Organizations, policymakers, and government continue to influence nursing in multiple dimensions. In 2010, the IOM examined the nursing workforce and provided various recommendations through The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report (Academic Progression in Nursing, 2024). The report extensively evaluates the link between the health needs of diverse populations and the nursing workforce’s actions. IOM recommends the need for NPs and an adequate workforce that can practice to the full extent of their education and training. Under Recommendation 1 of the report, it is stated that it is imperative to remove practice barriers to enable nursing professionals to practice independently (Kumar et al., 2020). removing the scope barrier would enable NPs to contribute maximally to healthcare delivery and improve the health of the U.S. population.
The IOM report also highlighted the need for nurses to redesign healthcare. The report recommended that nurses should fully partner with physicians and other healthcare providers to redesign healthcare (Academic Progression in Nursing, 2024). Currently, healthcare delivery faces numerous challenges, including high healthcare costs, a nursing shortage, and a high influx of patients with chronic diseases. While partnering with other care providers, NPs can design and implement policies and evidence-based interventions to reduce healthcare costs and ensure diverse populations’ health needs are addressed. More NPs in the healthcare system are also necessary to address the escalating shortage and prevent adverse effects such as nurse burnout and turnover.
NPs are centrally involved in patient care, enabling them to influence healthcare delivery significantly. In the present practice, healthcare organizations face considerable challenges as far as delivery and management costs are concerned. As a result, there is an urgent and persistent need for care providers who are able to provide cost-effective care. According to Bal (2022), patients being served by NPs are associated with reduced hospitalizations, readmissions, and emergency room visits. The implication is that I will play a fundamental role in preventing these problems that increase costs and reduce patients’ trust in the healthcare system. Regarding patient outcomes, more NPs in the nursing profession empower the workforce and increase the number of patients nurses attend to daily (Bal, 2022; Barnett et al., 2022). Thus, more patients get timely care, which prevents delays that increase readmissions and hospital-acquired infections. NPs are also adequately trained to provide holistic patient care. These outcomes would lead to more patient satisfaction, healthy patient-provider relationships, and a healthy and productive population.
Patient outcomes depend on the availability and skills of nursing professionals. Inevitably, the complexity of patient needs and the complexity of population health problems require an adequate, highly-skilled nursing workforce. Therefore, NPs are crucial in the evolving practice of healthcare providers, evidence-based practice implementers, and policymakers. As discussed in this paper, more NPs are needed for cost-effective, holistic patient care. Collaboration between NPs and other professionals has also been underlined to maximize healthcare delivery outcomes.
Academic Progression in Nursing. (2024). Future of Nursing IOM report. https://www.academicprogression.org/about/future-of-nursing
Bal, D. (2022). 6 reasons to become a nurse practitioner. NurseJournal. https://nursejournal.org/nurse-practitioner/reasons-to-become-np/
Barnett, M., Balkissoon, C., & Sandhu, J. (2022). The level of quality care nurse practitioners provide compared with their physician colleagues in the primary care setting: a systematic review. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 34(3), 457-464. DOI: 10.1097/JXX.0000000000000660
Burwell, L. (2022). The four types of advanced practice registered nurses (APRN), roles, and specialties. Children’s Minnesota. https://www.childrensmn.org/2022/08/17/four-types-advanced-practice-nurses-roles-specialties/
Clarke, V., Lehane, E., Mulcahy, H., & Cotter, P. (2021). Nurse Practitioners’ implementation of evidence-based practice
Struggling with online classes or exams? Get expert help to ace your coursework, assignments, and tests stress-free!