The Role Nursing Will Play in Health Care in the Future
What do the changing trends tell us about the future of nursing careers? In the next decade or two, it might look very different from what we see today. With new technologies, advancements in drugs and treatments, changes in healthcare policy, insurance policies and coverage, it it likely that the healthcare profession including nursing would have to reinvent itself. As an example, as technology continues to advance many healthcare functions can become automated. These include patient records, medical documentation, and use of smart beds used to monitor patients' vital signs, more use of bar coding, and automated medicine carts which could be used to cut down time and reduce errors that result from dispensing medical drugs. In addition, voice-activated technology can be used to reduce the amount of written documentation. Tasks such as serving meals can also be taken over by trained medical aids in order to free up nurses to provide the human touch to their patients.
Due to nursing shortages, hospitals and other healthcare institutions have to use their staff more judiciously. Nurses will be tasked with spending more time at the bedside to serve as educators and care coordinators. This will refocus their role with their patients. As the lengths of hospital stays getting shorter due to medical costs, nurses must make most use of the time they spend with patients. Nurses will also work in more administrative roles and supervising positions. Given that, they will need to know how to access and retrieve knowledge and information in order to share it with their patients and their families.
Advancements in technology will also likely attract more males and minorities into the nursing profession. Thus, more emphasis would have to be put on supporting teaching careers and recruiting instructors from a diversity of cultural and educational backgrounds to cater to this shift, and to relive the shortage of nursing school instructors. In addition, more loans and financial scholarships at the graduate level (masters and Phd) will have to be increase to encourage more trained medical professionals to serve as teaching staff. In addition nursing colleges would have to be willing to pay the instructors higher salaries to attract and retain teaching staff.
As far as trends go, if the nursing stuff shortage continues, long-term hospital stays may have to be reserved mainly for the very ill. This then means that the number of outpatients will increase, and subsequently the need for more home health nurses. Nurses will also serve more important roles in insurance companies, healthcare technology and software companies, and consulting agencies. In the future, nurses will also be involved more in community health and population-based healthcare. Their jobs will include risk identification and establishing priorities for at-risk populations. These healthcare workers will also serve as community educators who also work with insurance companies and healthcare providers to develop programs aimed at promoting health and saving the patient money and reducing cost for the health care institutions.
Medical personnel who work in gerontology and geriatrics, for example nurse practitioners also face what would be considered a bright future in terms of their careers. With people in the baby boom generation reaching retirement medical professionals will be required to focus on patients in this generational group. Further, nurses who are also baby boomers might not be ready to retire and may find themselves in a role of consulting. They would serve as healthcare providers who they themselves understand the needs of their patients better.
As medical research and technology advances, nurses will focus considerably on prevention rather than treatment. Further, medical drugs that target diseases before they start, and identifying risks will also enhance preventative healthcare. This will require patient to take a more active role in learning about taking better care of themselves to prevent illness. This healthcare shortage and the cost of healthcare will also add pressure to the healthcare system to concentrate prevention and wellness models of care.
Despite what the future holds for the medical profession, nurses and other healthcare workers need to prepare for changing trends and for their evolving roles. In addition to remaining lifelong learners, they will be part of the transformative future of healthcare and medical care. But as you can already guess, this is far easier when one is passionate about their career. - 17268
Due to nursing shortages, hospitals and other healthcare institutions have to use their staff more judiciously. Nurses will be tasked with spending more time at the bedside to serve as educators and care coordinators. This will refocus their role with their patients. As the lengths of hospital stays getting shorter due to medical costs, nurses must make most use of the time they spend with patients. Nurses will also work in more administrative roles and supervising positions. Given that, they will need to know how to access and retrieve knowledge and information in order to share it with their patients and their families.
Advancements in technology will also likely attract more males and minorities into the nursing profession. Thus, more emphasis would have to be put on supporting teaching careers and recruiting instructors from a diversity of cultural and educational backgrounds to cater to this shift, and to relive the shortage of nursing school instructors. In addition, more loans and financial scholarships at the graduate level (masters and Phd) will have to be increase to encourage more trained medical professionals to serve as teaching staff. In addition nursing colleges would have to be willing to pay the instructors higher salaries to attract and retain teaching staff.
As far as trends go, if the nursing stuff shortage continues, long-term hospital stays may have to be reserved mainly for the very ill. This then means that the number of outpatients will increase, and subsequently the need for more home health nurses. Nurses will also serve more important roles in insurance companies, healthcare technology and software companies, and consulting agencies. In the future, nurses will also be involved more in community health and population-based healthcare. Their jobs will include risk identification and establishing priorities for at-risk populations. These healthcare workers will also serve as community educators who also work with insurance companies and healthcare providers to develop programs aimed at promoting health and saving the patient money and reducing cost for the health care institutions.
Medical personnel who work in gerontology and geriatrics, for example nurse practitioners also face what would be considered a bright future in terms of their careers. With people in the baby boom generation reaching retirement medical professionals will be required to focus on patients in this generational group. Further, nurses who are also baby boomers might not be ready to retire and may find themselves in a role of consulting. They would serve as healthcare providers who they themselves understand the needs of their patients better.
As medical research and technology advances, nurses will focus considerably on prevention rather than treatment. Further, medical drugs that target diseases before they start, and identifying risks will also enhance preventative healthcare. This will require patient to take a more active role in learning about taking better care of themselves to prevent illness. This healthcare shortage and the cost of healthcare will also add pressure to the healthcare system to concentrate prevention and wellness models of care.
Despite what the future holds for the medical profession, nurses and other healthcare workers need to prepare for changing trends and for their evolving roles. In addition to remaining lifelong learners, they will be part of the transformative future of healthcare and medical care. But as you can already guess, this is far easier when one is passionate about their career. - 17268
About the Author:
Sophie Peters edits for a website with information on health informatics degree programs and alternative health degree programs. Look up more information from this online degree resource.
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