Lifelong Learning

Profound changes in the education of nurses, both before and after they receive their licenses, are required to develop a more highly-educated workforce. Nursing education should serve as a platform for continued lifelong learning and should include opportunities for seamless transition to higher degree programs. The committee recommends that nurses and nursing students and faculty continue their education and engage in lifelong learning.

Bridge programs and educational pathways between undergraduate and graduate programs—specifically programs such as LPN-to-BSN, ADN-to-BSN, and ADN-to-MSN—are designed to facilitate academic progression to higher levels of education. The ADN-to-MSN program, in particular, is establishing a significant pathway to advanced practice and some faculty positions. Financial support to help build capacity for these programs will be important, including funding for grants and scholarships for nurses wishing to pursue these pathways. For example, diploma programs could be phased out, leaving federal resources that could be reallocated to expand baccalaureate and higher education programs.

Bridge programs and seamless educational pathways also offer opportunities for increasing the overall diversity of the student body and nurse faculty with respect to race and ethnicity, geography, background, and personal experience. Although the composition of the nursing student body is more racially and ethnically diverse than that of the current workforce, diversity continues to be a challenge within the profession. Greater racial and ethnic diversity among all health care providers leads to stronger relationships with patients in non-white communities, which are likely to grow as the U.S. population becomes increasingly diverse. Nursing schools and other relevant groups need to create programs to recruit and retain more individuals from racial and ethnic minorities, as well as men—who make up just seven percent of all RNs—into the nursing profession.

Enough Nurses with the Right Skills

Significant barriers must be overcome if the shortage of nurses is going to be offset and more advanced and expanded nursing roles are going to be filled. Having enough nurses with the right kinds of skills will contribute to the overall safety and quality of a transformed health care system. One such barrier is high turnover rates, whichcontinue to destabilize the nurse workforce in the United States. The costs associated with these turnover rates are significant, particularly in hospitals and nursing homes. The high rates among newly graduated nurses, in particular, highlight the need for a greater focus on managing the transition from school to practice.

Nurse residency programs, recommended by the Joint Commission in 2002, can provide important hands-on experience for newly graduated nurses or those transitioning into a new area of practice. These planned, comprehensive periods of time during which nursing graduates can acquire the knowledge and skills to deliver safe, quality care that meets defined standards of practice, can help new nurses develop skills in such important areas as organizing work; establishing priorities; and communicating with physicians and other professionals, patients, and families. In addition, transition-to-practice residency programs can help develop leadership and technical skills in order to provide quality care. Residency programs are supported predominantly in hospitals and larger health systems, with a focus on acute care; they also need to be developed and evaluated outside of acute care settings to accommodate the coming shift of care from hospital to community-based settings and the need for nursing expertise in chronic illness management, care of older adults in home settings, and transitional services.

While the evidence is limited because residency programs are not widespread, they have been shown to help reduce turnover rates for new graduate RNs, reduce costs, increase stability in staffing levels, and help first-year nurses develop critical competencies in clinical decision making and autonomy in providing patient care. The committee recommends that actions be taken to support nurses’ completion of transition-to-practice nurse residency programs after they have completed a prelicensure or advanced degree program or when they are transitioning into new clinical practice areas.

Conclusion

With more than 3 million members, the nursing profession is the largest segment of the nation’s health care workforce. Working on the front lines of patient care, nurses have a direct effect on patient care. Their regular, close proximity to patients and scientific understanding of care processes across the continuum of care give them a unique ability to effect wide-reaching changes in the health care system. Nurses must be prepared to meet diverse patients’ needs; function as leaders; and advance science that benefits patients and the capacity of health professionals to deliver safe, quality patient-centered care. If new nurses are to succeed in this complex and evolving health care system, nursing education needs to be transformed.