Introduction
The United States of America has been presented with the opportunity to alter its healthcare sector to provide quality and affordable care that is accessible to all individuals irrespective of their status. Indeed, this transformation has been patient-centered as well as anchored in the concepts of evidence-based. The prerequisite of attaining this transformation entails restructuring the various facets of the healthcare system, including the nursing practice aspect. In an attempt to transform the United States’ nursing profession, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) proposed an association with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (Institute of Medicine and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation., 2011)
Having realized that the American nursing profession experienced a wide range of problems to meet the health care requirements of the nation as a whole and in accomplishing the required transformation, the two institutions developed an initiative that described the role and future of nursing practice. In the report that was issued on 5th October 2010, the selected committee from the two institutions formulated four main aspects that could help in reforming the American nursing practice. The first recommendation was for nurses to be given room to practice to the utmost range of their skills acquired through training and education. Secondly, the committee saw the need of improving the nursing education system to ensure that nurses acquire higher levels of training.
Additionally, the committee advised that nurses should work hand in hand with other medical practitioners in reforming the United States’ healthcare sector. Finally, to ensure effective policy making processes and work arrangement, there should be improved models of data and information infrastructure. Indeed, RWJF in collaboration with the IOM has played a fundamental role in developing and facilitating the implementation of the findings or recommendations of the report issued in 2010, which will reinforce the central role of nurses in promoting quality care (Institute of Medicine et al., 2016). The selected committee puts into considerations the numerous challenges that face the nursing education and practice in the United States and came up with possible solutions that can help in restructuring the nursing practice.
Importance of the IOM report
The IOM report offers a comprehensive assessment of the manner in which the role of nurses, their responsibilities, and education as well as collaboration with other healthcare practitioner should be transformed to meet the requisites of the aged and progressively diverse American population. Indeed, this report, if implemented, can offer timely response to the complex, multifaceted, and ever-evolving nursing practice, as well as the overall health care system. The recommendations of the IMO report pays attention to the acute intersection amid the medical requirements of patients across their life span and the aptitude and readiness of nursing practitioners to meet these demands.
The IOM report acknowledged the important roles executed by the nurses in the healthcare system. Not only do nurses have a regular proximity to sick people, but they also have a unique understanding of care processes. Therefore, their practices offer them a unique ability to perform as partners within the healthcare sector. The report sheds light on the reasons nurses require access to training and higher education. In fact, large proportions of nurses require higher education that will prepare them in responding to the ever-changing demands and roles in their practice. Based on the report’s recommendations, it is probable that the United States will adopt the culture of training more nurses to equip them with the knowledge of handling the various branches of the study of medicine. Indeed, the initiative will not only help in creating a healthcare system that is patient-centered, but it will go a long way in improving the quality of care and reducing medical expenditures.
State-Based Action Coalitions
State-based action coalitions refer to RWJF official titles that categorize the regional or national level groups that have been registered with this organization and have been declared an action alliance connected with the future of nursing campaign. The main goal of these teams is to promote and advance the recommendations of the IOM report. They comprise diverse parties of participants who have the mandate to influence viable transformation on the local, regional, and state levels. Action coalitions use the IOM report as the basis of the enhanced nursing practice, define the needs for further investigation, and track the suitable strategies that can be employed to accelerate nursing improvement within the entire nation. In other words, the Action Coalitions work hand-in-hand with the RWJF with the intentions of ensuring that they develop and expand healthcare for all people living in the United States through ascertaining that nursing practice and leadership is strengthened (Institute of Medicine et al., 2016).
After being approved as an Action Coalition by the RWJF, the teams that include diverse factions of participants from various sectors must work together to ensure that various objectives are met. Their main functions entail coming up with well-defined objectives that are in line with the IOM report recommendations. Later, the initiative is followed by marshaling and mobilizing the main stakeholders from various subdivisions to formulate a plan for engagement. They also educate other policy makers while reaching to people of good will with the aim of getting financial support (In Patton et al., 2015). Campaign for Action also reaches media outlets in the aim of creating awareness and visibility of their work that is intended to advance the recommendations of the IOM report.
Initiatives
The Educational Advancement for Registered Nurses and the Participation in Sample Nursing Survey (NSSNP) are two initiatives that have been spearheaded by the Illinois Healthcare Action Coalition (Rauner, 2011, p. 1). While the EARN initiative work towards ensuring that nursing practitioners have access to higher education, the NSSNP’s gets funds from the United States’ Health Resources and Services Administration agency to sponsor nursing practitioners in surveys aimed at giving insight to registered nurses’ education, employment, and demographics as well as their key roles in the healthcare sector (Rauner, 2011, p. 1). Not only do these initiatives help nurses to be skillful in their practice, but they also help in advancing the IOM recommendations.
Challenges
In Illinois, the main challenge that nurses face in their attempts to implement the initiatives is in collaborating with other medical practitioners. Despite the fact that the IOM report acknowledges that doctors are the main hurdles to restructuring the healthcare system, and the fact that more has been done in enlightening medics on the importance of teamwork, some physicians have not welcomed the idea of a collaborative healthcare environments. In fact, those who support this move also seem to be afraid to go public.
Conclusion
Nursing practitioners in the United States have a major role in transforming the healthcare sector. As indicated in the IOM report of 2010, the role of nurses, their responsibilities, and education as well as collaboration with other healthcare practitioner should be transformed to meet the requisites of the aged and progressively diverse American population. Action Coalitions can play a significant role in ensuring that the recommendations of the IOM report are achieved. In an attempt to overcome the existing barriers in the city of Illinois, nursing practitioners can advocate collaborative healthcare settings through engaging in campaigns that preach the importance of value-based healthcare sector while emphasizing on the importance of teamwork.
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