IOM: Give Nurses a Larger Role in Healthcare Reform

A new report from the Institute of Medicine calls for nurses to be given a larger, more fundamental role in the transformation of the US healthcare system.

Titled The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, the report calls for the removal of barriers currently preventing nurses from being able to respond quickly and effectively to changing healthcare settings. In turn, this will allow nurses to play a vital role in meeting the objectives of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, more widely known as the healthcare reform law.

The report contains four key messages:

• Nurses should be practice to the full extent of their education and training.
• Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.
• Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other healthcare professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States.
• Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and information infrastructure.

The report notes that other groups should also play a role in helping to revamp the current healthcare system, including government, businesses, healthcare organizations, professional associations and the insurance industry.

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