Stakeholders in Nursing Programs' Evaluation Process

The College of Nurses of Ontario’s mission statement is to “protect the public’s right to quality nursing services by providing leadership to the nursing profession in self-regulation” (CNO, 2012). The College of Nurses recognizes that self-regulation is a privilege granted by proving that they are capable of putting the interests of the public before their own. By establishing a number of requirements for entry to practice, articulating and promoting practice standards, administering quality assurance, and enforcing standards of practice and conduct, the College fulfills it’s

Healthcare systems and the way safe, quality health care is delivered are continually changing to better serve patients and communities. Professional nursing practice is a large component in the healthcare system today. Back in the 1960s, professional nursing leaders tried to adopt the bachelor degree programs as the only educational track to become a registered nurse (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). Due to nursing shortages and demands this motive did not hold fast. Individuals entering the nursing profession today must first decide which educational pathway to take to become a Registered Nurse (RN).

In 2008 the Alliance for Advanced Practice Credentialing and the National Council of State Board of Nursing published specific masters educational, accreditation, licensure, credentialing, certification processes. The masters educational, accreditation, licensure, credentialing, certifications are based on a set of values steps to practice will ensure that NPs have the skills training to place themselves to serve an fundamental role in national health care reform (Graduate NursingEDU,

With an ever-increasing body of knowledge in the field of nursing, more education is being required to enter the field of nursing. Many healthcare institutions are raising the educational requirements in order to become employed or maintain employment in their facilities. Healthcare organizations are transitioning to hiring registered nurses (RN) who have a higher level of education, such as, a graduate from a Baccalaureate Degree Nursing (BSN) program. The goal of these institutions is to have nurses with a broader array of skills that can meet the growing demands of our patient population. BSN prepared nurses are recognized for their well-rounded skills in critical thinking, management, case management and health promotion versus Associate Degree nurses (ADN)/Diploma nurses that focus on direct patient care.

Nursing satisfaction has criteria for change; as documented in the Future of Nursing’s report, by the Institute of Medicine in cooperation with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations’, Campaign for Action. (IOM, 2010) (RWFF, 2010) Both reports lay the groundwork that influences NC current nursing shortage. At the same time; to make health care more affordable, the Affordable Care Act was entered into law (ACA, 2010). Additionally, hospitals and other health care facilities are applying for, and meeting criteria for accreditation and is very clear about implementing a mandatory, entry level, BSN

This “incorporates the roles of assessing, critical thinking, communicating, providing care, teaching and leading” (Grand Canyon University, para. 7). I also believe that an individual’s maturity over a four-year period has time to evolve with the concepts of critical thinking and decision making the BSN framework offers. The difference in cost and time from ADN to BSN programs is a deciding factor in many educational decisions. The economy and decrease in job opportunities has driven many into the nursing profession that may not have initially considered it a career option. Sadly, I believe that has contributed to the lack of interest in pursing an advanced education. The professional choice wasn’t driven out of a motivation to help humanity or a sense of altruism; it was merely an employment opportunity.

Health Care in the United States is a vast industry that has many different types of people involved in the delivery of care. There are stakeholders that affect the daily operations of health care and they are not necessarily in a hospital setting. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, defines a “stakeholder” as persons or groups who have a vested interest in the clinical decision and the evidence that supports that decision ("Effective health care," 2011, p. 1). These stakeholders are making decisions that impact costs, procedures, and the future of

BSN is expected to also use research studies for a basis for their decision making. ADN analyzes assessment data, where BSN synthesizes comprehensive assessment data to solve problems. ADN’s evaluate and report outcomes and plan interventions from evidence based practice, where BSN nurses compare these interventions and outcomes to benchmarks in research and evidence-based practice and plans follow-up nursing care. They both create teaching plans to promote healthy outcomes, although BSN’s go on to assess population risk (BON,

Increasing acuity and rising complexity of acute-care patient populations, lack of a standard national nurse residency program, low job satisfaction scores of graduate nurses, and a high turnover rate of graduate nurses are a few of the important factors that led to the creation of the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) national nurse residency program (NRP).

Who would you include in the community of interest when you are contemplating beginning a new nursing education program? Support your response with literature.

In the United States alone there are well over three million registered nurses as of 2015, with just over two hundred thousand of that total practicing within the state of Florida (Total Number of Professionally Active Nurses, 2015, n.p.). With that being said, there are many different nursing organizations available within the United States to represent not only the registered nurse, but also to represent the student nurse as well. Several nursing organizations are geared towards specialties, ethnicity, location, education level or gender (Matthews, J., 2012, n.p.). Nursing organizations also lobby federally for the profession as a whole as well as for the public (Schroeder, R., 2013, August, pg.99). For the purpose of this paper I will

214) “The ACA and the need for APRNs, nurse faculty, and nurse researchers would have increased dramatically under any scenario.” (L R Cronenwett [RWJF Iniative on the Future of Nursing], 2010, table 1). “Not only must schools of nursing build their capacity to prepare more students. Nursing need to focus on fundamental improvements in the delivery of nursing care to improve patient safety and quality is key.” (IOM, 2010, p. 208)

In 2008, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) launched an initiative to assess and reform the nursing profession to address the complex unique nursing needs for the current world. The IOM report published in 2010 calls on nurses to take greater role in the healthcare system by taking leadership roles and obtaining high level education. The report envisions nurses to use their full potential and attain academic progression to redesign the healthcare profession in United States.

Furthermore, licensing and accreditation standards must be heightened to insure the quality of the nurses that enter the workforce. Certifying organizations must therefore mandate the proper demonstration of core competencies and skills prior to endowing students with the nursing title. The nursing profession, according to the IOM report, must undergo fundamental changes within the overall education of nurses. In many respects the basic

Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience about why each state nursing program should be the same.