Nursing is a profession that is continuously fluctuating with time. In line with the increasing number of additional patients seeking treatment in American hospitals, the International Institute of Medicine published a report applauding radical alterations in healthcare affecting care providers. The report calls for an increased emphasis on basic healthcare as nurses are the principal health providers in most hospital settings. Hence, most of the recommended modifications affect the training and nurses’ practice to meet the shifting healthcare. Nurses need to receive evidence-based training to meet the current and future healthcare demands (Zolnierek, Watson & Ruiz, 2021). Therefore, this paper seeks to portray the significance of advancing nursing education in meeting my country’s healthcare needs.
Nursing education has a variety of importance to the citizens of any nation. On the clock, monitoring patients’ health indicators, including their vital signs, is majorly done by nurses. Nurses are liable for ensuring that the patients meet their daily living activities, including adequate nutrition, proper hygiene, and effective elimination of wastes from the body. Pain management is also an inherent nurse’s role in utilizing both pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain modalities (Farmer et al., 2017). Additionally, health education and health promotion to patients and their families are done by nurses either at the patient’s homes or in the treatment setting.
Adequate preparation of nurses is required for the successful completion of their various roles. The International Institute of Medicine report made suggestions for achieving higher education in nursing. These propositions include increasing the proportion of nurses with a bachelor’s certification. The report also calls for the funding and provision of loans to motivate individuals with associate and diploma qualifications to seek their academics progression. There are high remunerations also sanctioned for persons who have gone for further studies. The report aims to achieve increased enrollment of nurses for master’s and doctorate degrees in nursing studies.
The IOM report on advanced nursing education training aims to promote the lifelong studying culture in education. The high emphasis on modifying the nursing curricula is essential to achieving a pool of care provider experts in providing current patient care to meet the market demands. Fully baked students trained up to master and doctorate levels must work in multidisciplinary healthcare teams composed of experts. The curriculum is to be widened to provide competent professionals who are instrumental in caring for an aging American population. Another sphere of healthcare for further refinement is the care of acutely ill patients (Zolnierek, Watson & Ruiz, 2021). This report also promotes the profession’s diversification to encompass different ethnicities, races, and genders.
Advancement in nursing education increases nurses’ knowledge and their marketability in inpatient hospital settings. Bachelor’s nurses can work in various wards, including medical, surgical, pediatric, intensive care, and labor wards managing patients with different disease acuity. Degree-level training also prepares nurses to take managerial roles in these settings to guide nursing care. Masters level training prepares them to take clinical nursing leadership, teaching and executive roles in healthcare. Doctorate training equips them with competencies in nursing research and nursing education. According to Wilson et al. (2016), the ANA resolved to set doctorate level training as a requirement for the practice of anesthesia in nursing beginning in 2025.
The advantages of advancement in the nursing curricula have raised calls on making continued learning in nursing mandatory, and I think this should be the case. This is because highly trained nurses are required to fill up the void created by deficiencies in the number of practicing physicians. Therefore, highly trained nurses are needed to prescribe medications independently without physicians’ supervision (Farmer et al., 2017). Also, an aging population calls for nurses who can provide competent care to patients suffering from adverse prognosis conditions. The financial support in the form of loans and scholarships serves as an affirmative action plan for nurses who cannot finance advancements in nursing practice.
Getting higher nursing education would be a dream come true for me. I want to pursue a master’s degree in critical care nursing. I like this specialty in nursing as I get to care for patients who require total nursing care. Hence, I will be required to apply critical thinking and empathy skills in managing these patients. Advancing my education would also improve my marketability in the job market as few people have specialized in this nursing practice line. Additional education will in turn improve my knowledge, skills and positive attitudes necessary for resource management in nursing leadership. I aspire to achieve this goal three years after completing my bachelor’s degree.
Professionalism requires certification before practicing nursing in any state in America. The graduates of degree in doctor of nursing practice or master’s degree are eligible to take the examination for licensure to practice as nurses. Critical care nursing certification is offered by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Students with a registered nursing or advanced practitioner registered nursing license can qualify for an unencumbered certification in the United States (Farmer et al., 2017). Different states also require the periodic renewal of the nursing certification.
The current changes were seen in the American healthcare sector call for significant modifications in healthcare delivery. The International Institute of Medicine proposed several interventions involving the improvement of the education curricula for nurses. This institute also suggested the provision of subsidies and loans to encourage advancements in education as it has benefits in raising the knowledge, attitudes and skills of the nursing professionals. I also intend to achieve my goal of being a critical care nurse after three years of completing my education.
References
Farmer, P., Meyer, D., Sroczynski, M., Close, L., Gorski, M. S., & Wortock, J. (2017). RN to BSN at the community college: A promising practice for nursing education transformation. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 12(2), 103-108. Web.
Wilson, L., Mendes, I. A. C., Klopper, H., Catrambone, C., Al‐Maaitah, R., Norton, M. E., & Hill, M. (2016). ‘Global health and global nursing’: Proposed definitions from The Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(7), 1529-1540. Web.
Zolnierek, C., Watson, J. J., & Ruiz, D. (2021). Advancing Health Through Nursing: Past, Present, and Future. Texas Team Action Coalition. 45(1), 35–45. Web.