Boost your Grades with us today! Get your 15% Discount Now!
NURS 3001 Week 6 The Scholar Practitioner and Social Change (Walden)
The Scholar Practitioner and Social Change
The nursing occupation consists of professional expert practice that requires the …
Social Responsibility: Expansion of Nursing and Healthcare
Changes in healthcare and the patient population have resulted in large numbers of patients ….
NURS 3001 Week 6 The Scholar Practitioner and Social Change (Walden)
Description
The Scholar Practitioner and Social Change
The nursing occupation consists of professional expert practice that requires the “¦
Social Responsibility: Expansion of Nursing and Healthcare
Changes in healthcare and the patient population have resulted in large numbers of patients “¦.
NURS 3001 Week 6 The Scholar Practitioner
NURS 3001 Issues and Trends in Nursing Case Study Paper
In any healthcare profession, advances in technology, changes in patient population, and current events can have an impact on the job and on patient outcomes. Nurses are often on the front lines of these types of shifts, so it is always worth considering the pervasive healthcare trends that are both internal and external to patients and service providers. Take a look at these ten nursing trends to get a clear picture of where nursing is headed in 2015.
A Shift in Demographics
It should come as no surprise to any nurse that the U.S. population is aging. In fact, by 2020 more than 20% of the population in this country will be over the age of 65 and adults over the age of 85 are the fastest growing age group overall. As people age, they have a greater need for healthcare. For nurses, this means not only familiarizing themselves with the diagnoses and issues that affect older adults at a greater rate, but also learning how best to communicate with older adults and their families about care plans, preventative healthcare, and healthy aging.
Preventative Care Speaking of preventative care, it is another focal point for the future of healthcare.
Patients as well as health insurance providers and increasingly interested in engaging in preventative measures to live a sustainably healthy life and work to prevent future issues. For nurses, this means an increased demand for services in this area, as well as more interfacing with other healthcare professionals, such as nutritionists, physical therapists, and other professionals that work in careers ancillary to direct care but effective in preventative health.
Consumer Education By now, most nurses have likely experienced the impact of increased consumer education. Now more than ever patients are going to their appointments armed with lots of information about the symptoms, conditions, and possible treatments. This information can come from a variety of sources, ranging from the internet to television commercials. While having educated healthcare consumers can certainly be helpful in many ways, the burden also falls to nurses to be able to sort that information into valuable and specious.
Increased Insurance Access With the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), millions more Americans have access to health insurance. For working nurses and those studying to enter the field, this means tremendous continuing opportunity. It also means addressing the healthcare challenges that may face individuals who have lived without health insurance for many years and are finally able to bring their concerns to healthcare professionals.
Continued Growth in Technology Increased access to technology has been among the most important nursing trends for many years running, but it continues to be an important aspect of the job. In 2015, nurses can expect to see a continued reliance on portable and mobile technology as well as an emphasis on medicine, particularly in rural and under served areas. Nurses will need to be comfortable with constantly changing technologies so that they can choose the best care options for their patients, and also be able to intelligently interface with medical technologists.
Health Information Privacy One of the ways in which technology affects patients and nurses alike is the advent of electronic health records. Those hospitals and physician’s offices that have not yet switched to this type of medical record are surely on their way to doing so. While electronic health records can make patient data easier to share and can improve outcomes, it also put private information at risk for theft. This means nurses will have to stay vigilant themselves and with staff training in 2015 to ensure that electronic patient data is safe and secure.
Access to Nursing Education Online nursing education is certainly not new in 2015, but we can expect to see more programs offering increased flexibility in order to provide even better access to advanced nursing education. A continued nursing shortage, that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics will mean a need for more than a million new nurses by 2022, is fueling this interest in expanded educational offerings (BLS, 2012). Online nursing training programs will make it easier for working nurses to further their careers, taking RNs to Nurse Practitioners without having to sacrifice their current careers.
Fluctuations in Retirement Age for Nurses In addition to new educational opportunities, the nursing shortage is likely to mean that mor…