Robert Wood Johnson Foundations Of The Professional Development Of Nursing Professionals

Professional Development of Nursing Professionals 100 years before Plato, around 500 B.C., a book that did not survive was created, however, many fragments exist. In that work, Heraclitus, Greek Philosopher stated, “the only thing that is constant is change,” and there is nowhere more than in professional nursing that it applies. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation created a committee with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2008 to investigate nursing’s best practices in United States. The aim of this committee was to yield recommendations based on their research that would serve as a blue print for the future of nursing (IOM 2010). Committee members anticipated “the enormous challenges ahead for health care: expanding demand for care, older
According to the IOM 2010 “nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training.” Although nurses have to work within their scope of practice set forth by their state of licensure and their hospital policy, it opens the door for state legislatures to increase their scope of practice, especially for Advanced Practice nurses in primary care. Lacasse 2013 states that the recommendation from the report published by the IOM, “positions nurses to be a strong influence shaping healthcare delivery systems, healthcare policy, and overall healthcare practices in the future.” This recommendation encourages nurse to expand their practice by working outside their traditional role of the bedside and becoming active participants in changing healthcare policies. Nurses should be joining committees, participating in nurse practice councils, performing research, and using evidenced based research to change policies to ensure that the best patient care is being provided. Fights 2012 states that “participating in nursing research and continuing to build the foundation of evidenced based nursing practice adds the credential that increasingly places nurses at the table in the healthcare policy arena.” Rather than being passive bystanders, nurses now have a hand in the changes that occur. The IOM report greatly impacts the nursing practice by challenging scope of practice and
According to the IOM Report 2010, “strong leadership is critical if the vision of the transformed healthcare system is to be realized.” Some colleges have partnered their nursing programs with their business programs in order to offer leadership programs. According to Judkins and Niederhauser 2014, “often times nurses lack the formal preparation to step into leadership roles. Investing in leadership programs for aspiring leaders within healthcare organizations has the potential to discover leaders that are ready for greater responsibility, accountability, and adequately prepared for challenges associated with quality, affordable patient care.” The creation of different types of leadership programs will allow nurses to be better prepared as well as allowing for an increase number of nurses to fill the leadership roles. According to IOM 2010 “nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other healthcare professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States.” Being a full partner in redesigning healthcare requires a whole new skill set, especially leadership skills. As nurses participate in the evaluation of existing healthcare systems, they must develop their critical thinking and strengthen their leadership skills. The IOM recommendation transforms the nurse role as a leader by identifying that that strong leadership is imperative if a transformed