An Oct. 2010 report from the Institute of Medicine urges policymakers to remove barriers that prevent nurses from practicing to the full extent of their training.
In 2008, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the IOM launched a two-year initiative to assess and transform the nursing profession, according to the report. The IOM appointed a committee that produced a report to make recommendations for the future of nursing. The report committee developed four messages:
1. Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training.
2. Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.
3. Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other healthcare professionals, in redesigning healthcare in the United States.
4. Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and information infrastructure.
The debate over the role of nurses in care delivery has occupied a substantial space in 2010, as more states consider opting out of the rule that requires physician supervision of anesthesia provision. Organizations have come down on both sides of the debate, with the American Academy of Nursing and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists favoring an expanded role for nurses and the American Society of Anesthesiologists and others citing more robust physician education and training as a reason for the supervised procedures.
Read the IOM report on nurse practice.
Read more on the debate over nurse practice expansion:
-5 Thoughts on the Physician Supervision of Anesthesia Rule From ASA President Dr. Mark Warner
-California Society of Anesthesiologists Explores Options to Reverse Gov. Schwarzenegger's Decision to Opt Out of Physician Supervision of Anesthesia
-AMA Column Explores Anesthesia Provision Debate
In 2008, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the IOM launched a two-year initiative to assess and transform the nursing profession, according to the report. The IOM appointed a committee that produced a report to make recommendations for the future of nursing. The report committee developed four messages:
1. Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training.
2. Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.
3. Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other healthcare professionals, in redesigning healthcare in the United States.
4. Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and information infrastructure.
The debate over the role of nurses in care delivery has occupied a substantial space in 2010, as more states consider opting out of the rule that requires physician supervision of anesthesia provision. Organizations have come down on both sides of the debate, with the American Academy of Nursing and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists favoring an expanded role for nurses and the American Society of Anesthesiologists and others citing more robust physician education and training as a reason for the supervised procedures.
Read the IOM report on nurse practice.
Read more on the debate over nurse practice expansion:
-5 Thoughts on the Physician Supervision of Anesthesia Rule From ASA President Dr. Mark Warner
-California Society of Anesthesiologists Explores Options to Reverse Gov. Schwarzenegger's Decision to Opt Out of Physician Supervision of Anesthesia
-AMA Column Explores Anesthesia Provision Debate