How Healthcare Reform is affecting the Nursing Curriculum
Instructions:-
Assignment 1 – Societal Trends in Nursing and Patient Education
Select a societal trend that is affecting curriculum in nursing or patient education.
In 1,000 words, describe how the selected societal trend affects nursing or patient education.
- Relate the issue to appropriate professional standards and competencies.
- Explore strategies to enhance the positive affect or minimize the negative effect of the selected issue.
- Use at least five scholarly, peer-reviewed resources less than 5 years old
Prepare this assignment according to APA guideline. An abstract is required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.
Solution
How Healthcare Reform is affecting the Nursing Curriculum
Abstract
This paper explains Health Reform in the United States as a societal trend that has affected the nursing curriculum significantly. A brief history of health reform will be presented and the way it has improved the health of people in the United States. Then, various considerations in the nursing curriculum regarding health reform will be explained. Additionally, this paper will account for the significance of health reform and the nursing curriculum. The high influx of patients from diverse populations in various health facilities will be discussed. Then, this paper will the explain the way the nursing curriculum has ensured provision of culturally competent care. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates professional standards and competencies regarding the societal trend of health reform. Observance of the code of ethics will be discussed. Moreover, this paper will describe the way the societal trend of health reform has resulted in increased demands at the workplace thus prompting young nurses to leave the profession. The solution to this problem will be explained.
Keywords:
health reform, societal trends, nursing curriculum
How Healthcare Reform is affecting the Nursing Curriculum
Introduction
Creation of health care policies to enhance healthcare delivery has seen many people benefit from quality health services. Significantly, acquisition of health insurance by many people has also guaranteed proper access to affordable healthcare. This societal trend created by the government has been ongoing in the past, and it continues to be relevant regarding the nursing curriculum. This paper describes healthcare reform and its effect on nursing curriculum, explains its importance, and relates it to professional standards and competencies, and finally, it explains the minimization of its negative consequences.
Healthcare Reform as a Societal Trend Affecting Nursing Curriculum
Healthcare reform has resulted in significant considerations in the nursing curriculum. For example, Obama (2016) ascertains that in 1965, the Medicare and Medicaid legislation increased access to health insurance by many people thereby leading to increased hospital admission rates. In 2010, the government introduced the Affordable Care Act, and it became a significant societal trend as many people got access to health insurance. Consequently, the healthcare facilities are experiencing a high influx of patients with various health conditions, some of which are preventable. According to Flinkman, Isopahkala-Bouret, and Salanterä (2013), nurses have found it overwhelming to deal with the increased hospital population due to burnout. As a result, most of them have intended to leave the nursing profession. Therefore, it has become necessary for the nursing curriculum to stress the importance of preventive healthcare regarding the societal trend of healthcare reform.
Another way of analyzing the effect of healthcare reform on the nursing curriculum is to examine the changes that have happened in the nursing education and the expected demand for nurses. Borger (2012) explains the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine regarding the nursing profession. Then, the author ascertains that the current changes in the healthcare system have resulted in the need for nurses who are more educated and well versed with leadership and advocacy to enhance healthcare delivery. Consequently, the nursing curriculum has incorporated and improved programs such as Doctor of Nursing Practice to help nurses acquire such specialized knowledge that can improve health care delivery. Additionally, Bednash, Breslin, Kirschling, and Rosseter, (2014) ascertain that enrolment of nurses in DNP programs has been increasing. This evidence indicates that nurses are embracing the changes of health reform to the nursing curriculum.
Regarding the demand for nurses, the societal trend of healthcare reform warrants the need for more nurses who are competent in primary healthcare. Spetz (2014) makes employment prospects of nurses and explains that by 2020, the United States requires an increase of 55% of the nursing workforce. This need has resulted in an increase in the number of nursing institutions, including online programs to train nurses on a variety of nursing subjects, including preventive healthcare.
