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Orvis School watching nursing trends with an eye on partnership, leadership

Patsy Ruchala, director of the University of Nevada, Reno Orvis School of Nursing
University of Nevada, Reno

University of Nevada, Reno, Provost Kevin Carman visited with Dr. Patsy Ruchala, director of the Orvis School of Nursing, to talk about trends in nursing education on KUNR's Beyond the Headlines (11-14-14).

The discussion included national initiative to increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80 percent by 2020, double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020 and continue to engage nurses in lifelong learning. 

Dr. Ruchala is leading the Orvis School to address the need for specialization with such programs as its new nurse practitioner programs in psychiatric/mental health and in acute care.

More information at unr.edu/nursing

Here's the source material referred to in this interview, provided by Dr. Ruchala:

The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health
Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine, October 2010
 
 
 
 

 
Four Key Messages
•Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training.
 
 
•Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.
 
 
•Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States.
 
 
•Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and an improved information infrastructure.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Eight Recommendations
 
 
1.Remove scope-of-practice barriers.
Advanced practice registered nurses should be able to practice to the full extent of their education and training.
 
 
2.Expand opportunities for nurses to lead and diffuse collaborative improvement efforts.
Private and public funders, health care organizations, nursing education programs, and nursing associations should expand opportunities for nurses to lead and manage collaborative efforts with physicians and other members of the health care team to conduct research and to redesign and improve practice environments and health systems.  These entities should also provide opportunities for nurses to diffuse successful practices.
 
 
 
 
3.Implement nurse residency programs.
State boards of nursing, accrediting bodies, the federal government, and health care organizations should take actions to support nurses’ completion of a transition-to-practice program (nurse residency) after they have completed a prelicensure or advanced practice degree program or when they are transitioning into new clinical practice areas.
 
 
4.Increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80 percent by 2020. 
Academic nurse leaders across all schools of nursing should work together to increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree from 50 to 80 percent by 2020.  These leaders should partner with education accrediting bodies, private and public funders, and employers to ensure funding, monitor progress, and increase the diversity of students to create a workforce prepared to meet the demands of diverse populations across the lifespan.
 
 
 
5.Double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020. 
Schools of nursing, with the support from private and public funders, academic administrators and university trustees, and accrediting bodies, should double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020 to add to the cadre of nurse faculty and researchers with attention to increasing diversity.
 
 
 
 
6.Ensure that nurses engage in lifelong learning. 
Accrediting bodies, schools of nursing, health care organizations, and continuing competency educators from multiple health professions should collaborate to ensure that nurses and nursing students and faculty continue their education and engage in lifelong learning to gain the competencies needed to provide care for diverse populations across the lifespan.
 
 
 
 
7.Prepare and enable nurses to lead change to advance health. 
Nurses, nursing education programs, and nursing associations should prepare the nursing workforce to assume leadership positions across all levels, while public, private, and governmental health care decision makers should ensure that leadership positions are available to and filled by nurses.
 
 
 
 
8.Build an infrastructure for the collection and analysis of interprofessional health care workforce data. 
The National Health Care Workforce Commission, with oversight from the Government Accountability Office and the Health Resources and Services Administration, should lead a collaborative effort to improve research and the collection and analysis of data on health care workforce requirements.  The Workforce Commission and Health Resources and Services Administration should collaborate with state licensing boards, state nursing workforce centers, and the Department of Labor in this effort to ensure that the data are timely and publicly accessible.
 
 

David Stipech is a former general manager at KUNR Public Radio.
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