Assuring the Future of Nursing Education

SINCE ITS RELEASE IN THE FALL OF 2010, THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE REPORT (2011), THE FUTURE OF NURSING: LEADING CHANGE, ADVANCING HEALTH, HAS BEEN WIDELY QUOTED AND REFERENCED. Its potential impact on the nursing profession is significant as nursing and health care leaders, policy makers, and funding agencies consider its key recommendations and discuss implementation strategies. To summarize, the report is focused on what is needed to develop a vital and diverse nursing workforce that is prepared to meet the health care challenges facing our country. What will it take for us, as nurses, to collectively secure our rightful place as leaders in health care? The report has four key recommendations: * All nurses should practice to the full scope of their education. * Nurses should pursue higher levels of education, and nursing education programs should work to provide academic progression opportunities that are seamless for learners. * Nurses should emerge as full partners with other health care professionals in redesigning health care. * Data collection and management processes should be improved so as to better inform workforce planning and policy development. The implications of this report for our practice as nurse educators and how we will educate future generations of nurses are substantial. We cannot hold meaningful conversations about the future of nursing without critically examining the future of nursing education. Likewise, to achieve in nursing practice, we must have in our nursing education. The mission and core values of the National League for Nursing underscore the importance we place on leading the quest for in our nursing education programs. Embodied within our core values--Caring, Integrity, Diversity, and Excellence--the NLN mission is to promote excellence in nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the nation's health. We were a key player in the national discussion leading to and following the publication of the Future of Nursing report. And, as the voice for all of nursing education, we are engaged in initiatives designed to assure a continued focus on quality and in our nursing education programs. Let me share some examples. The NLN has long supported multiple entrypoints into the nursing profession while also supporting academic progression for all nurses. We see academic progression as a means to promote a strong and diverse nursing workforce, and in a vision statement (NLN, 2011a), we call on faculty to develop new models to promote seamless transition across various academic programs. …