The need for professional nurses is steadily on the rise. In the United States, nursing is a unique profession with various educational pathways that lead to an entry-level license to practice. The diversity in the United States health care system and practice environment requires nurses to have profound changes in nurses education both before and after receiving their license to ensure that nurses’ current and future generations can deliver safe, quality, patient-centered care across all settings and improved education system is necessary [CITATION FTi13 \l 1033 ].
The various education levels in nursing aim to support and provide a better knowledge of dealing with issues in care management and improving aspects related to system-level changes within the reformed healthcare system. Lifelong learning ensures that nurses increase their knowledge of different new aspects of care, reducing the care gap left when older nurses quit the nursing profession (Institute of Medicine, 2011). Lifelong learning in nursing positively impacts healthcare because they will be able to retain nurses who are well-versed in their areas of expertise and education; nurses will be able to support their ability to offer a broader range of services safely and effectively in the healthcare industry. Continuing education has been shown to positively improve patient outcomes, less errors, and decrease the risk of patient deaths.
Lifelong learning in nursing contributes to the development of knowledge and nursing skills, which ultimately results in better health outcomes—defining lifelong learning in nursing as a dynamic process that encompasses personal and professional life. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has created eight initiatives to prepare for new practice changes, leadership roles, and educational needs.
The first recommendation entails nurses taking on more leadership roles. In doing so, nurses would have to further their education past an associate in nursing degree. The (IOM) would like to see an increase in nurse ratio with a baccalaureate degree up to 80 percent by 2020. In nursing education, the IOM report emphasizes the importance of more nurses having an education at the Baccalaureate degree level and doctorate level (IOM, 2011). Empirical evidence indicates that nurses with a BSN degree report improved patient health outcomes.
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