Addressing New Challenges Facing Nursing

Education:
Solutions for a Transforming Healthcare
Environment

The only thing that is constant in this world is change. In this era of increasing medical
technology, changing modes of communication, and the expansion of professional roles,
education of health professionals, especially nurses, cannot be entirely homogenous. From
changing legislation and regulations to changing technologies, the standards for nursing
education need to be established in order to address the challenges brought about by these
changes. Such is the main idea presented by the article entitled, ”Addressing New Challenges
Facing Nursing Education: Solutions for a Transforming Healthcare Environment.” For the
purpose of this review, I will be pointing out the important ideas and concepts presented in the
said article.
The entire article was actually a review of the findings and recommendations of the
National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP) as regards the challenges
of the nursing education in the 21 st century in the US and across the globe. It started out with a
brief background of the status of the Nursing education currently. Specifically, it pointed out
four interrelated factors affecting the present status of nursing education: a.) The demand for
nurses versus the existing shortage of nurses, b.) The needs and expectations set forth by
employers, c.) The trends in the nursing education, and d.) The role of federal government
programs.
Upon the discussion of the current status of the nursing education, several realizations
came to mind:
 That the demand for nurses is growing faster than supply.
 That the growing shortage of nurses will limit the public’s access to healthcare
and optimal outcomes thus compromising the overall healthcare delivery
system.
 That the nursing education must be in sync with employers’ needs using
strategies such as conducting assessments to determine the knowledge level of
new nurses, using an application to deliver data to hospitals and educators, and
generating a constant feedback between the academe and the employers so
they can indicate what specific skills graduates must possess and can provide
feedback to schools on the competence of new graduates (Yurdin, 2007).
 That the states have primary responsibility for funding nursing education
programs, however, more federal funding is needed to develop the nursing
workforce and address the shortfall of nurses.
 The second half of the article presented the challenges encountered in the nursing
education. Points highlighted include: Aligning Education with the Practice Environment,
Faculty Development Challenges, and the Inter-linkages between the Nursing profession and
the healthcare workforce. As for aligning education with the practice environment, it was
posited that new nurses must be educated enough and well-rounded with appropriate
knowledge, attitude, and skills in order to adapt to the complexities of the healthcare industry.
To do so, both undergraduate and graduate nurses need skill sets identified and agreed upon
by educators and practitioners. This could be addressed through provision of clinical exposure
through varied healthcare settings, competent clinical instructors, and intensive curriculum that
is focused on producing quality nurses.
Another challenge to the nursing education presented in the article was the provision
and development of competent faculty in the nursing academe. In order to produce well-
rounded nurses, it is only pertinent that the educators themselves should be experts in nursing
education and must possess the knowledge to serve in an advanced practice role. By experts,
meaning they don’t necessarily need to be specialists in particular clinical areas but must have
solid, foundations of understanding and be able to demonstrate good teaching skills.
Lastly, Inter-linkages between the Nursing profession and the healthcare workforce was
also presented as a challenge to the nursing education in the 21 st century. Accordingly, inter-
professional healthcare practice methods can be effective in improving patient outcomes and
reducing healthcare costs—conversely, there are several obstacles to establishing effective
integrated teams which includes lack of mutual understanding of roles, and lack of
interdisciplinary training among healthcare providers (Brashers, 2001).
As a tie-down, the article presented several options for addressing the challenges
encountered in the nursing education currently. Some of the options that were emphasized
include: strengthening BSN level of education in order to enhance patient safety and improve
provision of quality care; implementation of articulation programs that can transition, say, ADN
nurses into BSN programs; consolidation of intersectoral partnerships between the nursing
academe and clinical institutions to expose student nurses through different healthcare areas
and better equip them with sufficient knowledge and skills for them to get through to future
employment situations; and finally, the inclusion of interdisciplinary education in healthcare as
well as provision of opportunities for nurses to learn alongside healthcare professionals from
other disciplines which could enhance their inter-professional interaction leading to better
understanding and collaboration in the workplace (Fealy, 2005).

Works Cited:
Yurdin, D. (2007, November). Presentation from U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training
Administration, Business Relations Group. Presented at the 117th meeting of the National Advisory
Council on Nurse Education and Practice, Bethesda, MD.
Brashers, V. L., Curry, C. E., Harper, D. C., McDaniel, S. H., Pawlson, G., Ball, J. W. (2001). Inter-
professional health care education: Recommendations of the National Academies of Practice expert
panel on health care in the 21st century. Issues in Interdisciplinary Care: National Academies of Practice
Forum, 3(1), 21-31. Retrieved September 26, 2008, from www.napnet.us/files/simpson-concensus.pdf

Fealy, G. M. (2005). Sharing the experience: Interdisciplinary education and inter-professional

learning. Nurse Education in Practice, 5, 317-319