Loretta Heuer, associate dean of nursing, co-wrote a commissioned paper, “Nursing Innovations: The Future of Chronic Disease Management,” in The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation landmark report, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” In the paper, Heuer advocates for nurse-led initiatives for future management of chronic disease especially with rural or vulnerable populations.
This IOM report is a thorough examination of the nursing workforce and outlines four overarching messages and eight evidence-based recommendations. The recommendations are intended to support efforts to improve the health of the U.S. population through contributions nurses can make to the delivery of care.
The eight recommendations offered in the report are centered on four main issues:
1. Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training.
2. Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.
3. Nurses should be full partners with physicians and other health professionals in redesigning health care in the U.S.
4. Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and information infrastructure.
The report is designed to serve as a framework for changes in the nursing profession and the health care delivery system. These nurse-led solutions are directed to individual policy makers, national state and local government leaders, payers, health care researchers, executives and professionals – including nurses and others – and larger groups such as licensing bodies, education institutions, and philanthropic and advocacy organizations, especially those advocating for consumers. For a copy of the report, visit: www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health.aspx.