The IOM Report

Nurses comprise the largest fraction of the healthcare workforce, making this profession the base of the health care system’s prosperity. Haddad, Annamaraju, and ToneyS-Butler (2020) noted that over 60% of health care workers are nurses. Therefore, the contribution of these professionals cannot be ignored. Nurses participate in leadership, decision-making, patient education, and health care management (Pajnkihar, Vrbnjak & Štiglic, 2017). These tasks are integral to a firm health care system. Importantly, nursing professionals through collaboration with other professionals, provide quality care to all patient groups. Research is also a significant task carried out by nurses. Extensive nursing research is essential for generating crucial evidence to integrate into care processes.

Pajnkihar et al. (2017) pointed out that nursing professionals’ role in policy development is indisputable. They advocate for their clients' rights, needs, and interests besides lobbying for these rights to be integrated into policy. Regrettably, numerous challenges negatively affect nursing practice at all levels. These challenges obstruct nurses from active participation in patient care and education, policy development, and disease prevention interventions. They also deter nurses’ participation in long-term learning activities.

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Traynor (2017) argued that to improve nursing practice, legislators and health care leaders must identify challenges and develop solutions to empower nurses to practice to their maximum potential. Such a move, as highlighted by Traynor (2017), increases the chances of achieving universal health care goals. This paper digs deep into the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Committee (RWJF) to understand its roles and effectiveness in resolving nursing practice problems. The paper also points out the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report’s significance to future nursing practice.

The RWJF initiative

The healthcare system has, over the years, experienced a surge in the people’s need for a health care environment where every person is guaranteed high-quality care. Health care stakeholders have continuously pressured the policymakers and the government to develop interventions that could address various needs adequately (Haddad et al., 2020). The government created the RWJF and the IOM, which are mandated to develop reliable interventions to nursing practice challenges. The organizations identify specific challenges and develop effective interventions for these challenges. These interventions are implemented at the hospital level to guide and transform nursing practice (Chandra et al., 2019). The IOM delegated the RWJF to produce a comprehensive report on the prospect of nursing practice. The IOM also instructed the RWJF to oppose a realistic strategy of transforming nursing practice. The RWJF thus proposed four major messages that could aid in transforming and propelling nursing practice.

RJWF Key Messages

The first RWJF message underscored the worth of putting in place a health care environment capable of inspiring health care professionals to commit to quality care provision in keeping with education, experience, and scope of practice (University of Maryland, 2021). The second message recognized the role of nursing education and emphasized the need to transform nursing education. RWJF noted that a competent education system produces a knowledgeable and skilled workforce bedsides supporting continuous nursing education (University of Maryland, 2021). The report further acknowledges that transforming the education system is beneficial to nursing practice since it will produce competent leaders with quality decisionmaking skills. The third message touches on interprofessional collaboration. RWJF pointed out that interprofessional collaboration creates strong teams that constitute the backbone of nursing practice (University of Maryland, 2021). Collaboration enables nurses to identify and exploit opportunities for change. The fourth message accentuated the need and importance of implementing strong data collection frameworks besides supporting an effective workforce.

Relevance of IOM recommendations

Irrefutably, the IOM recommendations have positively impacted all nursing aspects, including leadership, education, and practice. These recommendations have influenced workforce development and nursing training. Leaders, in line with these recommendations, have developed and implemented strategic policies to transform nursing practice (Institute of Medicine., Altman, Butler, Shern & RWJF, 2016). Leaders intend to use policy to address the surging need for quality care. The IOM recommendations are also relevant to nursing practice since they recognize the positive impact of nursing education and interprofessional collaboration to improved safety and care outcomes across the continuum. IOM recommends an education system that supports research, knowledge acquisition, continuous learning, and collaboration with specialists. The IOM also recognizes the challenges facing nursing practice. The report, however, clarifies that nursing practice has numerous unutilized opportunities that nurses could exploit to resolve existing challenges and strengthen their contribution to the profession. The

Institute of Medicine et al. (2016) pointed out that using leadership and critical thinking skills enables nurses to identify opportunities for enhanced patient care and implement evidence to practice. Therefore, the RWJF supports nurses’ role in finding lasting solutions to nursing practice problems.

State-based coalition

The state-based coalitions are networks of professionals from state and national organizations acting as a team to support health care advancement. The main agenda of these coalitions is to create resilient and better communities. The coalitions appreciate the nurses’ roles and contributions to the health care sector. Traynor (2017) clarified that establishing healthy communities requires leaders to collaborate with other professionals at different levels, including state and national. The New Jersey State-based coalition offers a platform for such collaborations. The coalition works closely with leaders, nurses, and other health care workers to inspire them to transform health care in the state (Campaign for Action, 2021). The New Jersey Coalition’s main objective is restructuring health care progression practices. Members vigorously engage in tasks that promote sustainable health care change and improve public health.

New Jersey state coalition initiatives

The Campaign for Action (2021) clarified that the New Jersey Coalition spearheads improved leadership, efficient care delivery, nursing barriers eradication, and nurses' interaction with the community. The coalition acknowledges that engaging nurses and embedding them in existing communal projects could promote equity, well-being, and healthier communities. For instance, the coalition simulates poverty and other social problems to prepare nursing professionals for community practice. Importantly, the coalition partners with local groups to establish a culture of health within communities.

Barriers to nursing advancement in New Jersey

Despite the benefits of nursing practice to the people, the advancement of nursing is cluttered with numerous challenges. These challenges affect nurses’ contribution to research, patient care, and interprofessional interactions. They include high nursing staff turnover, insufficient resources, poor preparation to practice, and inappropriate perception of nursing by the public (Haddad et al., 2020). Decreased interest in nursing courses by potential individuals has also become a challenge to advancing nursing practice. The changing health care dynamics typified by increased patient populations have also affected nursing progress.