A new
initiative to study the future of nursing in America and help address
the growing nursing shortage, was launched Tuesday by the Institute
of Medicine and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.
Members
of the new committee will spend the next 10 months meeting with
nurses and the public, reviewing different nursing care models, and
piecing together a report they hope will define a comprehensive plan
of action, including local, state and federal policy changes if
necessary. The committee should be able to present its report in the
fall of 2010, according to RWJF.
Group leaders outlined some of the
areas they hope to address:
• Reconceptualizing
the role of nurses in the context of the workforce, the shortage,
societal issues, and current and future technology
• Expanding
nursing faculty, increasing the capacity of nursing schools, and
redesigning nursing education to meet current and future health care
demands
• Examining
solutions in healthcare delivery and health professional education
• Attracting
and retaining well-prepared nurses in multiple care settings,
including acute, ambulatory, primary care, long-term care, community,
and public health
“For
health reform to succeed, and for patients to receive better care at
a cost we can afford, we must change the way health care is
delivered. And nursing is at the heart of patient care,” said RWJF
President and Chief Executive Officer Risa Lavizzo-Mourey.