Assignment: Health Policy Proposal Analysis (Policy Brief)

Health Policy Proposal Analysis (Policy Brief)

Health Policy Proposal Analysis (Policy Brief): For this project you will develop a policy brief writing in a clear, succinct, scholarly, and professional manner. You will select one of the recommendations within the Institute of Medicine’s The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report and write a 3 page, single-spaced policy brief.

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Develop a scholarly and professionally written 3-page single-spaced policy brief on the recommendation you selected from the IOM report following the format presented in the Lavis et al. article. Include the following:
- Short introduction with statement of the problem.
- The selected recommendation (from the IOM Report)
- Background
- Current characteristics
- The impact of the recommendation from the perspective of consumers, nurses, other health professionals, and additional stakeholders
- Current solutions
- Current status in the health policy arena
- Final conclusions
- Resources used to create the policy brief

Lavis article as been attached

ALL in latest APA FORMA most resent no more than 5 years.

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Health Policy Proposal Analysis (Policy Brief)

A policy brief is defined as a succinct summary of a specific issue that also contains the policy options to address it and a number of recommendations on the most appropriate option. Policy briefs target government legislators and other individuals interested in formulating or influencing policies. Besides, they propose evidence-based recommendations that enable policymakers to make informed decisions during legislation (Arnautu & Dagenais, 2021). A policy brief should provide an adequate background for the legislator to understand the magnitude of the problem, offer information on available alternatives, and offer evidence to support the most preferred alternative. The purpose of this paper is to outline a policy brief on the recommendation chosen from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report.

Selected Recommendation

The chosen IOM recommendation is: “Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.”

Background

The IOM recommendation stresses the need for an improved education system for nurses. This is to ensure that the present and future generations of nurses can provide safe, high-quality, patient-centered care across all patient settings, particularly in primary care and community and public health. The US healthcare system is dynamic, and it will need significant changes in nursing education before and after licensing and certification (Sullivan, 2018). The nursing profession has experienced dramatic growth in the past years owing to the economic recession and the reasonable stability the health care sector offers. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2019), the applications to entry-level baccalaureate nursing programs increased by over 70% in the past five years. Although nursing schools across the US have responded to this increase in the number of nursing students, they experience challenges, like insufficient numbers of nursing educators to teach nurses at all levels (Daniel & Smith, 2018). These constraints reduce the capacity of nursing schools to take in all the qualified applicants. As a result, thousands of interested students are turned away annually.

The methods used to train nurses in the 20th century are no longer adequate to teach the current and future nurses how to deliver care and make clinical decisions in the 21st century. There is a need for nursing schools to delve into research and generate knowledge crucial to providing health care in a healthcare system that is progressively becoming complex (Daniel & Smith, 2018). The education system ought to provide nursing students with the tools they require to assess and enhance standards of patient care and the quality and safety of care. The education system should ensure nurses are adaptable and flexible with regard to changes in population demographics, science, and technology, which significantly influence the delivery of care. Furthermore, nursing education at all levels should promote a better insight on the approaches to work and foster change within health care delivery systems, as well as approaches for quality improvement and reducing patient risk.

Current Characteristics

Nursing in the US is a mix of education, credentials, and practice, which often causes confusion even among people in healthcare. Even with a common licensure exam, the educational pathways to becoming an RN are different and often confusing to students.

For one to become a practicing registered nurse (RN) in the US, they must graduate from an approved educational program, pass a licensure exam (NCLEX-RN), and meet licensure requirements in the state they wish to practice in (Morris, 2019). Diploma nursing programs generally take three years and are based at an institution, like a hospital-based educational program where they train Licensed practical nurses (LPN). Associate degree in nursing (ADN) programs take 18 months or two years and are provided at junior colleges, community colleges, or hospital-based schools of nursing (Fang, 2019). Baccalaureate programs are usually provided in colleges or universities offering a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, which usually takes four years for direct entry. However, it takes less time for nurses to upgrade from AND to BSN.

Various programs previously viewed as graduate education are now offering entry to practice graduate degrees, including Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and Philosophy Doctorate (Ph.D.). It is worth noting that most healthcare organizations, including Magnet hospitals, prefer BSN-prepared nurses when hiring (Sullivan, 2018). Although most LPNs and ADNs express an interest in advancing their education, various barriers limit them, including financial concerns and difficulty getting into ADN and BSN programs. Online education programs have increased access to advanced nursing education. However, the high cost of pursuing a BSN degree is a major barrier for prospective students. The LPN degree is the cheapest to attain, followed by ADN, BSN (accelerated program), BSN, MSN, and Ph.D./ DNP degrees (Morris, 2019). The high costs are attributed to the increasing trend by healthcare facilities to charge learning institutions for access to clinical sites for nursing students.

The Impact of the Recommendation

The basis of the IOM recommendation on the need to transform nursing education was to increase the number of BSN nurses in the workforce. This would transform nursing education to accommodate the needs of the evolving and transforming healthcare system and practice environments. The IOM recommendation can potentially increase the proportion of BSN nurses and ultimately improve the delivery of healthcare care and patient outcomes. According to the AACN (2019), enhanced patient outcomes reduced mortality, and decreased healthcare costs will be attained owing to a workforce having a higher proportion of BSN-prepared nurses. In addition, a study by Harrison et al. (2019) established that each 10% point increase in the hospital number of BSN nurses was associated with 24% higher odds of surviving up to discharge among patients who got a cardiac arrest.

