Transforming and Improving the Nursing Profession

Nurses may have gotten the much-needed shot in the arm they need to transform their profession with the release of a report recommending sweeping changes for improving their profession.

The report, the product of a special committee chaired by University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala, recommends everything from higher levels of education and training for nurses to greater opportunities for their ranks to hold leadership positions and the removal of "scope of practice" obstacles imposed by states, federal agencies, and health care agencies that impede nurses' ability to practice their profession to its fullest.

The need for nurses, especially advanced practice registered nurses, to deliver care without facing barriers will become even more critical now that millions more people will have access to health care with the recent passage of President Obama's health reform bill, the committee report says.

This recommendation in the report will have a significant impact in healthcare delivery, explained Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies in the University of Miami who served as a member of the committee.
"It is important that nurses are able to practice to the full extent of their education and training," said Gonzalez-Guarda. "When nurses are used to their full capacity, it translates into better health outcomes in the American public."

A more diverse U.S. population, which includes Baby Boomers and people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, also will benefit from diversity in the profession, said Gonzalez-Guarda. "Our recommendations do not specifically address diversity [in the nursing profession] but do so in an indirect way by promoting education at the community college level," Gonzalez-Guarda explained. "And the most diverse nurses are those trained at the community level."

The report calls for higher levels of education and training for nurses by recommending that over the next decade, 80 percent of the nurses in the U.S. have bachelor's degrees and during that same period, doubling the number of professionals with doctoral degrees.

REHACARE.de; Source: University of Miami

- More about the University of Miami at: www.miami.edu

( Source: REHACARE.de )

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