New challenges, opportunities ahead for nurses


By DEBORAH A. MILES An 800-page report titled “The Future


of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,” details the fundamental transformation of the nursing profession needed to achieve an improved health care system. The report was compiled by the


committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at the Institute of Medicine. The committee selected New York state and four others states to carry out the report’s recommendations. “This report is a vehicle in which


nurses, individually and collectively, can learn how to advance their roles in health care,” said Barbara Serafin, a member of the PEF Nurses Committee and a psychiatric nurse 3 at Rockland Psychiatric Center. “It provides the guidelines on how nurses can move ahead and partner with other health care providers on a more equal level.” Serafin said the report was completed


in 2009, and presented to the public in November 2010. “It brought a new vision to the future of nursing with four main


recommendations,” she said. One is to ensure


SERAFIN


nurses can practice to the full extent of their education and training. The second is to improve nursing education. The third is to provide opportunities for nurses to assume leadership positions and to serve as full partners in health


care redesign. And the last is to improve data collection for workplace planning and policy making. “This report recognizes the importance


of having nurses included in decision making and developing policies. Health care, right now, is at a bad crossroad. The report outlines how nurses can make a difference if given a chance,” Serafin said. It also describes how certain programs


may help nurses transition from school to employment, and how new nursing graduates can further develop their skills.


Professional Directory Advertising in this publication does not represent an endorsement by PEF or its members. “Transforming the health care system


will require a fundamental rethinking of the roles of many health care professionals, including nurses,” said Jemma Marie-Hanson, PEF chair of the Nurses Committee and PEF Region 11 coordinator. “The Affordable Care Act of 2010


outlines some new health care structures and provides opportunities for new roles. Nurses will be involved in a number of programs and initiatives to improve quality care. Nurses now have the opportunity to play a central role in transforming the health care system to a more high-quality and value-driven environment for patients,” Marie-Hanson said. “Once nurses become more educated,


it will change the profession,” Serafin added. “More people will have a different image of nurses. With more education and skills, nurses will become partners with other health care professionals. “This report shows how the nursing


profession is on the cutting edge of something new, challenging and exciting.”


Golf tournament funds


Scanlon scholarship PEF members are still swinging their


clubs to keep the Judi Scanlon scholarship going. This year, the tournament raised


$1,936 in memory of Scanlon, who was an intensive case manager killed by a patient in 1998 during a home visit. “The purpose of this tournament is to


make sure workplace safety stays in the forefront,” said PEF Region 1 Coordinator Kevin Hintz. Each year, two PEF students who are


matriculated in a health care related curriculum, each receive a $1,000 award from money raised at the tournament. — Deborah A. Miles


Page 14—The Communicator November 2011


PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445


NURSES STATION


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