The Future of Nursing

Reply to discussion below with at least 150 words, APA format. 2 reference within 5 years.  Across the globe the demand for advanced practice nurses is increasing due to a multitude of factors that include cost, lack of access to care, increased numbers of chronic illness, and health disparities.  According to the Future of Nursing Report nurses should pursue continuous learning and higher levels of education (IOM, 2011).  However, in order to achieve the higher levels of education nurses must have an academic system that allows for a smooth transition to advance their education.  Nurses must also be provided an education that provides them the skills needed to be competent in providing quality care.  According to Leflore and Thomas 2016, the nursing model for an advanced practice nurse education has remained relatively the same for the last 45 years.  Additionally, barriers that still exist for those seeking higher level of education include lack of faculty to educate nurses, competition among clinic locations, and lack of inter-professional education and experience (Leflore & Thomas, 2016).   One way to address the disparity of nurse educators would be to increase salaries, thus encouraging more nurses to choose education for a career path.  In order to encourage greater participation for clinical sites the state could offer an incentivized program which allowed clinical sites relief in the form of tax breaks.  Although many education programs require clinical hours not all students get to experience an array of patients to gain hands on experience.   Thankfully many technology advances have occurred and include simulation-based training.  This wide array of new technology may be sufficient to support the advanced practice nursing clinical hours thus eliminating the barrier of competition for sites and hours required on site.  During my own personal experience, I can attest to the fact that one does not always get a variety of patient cases to experience thus having a combination of live and simulation patients may be beneficial when filling gaps in the patient clinical experience.  Although some advances have been made in education for nurses we have to continue to pursue solutions in order to meet this great need for advanced practice nurses. IOM 2010 Report – The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. IOM Report Retrieved October 30, 2020 from The Future of Nursing https://www.nap.edu/read/12956/chapter/2 LeFlore, J. L., & Thomas, P. E. (2016). Educational Changes to Support Advanced Practice Nursing Education. The Journal of perinatal & neonatal nursing, 30(3), 187–190. https://doi.org/10.1097/JPN.0000000000000201 less