Introduction
Today, nursing is considered the backbone of healthcare. It is the most significant part of health care. The most crucial mission of nursing is caring for patients, political advocacy, health promotion, and education. “The Future of Nursing: The “Leading Change, Advancing Health” report, enforced by state policymaking as coalition actions, has led to a great deal of shift in nursing practices, education, and progression (Flaubert, 2021). This report highlights critical nursing issues that need to be addressed, including health equity, workforce diversity, and leadership development. Additionally, state-level action coalitions are the forces that drive change at the local levels. They provide a platform for building the common faith of diverse stakeholders to champion and realize innovative projects aimed at transforming the nursing profession. Collectively, the prominent trends usher nursing into a future that remains and even increases the relevance and influence of this profession on the changing healthcare scene.
The Work of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine embarked on the monumental task of crafting “The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity” to address pressing issues in the nursing profession. This study on the tomorrow of nursing, commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, identifies important parts of realizing the goal of health equality. Utilizing the high standard of deducing research dependence, the National Academies handpicked experts from different fields to review the available data, literature review, and the engagement of various stakeholders. By employing a holistic approach, the report summarized the vital role nurses play in delivering equitable health services. It offered strategic solutions to strengthen the nursing workforce, promote excellent working conditions, enhance education, maintain nurse wellbeing, and improve emergency preparedness (Flaubert, 2021). Moreover, the summary of our investigation poses a firming vision for policymakers, educators, healthcare administrators, and nurses on the path to change-making in healthcare delivery and outcomes.
Current Trends in the Nursing Workforce and Nursing Education
The nursing labor force keeps changing over time, and among the dominant trends are the skyrocketing demand for nurses related to aging populations, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and healthcare policy reforms. Also, the population flows, which include the retirements of competent nurses and the inclination to be more diverse among the participants in incoming cohorts, show new workers’ breeze shapes. Nursing education is evolving to deal with these tendencies, making it possible to use new curriculum methods that concentrate primarily on population health, cultural competence, and technology (Rhoads, 2022). Among many nursing aspects, leadership development is the main focus that will enable them to advocate as change agents. Nurses are prominently advancing nursing practice by pursuing policy reforms, quality improvements, and interdisciplinary collaboration. While nurses take the initiative and utilize their leadership abilities, they shape the present and future of healthcare delivery by focusing on solving the healthcare problems and needs of the different patient populations.
Role of State-Based Action Coalitions
State-oriented action organizations offer district teamwork opportunities for different interest groups to ensure that nursing aims are implemented locally. These coalitions share concerns with the messages from the National Academies report, which is to turn the high-level recommendations into plans where each state has strategies to implement and care for its own nursing workforce and healthcare state peculiarities (Crowder et al., 2022). Successful collaborative projects involve, for instance, the development of interactive policy platforms and a partnership with academic institutions to grow study opportunities and implement creative retention programs to deal with workforce shortages. In this system, statewide action coalitions can provide a leadership element in the tuberculosis drive, eventually enhancing the nursing impact on the local communities.
State Action Coalition Initiatives
Among the various endeavors championed by the CAC (California Action Coalition) is NLI (Nurse Leadership Institute), a platform designed to develop nursing leaders who are adept at handling complicated healthcare problems. Nurses are also entrusted with mentorship, leadership development programs, and networking opportunities by the Leadership Institute (NLI), through which they can assume leadership roles in healthcare organizations and develop policies. One more initiative since then is the “California Nurse Residency Program (CNR).” It targets newly licensed nurse practitioners and aims to mentor and support them in transitioning to practice through structured mentorship, education, and supportive approaches (Crowder et al., 2022). This intervention represents the National Academies recommendations, encompassing all the necessary measures for the nurse executives- leadership training and support at the point of need and workforce transitions.
Barriers to Advancement and Advocacy Efforts
In California, the prominent hurdles that hinder nurses’ career advancement are that beginner practices develop and are controlled by regulators which determined licensed practice nurses to have limited practice authority when compared to doctors, the continuing workforce shortages that got worse by an aging population, and of course funding issues affecting higher educational programs and workforce development projects (Nsiah et al., 2019). Advocating for nursing professionals in the state needs nursing advocates to proactively address these barriers through legislative advocacy and lobbying, which targets policy reform for the scope of practice and patient-nurse ratio betterment. Furthermore, the bargaining building project unites different groups to press nursing concerns into the forefront of the decision-making processes. Community ensemble activities not only pull up the veil about the nurse’s crucial role in the health sector delivery but also attract public admiration for policymaker changes (Rhoads, 2022). While some strides have been made, the remaining issues are the inclusion of those social classes who have no access to healthcare and addressing the systemic discrimination that we find in the profession.
Conclusion
To sum up, this study has examined the paramount role that the National Academies report and state actions have taken in providing for the nation’s future needs. Achieving these aims requires deep analysis and joint efforts, and the significant public health sector concerns are health equity, workforce development, and leadership. Through creative approaches and pushing for legislative changes, they have been the ones shaping the future of the nursing profession of slowly shifting gears, and their vital role can be seen even now in the healthcare systems.
References
Flaubert, J. (2021). The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. In J. L. Flaubert, S. Le Menestrel, D. R. Williams, & M. K. Wakefield (Eds.), PubMed. National Academies Press (US). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34524769/
Crowder, S. J., Tanner, A. L., Dawson, M. A., Felsman, I. C., Hassmiller, S. B., Miller, L. C., Rinehard, S. C., & Toney, D. A. (2022). Better together: Coalitions committed to advancing health equity. Nursing Outlook, 70(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2022.02.013
Nsiah, C., Siakwa, M., & Ninnoni, J. P. K. (2019). Barriers to practicing patient advocacy in a healthcare setting. Nursing Open, 7(2), 650–659. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.436
Rhoads, J. L. (2022, February 18). 5 Emerging Trends and Driving Forces in Nursing Education. NurseTogether. https://www.nursetogether.com/emerging-trends-and-driving-forces-nursing-education/
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