The Future of Nursing Practice
If nurses truly “practice to the full extent of their education and training” (Institute of Medicine, 2010, p. 85), then the sky is the limit for how nurses can lead the way in developing positive changes in many different aspects of the healthcare paradigm. Although there are countless relevant literary reports on how to achieve such changes, The Institute of Medicine’s report on the Future of Nursing (2010) is held in the highest regard for the impact it could have on nursing education, nursing practice, and nursing leadership.
About 55% of nurses today are prepared at a Baccalaureate Degree level (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2014). A key recommendation of the Future of Nursing report is to increase the number of Baccalaureate Degree prepared nurses to at least 80%. This would impact nursing education significantly, by changing the structure of the delivery of entry level nursing education, or possibly eradicating Associate’s Degree nursing programs altogether.
According to Sherman (2012):
Many nurses don’t realize that as part of the Bologna agreement, which was signed over a decade ago, professional nursing education in the European Union shifted to the baccalaureate level as the standard for professional licensure. Australia and New Zealand also now have BSN preparation as entry into practice. There are a number of states in the United States where there is active lobbying for legislation to require RNs to obtain a BSN for re-licensure within an established period of time. These include Missouri, New York, New Jersey, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
If those lobbyists are successful, and a BSN becomes required for nursing re-licensure, then nursing institutions would have to change their curriculum to one that would provide training “that promotes seamless academic progression” (IOM, 2010). Furthermore,