Essay on Personal Reflection in Relation to Institute of Medicine Recommendations

For almost a half a century, research on the association between education of nurses and quality of care has shown that there is a need to advance studies for quality outcomes to be realized (Blegen, Goode, Park, Vaughn, & Spetz, 2013).Acquisition of a baccalaureate degree can add more managerial and teamwork skills to the nurses. Going through the baccalaureate course means that I would acquire more knowledge related to care and also get the human relation skills which are critical in sound decision making decisions amongst teams at the workplace. Besides, it is projected that by 2020, 500, 000 nurses will leave the nursing profession due to retirement(Aiken,2011).The possibility of such occurrence requires that more nurses across all levels enhance skills to forestall a crisis by the year under focus.

Social and economic changes in the US population changes are occurring at a rapid pace. For example, most health care demands today relate to chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, mental health conditions, and cardiovascular disease (IOM, 2010).The new health care needs require a critical shift in the way care is provided and managed. By nurses acquiring more doctorate degrees, it means that as nurses, we will have individuals well-versed with matters of policy and research which are essential in redesigning the way hospitals work as a response to the new challenges. This may involve identification of the training needs of nurses with lower qualifications, interpretation and enforcement of new regulations, and integration of new research findings on evidence-based practice into hospital practices, among roles (IOM, 2010; Blegen et al., 2013).Therefore, the PhD numbers are crucial to achieve the above-mentioned responsibilities.

Life-long learning for nurses is as important as it is for other professionals. New health challenges caused by cultural, socioeconomic, scientific and technological factors make it imperative for nurses to update our skills and knowledge to effectively deal with new care needs of communities (IOM, 2010; Blegen et al., 2013).Thus, the nursing skills of the 20th century may not be relevant in todays world(IOM, 2010).Aligning nurses skills with current medical needs is critical the sense that it will help nurses adopt the latest evidence-based practices in care delivery and this can only be realized through continuous learning. Such practice can reduce medical errors thereby enhancing the quality of health care in the 21st century. For me, it is an opportunity to reduce stress related to knowledge gaps in medical practice. This is because life-long learning offers the motivation to grow as an individual and also improve my abilities in offering health services to patients.

Options in the Job Market Based on my Educational Level

Current market trends require that ones education is continually advanced to make their skills more relevant to the market demands alongside increasing personal competencies in the provision of health care. As indicated earlier, demographics are changing, and hospitals require employees who can deliver under the dynamic environment. As such, increasing education will equip me with contemporary skills (of say in medical technology) which are essential ingredients for me to be competitive in the delivery of care.

Increasing education will prepare me future managerial roles. For instance, furthering education entails the acquisition of skills and knowledge on how to manage people at the work place (Blegen et al., 2013).Nursing settings also requires a lot of teamwork (IOM, 2010). Moreover, matters of policy need superior skills on managing people. For these reasons, it is important to enhance educations as it will help me manage change, a practice that has become synonymous with modern of management of health care institutions.

References

Aiken, L. H. (2011). Nurses for the Future. New England Journal of Medicine, 364(3), 196-198. doi:10.1056/nejmp1011639

Blegen, M. A., Goode, C. J., Park, S. H., Vaughn, T., & Spetz, J. (2013). Baccalaureate Education in Nursing and Patient Outcomes. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 43(2), 89-94. doi:10.1097/nna.0b013e31827f2028

Institute of Medicine. (2010). The future of nursing: Focus on education. The Institute of Medicine.