The BSN program exposes nursing students to a myriad of competencies in areas like leadership, health policy, health care financing, quality improvement, and systems thinking. Consequently, other healthcare professionals believe that having more nurses with knowledge in these areas will significantly improve leadership practices and increase the number of nurses involved in policy formulation in the country. Besides, it will promote increased participation of nurses in quality improvement initiatives, which will be crucial in improving the healthcare delivery process and patient outcomes leading to healthier populations (Harrison et al., 2019). BSN-prepared nurses have markedly higher levels of knowledge and skills in evidence-based practice (EBP), research, and evaluation of gaps in areas like interprofessional collaboration, teamwork, and practice.

The IOM recommendation will ensure that the next generation of nurses will possess more than the basic knowledge of patient care. They will be involved in EBP and research activities to find solutions to issues they encounter in clinical practice (Sullivan, 2018). In addition, it will set a stronger basis for the expansion of nursing science. A workforce of BSNs will be geared up to attain higher levels of education at the MSN, DNP, and Ph.D. levels, which are needed for nurses to take roles as nurse researchers, primary care providers, and nurse faculty (Daniel & Smith, 2018). Lastly, the recommendation will enable nurses to be imparted with knowledge and skills needed to be effective change agents and to adapt to the dynamic models of healthcare effectively.

Current Solutions

The current solutions to transforming nursing education include the introduction of online nursing educational programs, competency-based education, and education programs in which students are given credit for licensure and professional work experience. Technologies, like distance and simulation learning through online courses, are being used to facilitate LPN and ADN nurses to advance their education in ADN and BSN courses, respectively (Fang et al., 2019). Online education programs have created flexibility and provide an extra skill set to nurses who will apply technology in the future nursing practice. Furthermore, the online programs have been increased to make upgrading courses available to all students despite where they live. Various hospitals have also partnered with local universities and colleges to provide onsite classes.

Healthcare organizations are providing stipends to nursing staff as an incentive to advance their education. Solutions for prospective nursing students include the traditional four-year BSN programs provided in universities, but community colleges are also offering four-year baccalaureate degrees in various states (Fang et al., 2019). In addition, important education programs have been introduced to promote academic progression to higher levels of education, such as the LPN-to-BSN and ADN-to-MSN programs. The ADN-to-MSN program is creating a significant path to advanced practice and faculty positions, particularly at the community college level.

Current Status in the Health Policy Arena

The Council on Physician and Nurse Supply recommended a policy (Title VIII) to increase graduations from nursing schools by 30%. Title VIII is usually considered the major source of federal support for nursing education. It also proposes that public support to promote increased output of nursing schools be targeted to inspire more nurses to take up BSN degrees (Schaeffer & Haebler, 2019). In addition, policies have been proposed to fund four-year colleges and universities to help compensate for the budget cuts affecting the learning institutions that have caused limitations in the uptake of undergraduate BSN applicants. Title VIII act also proposes a capitation method of funding to support colleges and universities to increase nursing admissions (Schaeffer & Haebler, 2019). Various states have approved community colleges to offer baccalaureate BSN programs, and they will be eligible to be given the new targeted Title VIII funds should the policy be enacted.

Conclusion

The IOM recommendation proposes that nurses should advance effortlessly through the education system to higher education levels, including graduate degrees. However, nursing institutions have faced constraints like inadequate educators training nurses at all levels, limiting the number of students enrolled annually. The IOM recommendation can improve health outcomes and decrease healthcare costs and mortality rates. Besides, it will increase the number of MSN, DNP, and Ph.D. nurses who will replenish the pool of nurse educators. Solutions currently implemented include online nursing programs for nurses advancing to BSN and the introduction of BSN programs in community colleges. The Title VIII policy proposes funding colleges and universities offering BSN programs to increase the admissions of prospective students.

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2019). Creating a more highly qualified workforce. Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Workforce

Arnautu, D., & Dagenais, C. (2021). Use and effectiveness of policy briefs as a knowledge transfer tool: a scoping review. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00885-9

Daniel, K. M., & Smith, C. Y. (2018). Present and future needs for nurses. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 23(1), e12122. https://doi.org/10.1111/jabr.12122

Fang, D., Li, Y., Turinetti, M. D., & Trautman, D. E. (2019). 2018-2019 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing. American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Harrison, J. M., Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., Brooks Carthon, J. M., Merchant, R. M., Berg, R. A., … & American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines–Resuscitation Investigators. (2019). In hospitals with more nurses who have baccalaureate degrees, better outcomes for patients after cardiac arrest. Health Affairs, 38(7), 1087-1094. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05064

Morris, T. L. (2019). The Landscape of Nursing Education in the United States. In Forum on Public Policy Online (Vol. 2019, No. 1). Oxford Round Table. 406 West Florida Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801.

Schaeffer, R., & Haebler, J. (2019). Nurse leaders: extending your policy influence. Nurse Leader, 17(4), 340-343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2019.05.010

Sullivan, T. (2018). Institute of Medicine Report, The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health. Policy and Medicine.

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Assignment: Health Policy Proposal Analysis (Policy Brief)