Implementation of the IOM Future of Nursing Report

Implementation of the IOM Future of Nursing Report Name: Institution: Date: Introduction The report on The future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, is timely in view of the changing demographics and nursing workforce needs. The report highlights on the health requirements of patients, with the aging population being increasingly represented as well as the nursing workforce changing rapidly (IOM, 2011). In essence, the report emphasizes on ways through which registered nurses can contribute towards improvement of the American healthcare system. The IOM report further provides recommendations for improving nurse training, education and practice. Adequate training of nursing professionals takes into account the changing dynamics of today’s workforce who need more specialized training. IOM report and nursing workforce The IOM report emphasizes on the need to focus more on providing adequate training in the face of changing health care needs in the US and globally. At the center of this argument is that nurses should be in the forefront of creating innovative strategies in the profession which can transform health care through leadership. One of the challenges facing the nursing profession in America is that there are various pathways through which to follow on order to obtain accreditation (IOM, 2011). Nonetheless, it is vital to streamline education and training so that nurses can work in the public health care sector, private care and in community health, and hence the report advocates for higher level of education attainment. The committee also proposes that first entry nurses should have an undergraduate nursing degree or the practitioners should obtain the degree at the early stages of their careers. The IOM report looks into the role of policies and workforce planning on the health care industry. For the healthcare industry to adequately cater for the needs of patients, medical practitioners need to collaborate among themselves as well as utilize their skills in transforming the healthcare. So as to transform health care, it is necessary to have workforce planning in all health centers and this would also facilitate data gathering that would help in policy formulation (IOM, 2011). Thus, gathering data on nursing professionals and setting targets is possible through workforce planning, and helps to plan for staff needed across the country. Emphasis on data collection and analysis also seeks to clearly designate the role of nurses apart from other medical practitioners. The role of registered nurses may at times overlap with that of other medical practitioners particularly in primary healthcare. Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action The Campaign for Action is a follow-up on the Future of Nursing and seeks to have full realization of the recommendations of the IOM report. The campaign seeks to ensure that all Americans have access to quality healthcare with registered nurses facilitating achievement of the IOM recommendations. The campaign engages various private and public stakeholders involved in the healthcare sector. At the heart of the campaign’s initiative is to transform health care through nurses, who make up the biggest percentage of health care practitioners. Policy makers are critical towards realization of the IOM report, as policies can eliminate hurdles that make it hard to implement al the recommendations of the report. The campaign committee realized this and advocated for collaboration among health care practitioners as being critical to the success of future nurses. The campaign seeks to look into ways through which leaders can effectively deal with health care matters, with nurses being the primary target. In seeking to have a bigger r...