Advancement of Education in Nursing

Answer

Advancement of Education in Nursing

The United States’ healthcare is experiencing significant changes that demand a subsequent shift in nursing education before and after acquiring licenses. At all levels, the training should provide the nurses with the right skills for the contemporary workplace environment to help them in securing the much-needed improved quality of the outcome. Therefore, education should provide a better understanding of and experience in care management that improves the nurses’ conceptualization of their roles in a reformed healthcare system (The National Academies Press, 2011). This means that the 20th-century skills and competencies should not be applicable when seeking to solve 21st-century problems. The transition has to be manifested in the skills and qualifications exhibited by the nurses, which then demands a change in the educational programs and training. 

The reasons for such transition form the basis of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)’s report on the nurses’ need to improve their educational preparations. According to the report, a concise consideration of the challenges facing the medical industry aligned to the nursing qualifications and training is necessary toward finding feasible solutions that incorporate a transformation of the educational preparations to promote seamless academic progression (Institute of Medicine, 2010). At the center of the reasons for the need to further their educational developments is the reality of changing dynamics in healthcare, which has resulted in significant complexities. For instance, the increased aging population creates more vulnerability to chronic conditions and considerable demand for home care. These make it necessary for the nurses to improve their education in a way that aligns with the healthcare demands and complexities.

Moreover, since the nurses occupy the frontline in patient care, they have a direct influence on the recovery process and its quality, making it even better with the right skills. Their close proximity to the patients and scientific understanding of the necessary processes in healthcare across the continuum provides them with an incredible ability to effect changes that have wide-reaching implications in healthcare. As such, through advancing their educational preparations, the nurses become prepared to meet the diverse patient needs, occupy leadership roles, and make necessary scientific advancements that benefit the patients (Institute of Medicine, 2010). Additionally, advanced education also become instrumental in improving the professionalism of nursing and delivery of safe, quality, and patient-centered care.

According to the report, nurses can only succeed in the complex and evolving health care system through a transformation of educational preparation. Such must then incorporate lifelong learning in the sector to help achieve the essential evidence-based practice and patient-centered care. Furthermore, the overall safety and quality of a transformed system depend on the nurses’ skill endowment. Evidently, this demands an increase in the number of nurses with doctorate qualifications as well as a Master of Science in nursing to assist in improving the field of research and practice (The National Academies Press, 2011). Despite the costs of education, there has to be a strategy that will help the nurses further their educational preparedness to meet the 21st-century health problems and challenges.