Professional Development of Nursing Professionals - Essay Example

It suggests understanding a nurse as an important part of the whole system whose education, wit, strong leadership and interpersonal skills make her an equal partner with other health care professionals. The Impact of the IOM Report on Nursing Education The need to improve nursing education is one of the focal points discussed in the IOM Report. Specifically, the Report determines that an improved system of education is an obligatory foundation of nurses’ educational achievements. The latter have been defined as “seamless academic progression”.

To illustrate: “Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.” (The IOM Report, 2011, Transforming Education) For this, key areas of change have been defined. These are 1) suggested improvements in the system of nursing education; 2) general upgrade of the level of nursing education to a baccalaureate degree (BSN); 3) emphasis on lifelong learning opportunities; 4) managing the transition of graduate nurses from school to practice through various programs.

The Report stresses the need to improve the ways in which modern nurses are educated. Due to the complex character of patient needs and healthcare environments, a number of competencies that nurses need to attain has grown of late. The following competencies are called crucial for providing high-quality care: leadership skills, knowledge of health policy, methods of improving systems, skills of teamwork and close collaboration, skills of working within a community, evidence-based, as well as research practice, etc.

Respectively, the need to upgrade the existing standards of the nursing profession has been stated firmly. To be more specific, the Report recognizes the growing demand for nurses with a BSN degree. This will expectedly help achieve “a more educated workforce” in the nursing area (The IOM Report, 2011, Transforming Education). For this purpose, a few models/programs are suggested that will help increase the number of nurses with a baccalaureate degree. Furthermore, the Report has established the need for nurses’ lifelong education and suggested ways of providing enough opportunities for this.

To illustrate, “Nursing education should serve as a platform for continued lifelong learning and should include opportunities for seamless transition to higher degree programs” (The IOM Report, 2011, Transforming Education). These opportunities are represented by various bridge programs, such as LPN-to-BSN, ADN-to-MSN, and ADN-to-BSN. Finally, the Report has determined that managing the transition of graduate nurses from school to practice through various programs should be a priority. This will help decrease high turnover rates in hospitals, as well as nursing homes, and stabilize this workforce in the country.

The Impact of the IOM Report on Nursing Practice The impact of the IOM Report on nursing practice is evident, first of all, in the area of primary care. Apart from this, the need of the overall improvement of nursing care quality has been stated. Importantly, ways of redesigning roles for nurses and methods of overcoming barriers for improved practice have been outlined. As for primary care, this area has been established as lacking in nurse practitioners. However, medical students should be encouraged to enter this specialty since it is expected that “as access to coverage, service settings, and services increases under the