Discussion question

Sophoan Davis 2 postsRe: Topic 1 DQ 2

The first education recommendation from the IOM I agree with is to allow “interprofessional team training of nurses, physicians and other health care providers” (2011). I attended a leadership course a few years ago. The group consisted of physicians, nurses, pharmacist, laboratory technicians, nurse aids, etc. It was eye opening to listen to the stories of personal and organizational struggles from different fields. We realized we had common ground: Patient-centered care. Also, I currently work in a program with multidisciplinary team members. My team consist of a medical director, a nurse practitioner, a psychologist, two physical therapist and two registered nurses. It is rewarding to work with providers who are open to discussing a patient’s care plan, bounce ideas and hear suggestions. Allowing interprofessional team training will influence comradery which in turn will boost quality patient care.

The second education recommendation from the IOM I agree with is to allow nurses to move seamlessly through the education system to higher levels of education (IOM, 2011). I believe the most difficult thing for working nurses is to balance work and school. If the education program structure can allow for this, we will have more nurses in school with higher degrees. “Nurses with graduate degrees will be able to replenish the nurse faculty pool; advance nursing science and contribute to the knowledge base on how nurses can provide up-to-date, safe patient care; participate in health care decisions; and provide the leadership needed to establish nurses as full partners in health care redesign efforts” (IOM, 2011).

The APRN role is evolving. The realization of the role and responsibilities are becoming widely known and discussed. Patients are sharing quality of their care. With the shortages in primary care providers, more people are trusting and turning to APRNs. And rightly so.

Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2011. 1, Key Messages of the Report. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209881/