The Importance and Overall Goals of Nursing Education Paper

The Importance and Overall Goals of Nursing Education Paper

The Importance and Overall Goals of Nursing Education

The overall purpose of nursing is to provide healthcare services to the patients. This means nursing education’s primary goal is to provide the nurses with sufficient knowledge and skill to offer these services. These roles can be translated in the job market as practice areas. The American Nurses Association provides a scope of practice for registered and advanced practice nurses. Studies indicate that the scope is widened with the increased need for specialist care in the changing world. This increase in demand for specialized nursing care increases the need for higher nursing education. This also increases the job opportunities for advanced practice nurses. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of nursing education and the goals of this education, the options outlined for trained nurses in the job market, and the future of nursing as described by the IOM report.

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Options in the Job Market

Viewing nursing from a general approach, there is a vast range of options outlined as practice areas for qualified BSc nurses. This is dependent on the backbone of nursing, which is caring. The nurse works as the primary caregiver in any area of practice. Areas of practice can be classified based on the kind of services offered. For example, a nurse as a counsellor can work in youth-friendly areas providing youth-friendly services. This is tied to the fact that this population is faced with significant challenges that require sufficient counselling(Halcomb et al., 2018). Youth-friendly settings can be established in hospitals, other healthcare settings, or other institutions, including schools and campsites.

The nurse can decide to work as the primary caregiver in the hospital setting, maneuvering based on their assignment areas. The nurse can also perform managerial and administrative tasks within the healthcare setting. The current nursing education and training advancements give nurses the knowledge and skills required to run a department or unit as managers. The nurse can be employed as the nursing services manager to offer administrative aid to the other nurses(Halcomb et al., 2018).

The job market for nurses is also widened by the set nurse-patient ratio that is ideal for every department. For instance, the critical care nurse-patient ratio is set at 2:1. This means the demand for nurses in such a department is high. Another role of the nurse is an educator. The nurses can be employed in nursing training institutions to offer educational services. They are expected to provide sufficient training to the upcoming nurses, becoming more, if not as competent, as the nurse educators. The nurses are also tasked with being researchers. Understanding the current trends and changes in healthcare practices is essential. The nurses liaise with other healthcare practitioners to conduct research that positively impacts the healthcare system. This means the nurse can secure a job as part of a research team or individual researcher.

Having been equipped with adequate skills and knowledge to respond to crises, the nurses can effectively participate in crisis management. For instance, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the nurses were on the front line to respond to the management of the affected individuals. This was without sufficient knowledge of the actual remedy for the virus. They used their intuition to manage the patients, and their success was impeccable(Fawaz et al., 2020). This is evident enough that nurses can take part in crisis management. During the selection of a crisis response team, a nurse can be incorporated into that team based on the nature of the crisis. The scope of nursing practice generally offers a wide range of areas the nurses can practice. This widens the job opportunities for nurses as healthcare providers

 

The IOM Future of Nursing

The purpose of the institute of medicine report given in October 2010 was to offer healthcare recommendations that aim at bettering the healthcare practice, especially the services provided by the nurses to the U.S. population(Larson et al., 2017). The IOM report has four recommendations for improving nursing practice, including the practice of full educational extent by the nurses, the achievement of higher training and academic levels by the nurses through the advancement of educational systems. Healthcare redesigning requires the partnership of the nurses with other healthcare providers and that better data information infrastructure and collection are necessary for effective policymaking and workforce planning(Larson et al., 2017).

The report’s primary purpose was to act as a framework for improving healthcare services provided by the nurses by heightening their level of knowledge through extensive training and education. This drastically reduces nursing care service delivery errors(Armstrong & Bloom, 2017).

I want to become a qualified nurse practitioner for my advanced nursing practice by pursuing a master’s degree in nursing and specializing as a nurse practitioner. This is guided by my urge to better the healthcare system even further. I will contribute positively to the quality improvement of nursing services based on my educational level and a heightened training experience. From my point of view, nursing as a healthcare profession requires extensive knowledge of not only the science but understanding the nature of human behavior and their reactions in different situations. This is key in interaction with the patients and families. For this to be achieved effectively, the nurse must undergo specialized training to become a nurse specialist(Donald et al., 2018).

My target is to achieve this by the end of four years. I am hopeful that having qualified as a professional nurse practitioner, my chances of securing a job in practice will be heightened. This is tied to the fact that; nurse specialists are currently being accepted in the medical field vastly compared to general nurses. Narrowing the area of practice by specializing as a nurse practitioner offers me an upper hand over a nurse who has not specialized in the area of practice in question. Higher education levels significantly improve my chances of securing a job(Donald et al., 2018).

