Essay on The Future of Nursing

Nursing should not be looked upon or practiced as a mere physical approach to healing. Nursing should encompass the aspect of restoring each individual patient to his/her maximum physical and emotional state of being. In order to achieve such a goal, a patient must be able to bond with her caregiver on a personal level (Blais & Hayes, 2011). Jean Watson’s caritas factors sets an environment where the patient can obtain optimum health benefits (Blais & Hayes, 2011). The goal of this paper is to state my philosophy of nursing, the important dynamics and values that led me to adopting this philosophy, and the reason why I choose nursing as a profession. I will further explain how Jean Watson’s principles of philosophy is

Current literature continues to reiterate the indicators of a major shortage of registered nurses (RNs) in the United States. The total RN population has been increasing since 1980, which means that we have more RNs in this country than ever before (Nursing Shortage). Even though the RN population is increasing, it is growing at a much slower rate then when compared to the rate of growth of the U.S. population (Nursing Shortage). We are seeing less skilled nurses “at a time of an increasingly aging population with complex care

Burkhardt, M. & Nathaniel, A. (2008). Ethics & issues: In contemporary nursing, (3rd ed.) Clifton Park, NJ: Delmar

The US healthcare system is no stranger to nursing shortages. It is a recurring problem we have been faced with for the past seven decades. However, what we will be faced with between now and 2025 is a predicament of far greater proportion than ever encountered before. “Considering the impact this prolonged shortage will have on the USA health care system, nursing and other health-related organizations have even brought their concerns to lawmakers in the central government for immediate consideration” (Janiszewski Goodin 335). This quote is from 2003 and sadly, the state of today’s nursing shortage is still blatantly apparent. Not necessarily because nothing was done back in 2003 to fix it, but

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) will have a great effect on nursing. According to this article nursing will have to change it role in the ACA and the three main categories that need to be changed and redeveloped is transforming practice, education and leadership.

The nursing profession has experienced shortages many times in the past. This pattern was cyclical, with periods of high vacancy rates followed by layoffs and an oversupply of registered nurses. Today, we are experiencing another drought for nursing, but due to many factors, this shortage is different from anything the profession has witnessed in previous years. There are many that feel this shortage is severe and prolonged because the solution is complicated, and not simply a matter of a decrease in the number of registered nurses in the United States.

Patients, in any healthcare setting, deserve respect and care that is centered on their unique needs. Nurses and health care are required to assist them to achieve this goal. Changing the health care system will require us to reestablish our

The health care industry is ever changing, requiring the practice of nursing to be continually transformed. Since nurses are in direct, constant contact with patients, we are in a position to facilitate change and it is our duty to be proactive in the processes that have a positive effect in our field. Likewise, it is imperative that nurses be actively involved in education in order to stay abreast of new evidenced based processes that will result in increased positive outcomes while elevating patient care. This paper will discuss initiatives set for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Committee (RWJF) on the Future of Nursing and the

Being a registered nurse affords one the option of working in many diverse healthcare settings. In any practice setting the climate of health care change is evident. There are diverse entities involved in the implementation and recommendation of these practice changes. These are led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), nursing campaign for action initiatives, as well as individual state-based action coalitions. Nurses need to be prepared and cognizant of the transformations occurring in health care settings as well as the plans that put them at the forefront of the future.

Nursing goes beyond caring for a patient during their illness and managing their disease process. Nursing includes adapting to a patient’s and their family’s physical, social, spiritual, environmental and psychological needs. I believe in treating the whole patient and being supportive of the family’s needs as well. Shelly & Miller (2006) asserts “while critical thinking, decision-making, and leadership skills are extremely important, the characteristics nurses need most are compassion, competence, faith, integrity and responsibility” (p. 291).

Nursing theories are the support of nursing practice today. They are significant to nursing practice, education and scientific research because they help to determine, what is already known, and what additional knowledge and skills are needed. Nurses are usually first exposed to nursing theories during nursing education and further exposure comes from hands on training. The gained knowledge, about nursing theories, through education and training enhances better outcomes for patients and caregivers, allows application of professional boundaries, and assists in decision making. In this paper I will attempt to analyze, in general, the importance of nursing theory to the nursing profession; discuss middle-range theory, furthermore Benner’s

Technology and innovation have transformed the way people function personally and professionally. In the past, writing and mailing a letter was standard but now most people send electronic messages and text messages to phones. Healthcare has been changing tremendously as well, not only are paper charts and records becoming obsolete, but now many facilities are sharing test results, visit information details, and prescribed drug lists. This move into the digital age has helped improve healthcare by cutting costs in the long-term, increasing efficiency with decreased wait times, and reducing medical errors. This evolving technology expansion, commonly referred to as nursing informatics has created many

Nursing is universal in the sense that nurses can be found almost in all countries around the world (Henderson, 1978). They are in the hospitals, in school clinics, in the community centres, residential homes and even play major roles in some of the popular soap operas in television. There are even television shows that mainly revolve around nurses and which chronicles what they do at work - both the positive and the negative. It is one of the most visible and easily identifiable occupations as compared for example to other occupations such as engineers, managers or even pharmacists, medical technologists and other health related occupations. This is partly because of what nurses do and most especially how nurses look - with some still

The continuous transformation of the health care field through the introduction of new technology tools has contributed to the need for nurses to stay current with new trends and keep track of what is on the horizon. However, these rapid technological changes and advancements in the health care field have seemingly precluded any probability of anticipating the future. As a result, nurses and other health care professionals can prepare for the future by remaining open to and informed about new possibilities. Despite of these relative difficulties in anticipating the future, every specialty area of nursing continues to develop unique innovations that improve the ability of nurses to practice effectively.

Nursing is a profession that blends the rich traditions of the past with the ever changing realities of today's health care industry. Nursing is not simply an assortment of special skills and the nurse is not simply a person proficient in performing these specific tasks. Nursing is a profession. I believe this statement to be true because of several factors. The Title 19 Code for Nurses is titled "Standards for Professional Nursing Practice". The status of nursing as a profession reflects the values that society places on the work of nurses and how central nursing is to the good of society. "By being a professional we imply that the person is conscientious in actions, knowledgeable in the subject and