The future of nursing

The future of nursing
Name
Course
Institution
Date
The future of nursing
The nursing profession forms the largest segment of America's health care work force. Nurses work in the front lines of patient care and play a vital role in realizing the objectives as set forth in the 2010 affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act is a legislation that represents the broadest healthcare overhaul since the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid programs in 1965. However, a number of challenges prevent nurses from effectively responding to the rapidly changing and ever evolving health care system. IOM devised some recommendations in trying to fight the above challenges. Recommendation 4 of IOM Future of Nursing recommendations recommends that the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80% by 2020. This is a great initiative that will see the competitiveness of nurses and their efficiency at providing health care improve. The health care system is changing drastically, triggered by inventions and innovations, and thus nurses should too keep up with the changes. The goal of the recommendation is to provide a workforce that is prepared to meet the demands of diverse populations. Provision of better access to education will act as an incentive to pursuing degree programs. In the nursing profession, I find myself in the best position to fit in the above recommendation. Recommendation 5: Double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020.
Today, a very small percentage of nurses have a doctorate degree. Following recommendation 5, the need to increase the number of nurses with a doctoral degree is similarly critical due to the increasing need to prepare more new nurses. Nurses will doctorate degrees are mostly needed to educate...