Review the Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change,
Advancing Health.” Write a 750-1,000 word paper discussing the influence of the IOM
report on nursing practice. Include the following:
Summarize the four messages outlined in the IOM report and explain why these are
significant to nursing practice.
Discuss the direct influence the IOM report has on nursing education and nursing
leadership. Describe the benefits and opportunities for BSN-prepared nurses.
Explain why it is important that a nurse’s role and education evolve to meet the needs of an
aging and increasingly diverse population.
Discuss the significance of professional development, or lifelong learning, and its relevance
in caring for diverse populations across the life span and within the health-illness
continuum.
Discuss how nurses can assist in effectively managing patient care within an evolving health
care system.
The IOM Report influence on nursing practice
Key IOM Report Messages
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) provides an integral paradigm shift from the traditional
approach of managing healthcare systems with an emphasis on strengthening nurses’ skills and
competencies as part of the healthcare transformation initiatives. The healthcare fragmentations
highlight a need for developing advanced approaches in promoting the sustenance of improved
healthcare outcomes. Nurses have a responsibility of enhancing commitment to promoting the
quality of healthcare outcomes. The nursing workforce endeavors to adopt best practices towards
initiating and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement. As part of the need to improve the
nursing workforce healthcare outcomes, the IOM report in its declarations pointed out four
specific messages in line with the need for commitment among nurses towards healthcare
transformation. First, nurses have a role in demonstrating their maximum potential through their
INFLUENCE OF THE IOM REPORT ON NURSING PRACTICE 2
acquired education and training (IOM Report, 2010). The report posits the need to accord nurses
an opportunity to express their abilities in spite of the barriers arising from structural flaws in the
healthcare team while recognizing the diverse professional knowledge in health promotion and
disease prevention in their practice.
Second, nurses need to obtain a high level of educational training through an advanced
training system that embodies a culture of progressive academic improvement (IOM Report,
2010). With the complex and demanding nature of healthcare delivery, nurses are tasked with
making critical decisions in responding to the situations necessitating advanced educational
training. Third, nurses need to partner with different healthcare stakeholders and professionals in
promoting healthcare reformation across the United States (IOM Report, 2010). Thus, the
healthcare systems need to expand to capitalize on the scope of all actors in the healthcare
profession with a focus on improving capacity building among nurses. Fourth, efficient planning
of the healthcare personnel and workforce while sustaining a positive culture of poly
development necessitate an evidence-based approach for data collection and information sharing.
The adoption of technology provides an enhanced strategy in promoting a collaborative
environment while capitalizing on technological advancements in transforming the healthcare
environment (Warren et al., 2016). Indeed, the IOM’s four messages are significant in the
nursing practice as they promote a proactive culture of initiating change. Besides, it provides an
opportunity for nurses to exercise their skills and competencies towards implementing healthcare
transformation that increase their indulgence and positive healthcare outcomes across different
patient populations.
IOM influence on nurse education and leadership
INFLUENCE OF THE IOM REPORT ON NURSING PRACTICE 3
IOM has a considerable influence on the nursing profession and practice. First, the report
points out the necessary transformations for improving the nursing education through the
development of competencies and skills among nurses through a seamless influence on their
academic development. Through the IOM report, there is evidence linking the disparities in the
nurse education and actual healthcare environment thereby providing a basis for making
appropriate changes in the training approaches to reflect the dynamic healthcare settings. Second,
the report notes that nurses with higher educational qualifications have the potential of
minimizing errors during their practice; the report asserts the need to accord nurses opportunities
for enhancing their educational development across the United States (IOM Report, 2010). Since
education has a critical role in enhancing the capacity of nurses and healthcare professionals,
adjustments to training and educational curriculums provide an advanced advantage of acquiring
new insights towards implementing evidence-based practices.
