Robert Wood Foundation Committee Initiative
The adoption of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 has initiated a series of critical changes in the current health care management, shifting the focus from secondary disease prevention to primary care, community health, and education. The Robert Wood Foundation Committee, being one of the biggest national initiatives in terms of health care research and philanthropy, contributed to the adoption of Obamacare’s prevention focus as the foundation for a radical change in the approach to patient management through the lens of nursing education and evidence-based practice.
Indeed, nursing plays a major role in facilitating social change in community health, as nurses serve as mediators in the interaction between healthcare legislature, administration, and patients. Moreover, research demonstrates that currently, nursing engagement goes far beyond plain disease management and prevention, as holistic care only yields results when prevention accounts for socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the community, including economic insecurity and marginal position in society (Goeman et al., 2019). Thus, in order to secure the promotion of national well-being, the Robert Wood Foundation Committee approached the Institute of Nursing to conduct extensive research on the innovation required in the nursing field to promote holistic care and evidence-based practice. As a result, the Robert Wood Foundation Committee Initiative helped commence, fund, and implement “The future of nursing” recommendations in the daily patterns of nursing practice across the US.
Key Messages
Throughout the publication, the authors dwelled on the means of implementing four pillars of meaningful and efficient nursing. Hence, the first message of the report implies that “nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training” (Institute of Medicine et al., 2011). While many people perceive this initiative to encourage nurses to work more to fulfill their potential, the message, in fact, addresses the demand to limit the existing barriers to nursing performance, including high turnover rates, lack of financial incentives, poor education-to-work transition patterns, and lack of unity in the workforce. Currently, this initiative encourages medical facilities to present extensive onboarding programs that facilitate a smooth and quality transition from school to medical practice.
The second key message of the report states that the education system for nursing should secure continuous professional development through an extensive program of training and nursing education (Institute of Medicine et al., 2011). According to this initiative, lifelong learning of nurses in both medical competence and interaction with patients is required to contribute to the overall improvement of health care quality nationwide. Currently, the notion of education and training has much attention from the medical establishments’ administration, as nursing education has now become an integral part of the nurses’ professional agenda. For example, there is extensive evidence of implementing simulated reality tools to present nurses with the opportunity to obtain knowledge in an environment close to the reality of nursing (Padilha et al., 2019). Hence, it may be concluded that the aspect of education has now shifted beyond obtaining a nursing degree, as this profession is a construct that changes its definition and objectives according to social trends.
The third key message of the report underscores the importance of nurses’ explicit participation in the process of redesigning health care in the country (Institute of Medicine et al., 2011). Indeed, one of the most disturbing issues in the context of healthcare development is the communication gap between nurses, physicians, and other medical professionals, which eventually leads to poor patient outcomes and increased incidences of medical errors (Aghamohammadi et al., 2019). In order to bridge this gap, medical facilities currently implement structured communication tools such as the SBAR framework and professional training on the matter of respect and collaboration in the workplace.
Finally, the report encourages the healthcare system to implement work planning policies to improve the workflow and nurses’ job satisfaction. One of the most widespread causes of nurse turnover is burnout caused by workload, lack of financial incentives, and high retirement rates. For this reason, there is a need to create a roadmap of resources required to meet public health requirements without overburdening individual employees. After the report, more effort has been put into securing lower turnover rates for new coming nurses with the help of introducing onboarding programs and professional counseling.
State-Based Action Coalitions
When speaking of redesigning health care, it is of paramount importance to realize that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to quality nursing practice. Indeed, at the local and state levels, the issues of utmost significance to public health may vary greatly. For this reason, Robert Wood Foundation Committee, along with the AARP, launched a nationwide initiative to improve health care through the lens of nursing in every US state (“State action coalition,” n.d.). Such autonomy across states allows for the prioritization of nursing innovations relevant to the environment and support of locally based funds, organizations, and private sector contractors.
For example, the state of West Virginia is in first place in terms of type 2 diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2018). Compared to Colorado, with half as many diabetes cases, West Virginia’s local public health departments should encourage nurses to promote community health initiatives on diabetes prevention, whereas Colorado should allocate more resources to the nurses promoting the prevention of substance abuse and prevention (CDC, 2018). Hence, it may be concluded that state-based actions are required in order to meet the personalized and quality care initiatives presented in the report.
Florida Action Coalition and Barriers to Quality Care
The first initiative commenced by the Florida Action Coalition is to cooperate with national programs in order to promote nursing leadership. In terms of the program, the coalition conducted a survey on the matter of nurses’ preparedness to embrace leading positions in healthcare settings (“Florida state implementation program,” 2017). Based on the survey findings, the coalition developed a course of action in the form of training and education for nursing leadership. Such an initiative contributes significantly to redefining the perception of the nurse’s role in the shaping of community health.
Another initiative from the Florida Action Coalition is the legal approval of the autonomous functioning of advanced registered nurses and certified midwives. Such a legal action provides a more autonomous workforce that extrapolates to more patients across the state (“New law soon to provide Floridians better health care options,” 2020). Such a law contributes to the first key message of the report, encouraging public services to provide nurses with more opportunities to realize their potential. The significance of this legislation is underscored by the fact that for many years, Floridian nurses had been working under the pressure of autonomy restrictions, as they could not make explicit treatment decisions without physicians’ supervision (“The advanced practice nurse solution,” n.d.). For this reason, the advocacy for nursing autonomy in Florida follows the right path to recovery and public health development.
References
Aghamohammadi, D., Dadkhah, B., & Aghamohammadi, M. (2019). Nurse–physician collaboration and the professional autonomy of intensive care units nurses.Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine: Peer-Reviewed, Official Publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, 23(4), 178. Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Development [CDC]. (2018). Stats of the state of West Virginia. Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Development [CDC]. (2018). Stats of the state of Colorado. Web.
Florida state implementation program. (2017). Campaign for Action. Web.
Goeman, D., Howard, J., & Ogrin, R. (2019). Implementation and refinement of a community health nurse model of support for people experiencing homelessness in Australia: a collaborative approach.BMJ Open, 9(11). Web.
Institute of Medicine, Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine. (2011). The Future of Nursing: Leading change, advancing health. National Academies Press.
New law soon to provide Floridians better health care options. (2020). Campaign for Action. Web.
Padilha, J. M., Machado, P. P., Ribeiro, A., Ramos, J., & Costa, P. (2019). Clinical virtual simulation in nursing education: Randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(3). Web.
State action coalition. (n.d.). Campaign for Action. Web.
The advanced practice nurse solution. (n.d.). Florida Association of Nurse Practitioners. Web.