Over the next decade, nursing will demand a larger, more diversified workforce prepared to provide care in different settings, address lasting effects of COVID-19, break down structural racism and the root causes of poor health, and respond to future public health emergencies, according to a May 11 report from the National Academy of Medicine.
Below are four key takeaways from The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity:
1. All state and federal policy changes that expanded scope of practice in response to the pandemic should be made permanent.
2. Under full practice authority, which is currently permitted in 23 states and Washington, D.C., quality of care has improved and so has access to primary care, especially amid the pandemic and physician shortages. Federal authority should be used to supersede restrictive state laws, including those addressing scope of practice.
3. By the end of 2021, all national nursing organizations should begin to develop a shared agenda for addressing social determinants of health and achieving health equity.
4. The report identified several other priorities for the nursing profession over the next decade, including:
- Strengthening nursing education
- Promoting diversity, inclusivity and equity in nursing education and the workforce
- Investing in school and public health nurses
- Protecting nurses' health and well-being
- Preparing nurses for disaster and public health emergency response
- Increasing number of PhD-prepared nurses