Significance of Healthcare Reform
The societal trend of healthcare reform has improved accessibility to health services by many people. For that reason, it has created a need for more nursing professionals thus improving the career prospects for nursing students. For example, the Affordable Care Act has resulted in a sharp increase of people with health insurance. The uninsured rate reduced by 43% in 2015 (Obama, 2016, p. 527). The high coverage has further led to increased accessibility and affordability of quality health services. This trend is envisioned to cause adjustments in the nursing curriculum to provide quality healthcare to diverse populations in primary healthcare. Therefore, although this societal trend has created an impression of acute shortage of the nursing workforce, it has benefited not only patients but also the nursing professionals yearning to participate actively in primary healthcare.
Healthcare Reform and Professional Standards and Competencies in Nursing
The nursing profession has standards, which every nursing professional is required to uphold to guarantee success in the current societal trend of health reform. The standards form the basis upon which the nurses can be assessed to ensure that they do not compromise the quality of health services. Flinkman et al. (2013) assert that nurses care for many patients in the health facilities, including patients from diverse cultures. Accordingly, the nursing curriculum has incorporated cultural competency that can enable nurses to deliver adequate care to diverse populations. Additionally, nurses have learned to embrace the professional code of ethics in their curriculum to ensure appropriate health care delivery that considers various aspects of holistic care. Regarding the competencies, Bednash et al. (2014) ascertain that nurses have embraced higher educational achievements to widen their scope of practice. Similarly, the nursing curriculum in the higher education guarantees proper acquisition of skills such as evidence-based practice that can help nurses deliver health services appropriately. Therefore, the societal trend of health care reform has enhanced not only the professional standards but also the competencies in the nursing practice.
Minimizing the Negative Impact of Health Reform
Although health reform has various advantages to the nursing profession and the population as a whole, it has caused an increase in the number of patients in the health facilities. Accordingly, young nurses graduating from nursing schools after learning a competent curriculum quit their jobs immediately after employment due to burnout. For instance, Bednash et al. (2014, p. 1) indicate that nurses up to 14% of nurses in the USA intend to quit their careers due to increased demands at the workplace. Therefore, the government and the private employers must consider improving the working conditions to motivate nurses to deliver appropriate healthcare. Bednash et al. (2014) further assert that improving staffing at the workplace and enhancing proper collaboration in the healthcare environment can ensure retention of nurses to continue delivering quality health services. Therefore, as more people get health insurance and the healthcare transforms, the nursing curriculum must also teach nurses to adapt to the changes to enhance the image of the profession.
Conclusion
Societal
trends are inevitable in any given society. In the United States, health
reform, particularly the Affordable Care Act has resulted in many people
acquiring health insurance. Consequently, many people have been able to access
health services quickly. This trend has brought significant burdens to the
nurses, making some nurses intend to quit the profession at an earlier age.
Therefore, the nursing curriculum must teach nurses what to expect and the way
they can cope with the needs of the profession
at the workplace regarding the societal trend of health reform.
References
Bednash, G., Breslin, E. T., Kirschling, J. M., & Rosseter, R. J. (2014). PhD or DNP: Planning for doctoral nursing education. Nursing Science Quarterly, 27(4). Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0894318414546415
Borger, A. L. (2012). The Institute of Medicine and the future of nursing. Journal of the Dermatology Nurses’ Association 4(2). doi: 10.1097/JDN.0b013e31824c5b21
Flinkman, M., Isopahkala-Bouret, U., & Salanterä, S. (2013). Young registered nurses' intention to leave the profession and professional turnover in early career: a qualitative case study. ISRN Nursing, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/916061
Obama, B. (2016). United States health care reform: progress to date and next steps. Jama, 316(5), 525-532. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.9797
Spetz, J. (2014). How will health reform affect demand for RNs?. Nursing Economics, 32(1), 42. Retrieved from https://www.nursingeconomics.net/necfiles/news/JF_14_42.pdf
