Special Report

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Background

• The nursing profession stands at a crossroads:
  • The need for healthcare is expected to grow substantially in the near future, due to healthcare reform and the aging of the American population.
  • Hospital patients tend to be sicker and spend less time in the hospital than patients of just 5 years ago.
  • More healthcare is being performed on an outpatient basis.
  • Technological advances are changing many aspects of healthcare, from nursing education to record keeping to medication administration.
• These rapid changes in the field of healthcare have led to calls for nurses to achieve greater educational levels.
• At the same time, however, many regions of the U.S. are experiencing a nursing shortage that will likely intensify in years to come.
• A shortage of nursing faculty has led experts to turn their attention to reducing the nursing shortage and skills gap.

Purpose

• To further examine these issues and offer potential solutions, Apollo Research Institute convened nursing thought leaders for a panel discussion hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on June 21, 2011.
• The eight panelists comprised two panels representing a broad range of healthcare professionals—including nurse executives, nurse educators and researchers, nursing industry advocates, and medical technology innovators.

Topics Discussed

• The nursing shortage: Its causes, complex nature, and possible solutions, which include expanding the concept of faculty, increasing student access to education for a more diverse enrollment, and improving retention.
• Responding to improved nursing competency standards: Panelists discuss how to implement revised nursing safety and education guidelines, notably by making higher education more attainable and attractive for new and existing nurses.
• Integrating technology Into nursing education and practice: Technology is invaluable and increasingly crucial to healthcare and nursing education, but it is not always deployed properly in either patient care or educational settings. Consistent strategies for its deployment in healthcare facilities and nursing schools are needed to fulfill its promise.
• Fostering nurse leadership: Today’s nurses are also business leaders, executives, consultants, technology innovators, and policy advocates. Nurse leaders should become even more prominent in these professions as more of them earn advanced degrees and take on strategic new roles.
• Future trends in healthcare: Panelists discussed the issues and changes they believed would have the greatest impact on healthcare. These include:

• the aging patient population and the increased need for cancer care,
• the rise in outpatient services,
• the care team model,
• advances in simulation technology, and
• using lean principles to improve healthcare efficiency.