Besides, the IOM report asserts the critical role of nurses in accelerating change through
their involvement in leadership development programs. The report recognizes nurses’ capacity in
advancing creative solutions and approaches through their professional opportunities in
advancing healthcare outcomes. Since nurses understand the healthcare environment, their
involvement in the leadership positions offers an opportunity for promoting interdisciplinary
collaboration while capitalizing on their diverse prowess to catalyze the change process
(Lanzoni, Meirelles & Cummings, 2016). In addition, with the realization of nurses as part of
teams who provide solutions to healthcare challenges through in-depth analysis and inquiries, the
report aims at emphasizing the need for their involvement in harnessing their culturally diverse
potentials to improve their health outcomes. Also, BSN nurses and clinicians have an
opportunity of internalizing the demanding healthcare environment while increasing their
INFLUENCE OF THE IOM REPORT ON NURSING PRACTICE 4
resilience (IOM Report, 2010). Thus, BSN nurses benefit from acquiring critical thinking skills,
developing healthcare leadership potentials, management of healthcare resources and personnel
while promoting health outcomes within the healthcare setting.
Significance of professional development
Professional development offers an opportunity for nurses to reexamine their learning
needs while upholding their learnt competencies within the healthcare environment. It is
apparent that the healthcare environment faces numerous challenges with the rise in the number
of elderly populations. While recognizing the socioeconomic implication of the elderly
population, sustaining the lifelong learning will enhance greater insights into developing
sustainable measures and practices towards inclining the healthcare system in light of the
challenges and changes (Bellack & Thibault, 2016). Besides, lifelong learning will advance
nurse experiences and skills in upholding fundamental competencies and knowledge in handling
the elderly populations. Moreover, with the high patient expectations, lifelong learning will
increase nurses’ perception and situational awareness of their influencing factors in healthcare
reforms for improved outcomes.
The changing healthcare demands of elderly populations necessitate the nurse adoption of
care and coordinator roles. As part of healthcare drivers, nurses act as innovators in promoting
the efficacy and sustainability of the healthcare practices in realizing its objectives (Kelly et al.,
2016). In taking up active responsibilities throughout their careers in leadership, advanced
knowledge provides an opportunity for committing to assisting elderly persons while developing
culturally sound measures for expanding their scope of service provision. Therefore, the
relevance of lifelong professional development necessitates a proactive perspective in reaching
INFLUENCE OF THE IOM REPORT ON NURSING PRACTICE 5
out to elderly persons and collaborating through the learnt skills in promoting sound health
outcomes.
Nurses and patient care in the dynamic healthcare environment
The dynamic healthcare environment presents opportunities and challenges for the nurse-
patient interaction. According to Kelly et al. (2016), while patients depend on nurses for
diagnosis and therapeutic interventions, nurses have a responsibility of recognizing the
underlying issues that may impact on patient care. Nurses take up various responsibilities in
promoting patient care in healthcare institutions. First, nurses are coordinating care from diverse
health providers while ensuring the continuity in care delivery. Nurses assist patients during their
transition between the hospital environments while also making follow-ups at home to determine
the efficacy of the treatment. As such, nurses endeavor to reduce patient and population
vulnerability while promoting their improvements. Second, nurses can ensure the harmonization
of service delivery through embracing new standards of practice that go along in sustaining
family and patient awareness of their situation. Advancing continuous communication to patients
and their families provide an added advantage of enhancing healthcare improvements. The
patient education enhances a better approach of realizing their assumptions while focusing to
deconstruct their notions as means of promoting quality outcomes. Therefore, nurses can
undertake to sustain their communication with patients while developing therapeutic
interventions to match their cultural affiliations.
INFLUENCE OF THE IOM REPORT ON NURSING PRACTICE 6
References
Bellack, J. P., & Thibault, G. E. (2016). Creating a continuously learning health system through
technology: a call to action. Journal of Nursing Education, 55(1), 3-5.
Institute of Medicine’s (IOM Report, 2010). The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing
Health.
Kelly, M. A., Berragan, E., Husebø, S. E., & Orr, F. (2016). Simulation in nursing
education—International perspectives and contemporary scope of practice. Journal of
Nursing Scholarship, 48(3), 312-321.
Lanzoni, G. M. D. M., Meirelles, B. H. S., & Cummings, G. (2016). Nurse leadership practices
in primary health care: a grounded theory. Texto & Contexto-Enfermagem, 25(4).
Warren, J. I., McLaughlin, M., Bardsley, J., Eich, J., Esche, C. A., Kropkowski, L., & Risch, S.
(2016). The strengths and challenges of implementing EBP in healthcare
systems. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 13(1), 15-24.