Below are resources directly related to nursing education. This includes recommendations by the Institute of Medicine committee, sample curriculum, research, presentations, case studies and personal stories of models of nurse-led innovation. State boards of nursing, accrediting bodies, the federal government, and health care organizations should take actions to support nurses’ completion of a transition-to-practice program (nurse residency) after they have completed a prelicensure or advanced practice degree program or when they are transitioning into new clinical practice areas.
Academic nurse leaders across all schools of nursing should work together to increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree from 50 to 80 percent by 2020. These leaders should partner with education accrediting bodies, private and public funders, and employers to ensure funding, monitor progress, and increase the diversity of students to create a workforce prepared to meet the demands of diverse populations across the lifespan.
Schools of nursing, with support from private and public funders, academic administrators and university trustees, and accrediting bodies, should double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020 to add to the cadre of nurse faculty and researchers, with attention to increasing diversity.
Accrediting bodies, schools of nursing, health care organizations, and continuing competency educators from multiple health professions should collaborate to ensure that nurses and nursing students and faculty continue their education and engage in lifelong learning to gain the competencies needed to provide care for diverse populations across the lifespan.
The landmark report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, released Oct. 5, 2010, has had considerable impact on the U.S. health care system and on how members of the health care workforce approach their work. Similarly, the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action has made significant progress during its initial work to implement the report’s recommendations.
The campaign is coordinated through the Center to Champion Nursing in America (CCNA), an initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
While the “BSN-in-10” movement tries to get more nurses with bachelor’s degrees into hospitals, Linda Aiken, Ph.D. believes this isn’t enough. “BSN-in-10 doesn’t resolve the challenges of two-thirds of all nurses going back to school,” says Aiken, Director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania. A better alternative, says Aiken, is to get every entry-level nurse holding a BSN.
This blog post originally appeared on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Human Capital Blog and the Center to Champion Nursing in America blog.
Susan W. Salmond, EdD, RN, discusses the work of the New Jersey Action Coalition, a New Jersey effort to implement the Institute of Medicine recommendations from "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health"
Casey Blumenthal, MHSA, RN, CAE, and Cynthia Gustafson, PhD, RN, discuss the work of the Cooperative to Advance Health through Nursing, a Montana effort to implement the Institute of Medicine recommendations from "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health"
Virginia Action Coalition and the Future of Nursing will be the focus of VNA's annual meeting/education day.