The Relationship of Continuing Nursing Education with Competency

Competency levels increase with the increase in educational level. This is attributed to the advanced knowledge and the in-depth understanding of the specific area of practice. Generalized knowledge lacks the fine print of aparticular field. One can, however, argue that the competency levels are heightened by extensive practice, which is not true. Practicing for an extended period without sufficient knowledge in the area of practice translates to several years of redundancy. The nurse in question will repeat the same practice without an in-depth understanding of why they are practicing (Takase, 2017). This, however, is not the case for attitude. An unspecialized nurse can have more passion for serving the patients to their level best. In contrast, a specialized nurse with higher educational levels may lack the drive regardless of having better knowledge. They may use nursing as an essential tool for making ends meet without passion for patients’ well-being.

The American Nurses Association outlines the what, who, where, why, when and how of nursing practice{American Nurses Association(ANA), 2018}. The “what” being the nursing practice and quality patient care, the “who” being the registered and advanced practice nurses, the “where” is wherever the patients need the care, the “why” is the reason the practice exists, which is the provision healthcare services and promotion of health. The “when” in nursing is whenever the need for nursing arises, and finally, the “how” is as directed by the guidelines of nursing practice (ANA, 2018).

Continuing Nursing Education

The need for nursing is vastly advancing. The roles of nurses are also constantly changing based on the healthcare needs of the patients. Therefore, the nurses must be fully equipped with the required knowledge and skills to offer patient needs. This includes improving communication skills and better understanding the patients’ needs. This is achieved by taking advanced nursing classes to improve the knowledge and skill required to handle the patients. Therefore, in my opinion, continuing nursing education should be mandatory for all practising nurses.

Conclusion

Nursing education is a fundamental backbone of nursing practice. The quality and level of education directly translate to the services offered. However, the nurses’ attitude towards service delivery and patient well-being is not dictated by the educational level; rather, it depends on the individual’s personality and self-drive. There are various areas of practice that supply nurses with options for job opportunities. This is based on the width of the nursing scope of practice. Nurses must advance their educational level to have greater chances of securing a job and the provision of quality healthcare services to the patients.

References

American Nurses Association. (2018). Nursing Scope of Practice. ANA. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/scope-of-practice/

Armstrong, M. J., & Bloom, J. A. (2017). Patient involvement in guidelines is poor five years after institute of medicine standards: review of guideline methodologies. Research Involvement and Engagement, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-017-0070-2

Donald, W. E., Ashleigh, M. J., & Baruch, Y. (2018). Students’ perceptions of education and employability. Career Development International, 23(5), 513–540. https://doi.org/10.1108/cdi-09-2017-0171

Fawaz, M., Anshasi, H., & Samaha, A. (2020). Nurses at the Front Line of COVID-19: Roles, Responsibilities, Risks, and Rights. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 103(4), 1341–1342. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0650

Halcomb, E., Smyth, E., & McInnes, S. (2018). Job satisfaction and career intentions of registered nurses in primary health care: an integrative review. BMC Family Practice, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-018-0819-1

Larson, D. B., Donnelly, L. F., Podberesky, D. J., Merrow, A. C., Sharpe, R. E., & Kruskal, J. B. (2017). Peer Feedback, Learning, and Improvement: Answering the Call of the Institute of Medicine Report on Diagnostic Error. Radiology, 283(1), 231–241. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2016161254

Takase, M. (2017). The relationship between the levels of nurses’ competence and the length of their clinical experience: a tentative model for nursing competence development. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 22(9-10), 1400–1410. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.2012.04239.x

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Reflection Paper
lopes-writeRequires LopesWrite
Start Date
Jan 31, 2022, 12:00 AM
Due Date
Feb 6, 2022, 11:59 PM
Points
125
Rubric
View Rubric
Status
Upcoming
Assessment Description
The IOM published report, “Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,” makes recommendations for lifelong learning and achieving higher levels of education.

In 1,000-1,250 words, examine the importance of nursing education and discuss your overall educational goals.

Include the following:

Discuss your options in the job market based on your educational level.
Review the IOM Future of Nursing Recommendations for achieving higher levels of education. Describe what professional certification and advanced degrees (MSN, DNP, etc.) you want to pursue and explain your reasons for wanting to attain the education. Discuss your timeline for accomplishing these goals.
Discuss how increasing your level of education would affect how your competitiveness in the current job market and your role in the future of nursing.
Discuss the relationship of continuing nursing education to competency, attitudes, knowledge, and the ANA Scope and Standards for Practice and Code of Ethics.
Discuss whether continuing nursing education should be mandatory. Provide support for your response.
You are required to cite a minimum of three sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years, appropriate for the assignment criteria, and relevant to nursing practice.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.