Trends in Nursing Industry

What is a Trend? According to the Google, a trend is a general direction in which something is developing or changing. This is in direct agreement with the saying that the only thing which is constant in life is change. In the Nursing industry, studying trends is quite important because it helps to predict the future of the profession. Nurses can be regarded as advocates and health educators for patients, families, and communities who carry out activities such as providing direct patient care, observing, assessing, and recording symptoms, reactions, and progress. They also assist physicians during treatments and examinations; they administer medications; and they assist in convalescence and rehabilitation.

The study of trends in the Nursing industry helps in planning a sustainable future vis a vis provision of adequate patient care. In other words, it helps with financial predictability. This paper seeks to examine some of such trends, the historical development of such and their various effects on the Nursing industry. Top Trends in the Nursing Industry According to research, the top three trends in the Nursing industry are briefly discussed below.

1. Educational delivery: Distance learning has become a popular way to get a nursing degree. Although few people advocate online learning for basic nursing preparation, it has become an increasingly common option for nurses seeking to enhance their education. Schools also are experimenting with the order in which courses are taught. Some are giving all the classroom work up front, then following that with the clinical work. In effect, teaching methods used by teachers has also evolved. The effect of such a trend is that the opportunity to study Nursing as a degree is made available to a wider variety of people due to factors such as its flexibility.

Teaching methods used by teachers is also an evolving trend . For instance, teachers make use of patient simulators can help students prepare for complex situations before they ever lay a hand on a patient. These patient simulators can take a student through a complex scenario without the instructor needing to make multiple setting changes along the way. With advancements in technology, educators have made great strides in providing quality teaching in digital form. While many people assume that the online classroom doesn’t afford as good an education as the traditional one, this is not the case. Innovations in online learning experiences have allowed teachers to truly engage with their students. Technology allows students to attend ‘class’ anywhere, anytime, making higher education available to more people than ever before.

2. Substantial movement to community based care: Community-based nursing and the tech boom began ramping up in the late 1990s and early 2000s. To counter nursing shortages, electronic intensive care units (E-ICUs) were established, mostly in rural areas, to enable out-of-state nurses to monitor patients remotely via video camera. That’s when hospitals and other healthcare facilities started to look to robotics and machines for some nursing tasks, like stocking rooms and even monitoring patients.

3. Increased numbers of RNs in public and community care: Most healthcare services involve some form of care by nurses. In 1980, 66% of all employed RNs worked in hospitals. By 2008, that number had declined slightly to 62.2% as more health care moved to sites beyond the hospital and nurses increased their ranks in a wide range of other settings, including private practices, health maintenance organizations, public health agencies, primary care clinics, home health care, nursing homes, outpatient surgicenters, nursing-school-operated nursing centers, insurance and managed care companies, schools, mental health agencies, hospices, the military, industry, nursing education, and health care research. Registered Nurses comprise one of the largest segments of the U.S. workforce as a whole and are among the highest paying large occupations. Nearly 58% of RNs worked in general medical and surgical hospitals, where RN salaries averaged $66,700 per year. RNs comprised the largest segment of professionals working in the healthcare industry. An Important Emerging Issue Generally, the world has witnessed some changes in its political terrain.

The Nursing profession is not immune to this changing tide. For instance, the industry has witnessed a change in its demographics. Changing Traditionally, the nursing profession has been predominately filled with middle-aged Caucasian females; however, over the last two decades, these demographics have begun to shift. More men are entering the field; and nursing graduates are younger, more educated, and more ethnically diverse than ever before, states Melissa DeCapua, a board-certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. This younger generation is more driven to earn graduate degrees to become nurse practitioners, certified midwives, nurse anesthetists, or clinical nurse specialists—increasing talent and building a more competitive workforce. Diversity, therefore, is a key contributor the success of the nursing workforce’s future. Another big challenge currently facing the industry is the looming retirement of baby boomers around the country.

The direct effect of this is the retirement of more than half of the working nurse population due to the fact that they are over 50. The impact of this is that as older generations continue to reach retirement age and leave the profession, there will be many vacant positions needing to be filled. As the baby boomer generation ages, the number of older adults in the United States is expected to increase exponentially. Combine this with a longer average life span, and the healthcare system needs to adapt — quickly. To meet the needs of a large aging population, nurses in particular must “identify strategies to allow older adults to live independently for as long as possible; provide health care and education for older adults who are self-managing multiple chronic illnesses; ensure that older adults in long-term care settings receive high-quality care,” says Patricia A. Grady, Ph.D., RN, of the National Institute of Nursing Research.

The National Institutes of Health estimates that about 80 percent of people over the age of 65 have at least one chronic illness, such as heart disease, diabetes or arthritis. In addition, the number of older adults with multiple chronic illnesses is substantial. Chronic illnesses are one of the most central issues facing nurses in terms of the aging population because they impact quality of life for patients and garner considerable expenses. Seventy-five percent of healthcare costs in the United States are the result of chronic illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Conclusion As the world continues to move forward, nursing will continue to evolve. But some of the basics won’t change. These include advocating for patients, seeing how all the pieces fit together for the patient and, most importantly, caring for the patient as a human being. As regards what it will take to survive in the nursing world of the future. Being open to change tops the list.

Patton advises, “See opportunities instead of challenges. There are opportunities for significant reforms in our healthcare system.” Patton adds that nurses need to learn political skills so they can influence others, and should try to understand the business side of healthcare. What advice can be given to nursing leaders? Porter-O’Grady encourages them to make it safe to discuss what nurses can stop doing and make sure they’re letting go of the right things. He urges them to model change and to discourage their staff from saying “I want to do the most I can for my patients,” because there’s no relationship between volume and value. He believes leaders have to be comfortable with change and with being vulnerable; they have to be comfortable admitting, “I don’t know, but I can find out….I’m not sure how we’ll get there but I’ll be with you. I won’t desert you.”

Burnes Bolton advises nursing leaders to work together during this crucial time. “We have the attention of the federal government and organizations like the Institute of Healthcare Improvement and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.” Our panelists express concern about a leadership gap and wonder where the next leaders will come from. While new leaders are emerging, the panelists emphasized they have the responsibility to mentor future nurse leaders. “They know that the more impact they have on their profession and their colleagues, the more service they can provide to patients. It’s a different way to serve,” Porter-O’Grady says.