have been identified and provided workable recommendations. For instance, the opportunities for collaboration within health care should be improved. Nurses are capable of handling this collaboration by leading the process. They can do this by taking their progressive learning programs seriously, having the nurses work with developers to improve the system of nursing and infuse technology into it profitably. This means that nursing as a career as it needs to be improved as the other aspects of health care improvement as well. Nurses may be well equipped to develop better services but they have to have the support of the whole system in making the improvement. The delivery of the nurses lies in the quality of leadership making decisions for them and creating sound policies and programs to make nursing more efficient. 

A nurse has to be well educated and trained so that they can meet the evolving needs of their aging and increasingly diverse population. The nursing needs of the population are ever changing. More people in the United States are living well into their old age, meaning more demand for home care for the aged. It is important that the nurses are then well trained and informed about these changes and adjust accordingly. A well-educated nurse will ensure that they apply their knowledge in caring for their clients to the best of their ability. Cases of nurses being overworked can be easily detected in how they treat their patients. Nurses who are well staffed have time to pay attention to individual patients and their needs better. They can also detect changes that take place in nursing much faster.

The professional development or lifelong learning in nursing is important as it helps maintain a healthy balance in the nursing system. A nurse who is constantly increasing their knowledge about their job is likely to become a well-experienced caregiver. Nurses have fairly a large share of contact with the patients. Professional development creates a basis for the nurse to take part in developing new working programs to make their work more efficient. They are able to develop evaluation systems for their services and the efficiency of the care system can be established. Improvement of skill has no end. There is always something new that one can learn in their profession even thirty years into the career, it also applies to nurses. 

Nurses can assist effectively in managing patient care within an evolving health care system by being educated and trained. It is also the reason why the nurses are encouraged to keep improving their skills and knowledge. Constant improvement in any career is important and generates better health care results in terms of nursing. Nurses can be supported in their undertakings by having proper support by the authorities. The policies, rules and regulations determine how well the nurses can deliver to their clients. The funding for nursing education programs also helps the nurses get access to higher education and improvement in their caring abilities. Nurses are an important part of the evolving care system today. More people require home care today as opposed to when people thought it was too costly to pay for home care nursing. Such evolutions in nursing mean that it is important for a nurse to be well educated and informed about the trends in health care. Managing patient care is the main role of a nurse, therefore all the activities that the nurse take part in, in a bid to develop better knowledge in that field are important. Nurses require proper support in their career by the government, the management of the hospitals and the society as a whole.