The Impact of the IOM Report on Nursing
Grand Canyon University
Justina C. Ekezie
18th January, 2015
According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2010 report, the nursing profession makes up the biggest part of the medical field. There are several professional barriers in the medical field that nurses go through. The purpose of the IOM 2010 report is to pinpoint the dilemma, make recommendations, and allow the nurses to make adjustments and move forward professionally in the medical field. Their recommendations are nurses practicing to their highest potential despite the amount of education and training, nurses gaining more training and knowledge through an advanced education system, and nurses being involved with the changes that are to come in the medical field. Nurses play a fundamental role with the transforming the medical in the US. Nursing leaders are in the process of determining how these initiatives should be addressed (IOM, 2010). The IOM report covering nursing education discusses how nurses should have more opportunities to progress further in their education and how they maintain the nursing standards and their leadership skills. The IOM says that nursing education prepares them to deliver patient‐centered, equitable, safe, high‐quality health care services (IOM, 2010). Nurses should be heartened to move forward in their educational journey and gain more competencies, skills, and knowledge for the nursing practice in order to meet the needs of the medical field. ADNs who move on to go after their baccalaureate degree should be given scholarships and/or grants in order to help them reach their educational goals. The IOM says that “Primary care is the provision of integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community.” (IOM, 2006). Nurses try to be careful in their delivery of great quality care under the primary care setting. There continues to be an increasing demand of nurse practitioners in the medical field. The nurse practitioner’s role can vary from performing assessments and exams on a patient, diagnosing and providing treatment options for diseases and give medications. Even with the boundaries that nurse practitioners face with licensure restrictions, reimbursement, and credentialing, the IOM report states that nurse practitioners are very helpful and important in meeting the demand in a primary care setting. The goal of IOM report is to address the boundaries of the nursing practice through progressive education. The healthcare system is currently evolving as fresh procedures and measures are being found in order to enhance the quality care in the primary healthcare setting. In order to reach meet the goals set forth by the IOM, I would have to carry on forward with my nursing education, placing more importance on specialized programs like nurse practitioner in order to help brace myself for expansions on competencies, leadership, and quality. The American Nurses Association (ANA) states that "the public expects, and has the right to expect registered nurses to demonstrate professional competence throughout their career" (ANA, 2011). Nurses take on duties in order to exhibit
