The release of the Institute of Medicine's (IOM, 2010) report The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health makes this an unparalleled time in healthcare and nursing. Anticipated changes in nursing practice, education, recognition, and other aspects of nursing are mandates that have opened a rare opportunity for the estimated 3 million nurses in the United States to act urgently before the focus shifts to other initiatives and programs. The IOM committee delivered four key messages: (a) nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training; (b) nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression; (c) nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health professionals, in redesigning healthcare in the United States; and (d) effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and improved information infrastructure (IOM, 2010).
The report clearly urges nurses to assume primary responsibility for personal and professional growth in continued individual lifelong learning and opportunities to develop and advance leadership skills. Nurses are challenged to be transformative leaders in collaborative and interdisciplinary environments while being fully engaged in healthcare decision making on a public, private, and governmental level. This will require competent, educated leaders who are powerful collaborators while holding key positions through membership on boards and governance bodies. The report makes a plea to nursing specialty organizations, such as the American Pediatric Surgical Nurses Association (APSNA), in regard to their relationships and interactions within. The report further demands that, for the advancement of collaboration and syntheses in evidence-based policy that affects quality healthcare and service delivery, specific competencies need to be developed and sustained. Nursing and its leaders need to show the political and professional maturity to negotiate the complex healthcare milieu and assert the profession's legitimate role in decisions and actions. A critical analysis of organizational infrastructure and a vision for transformational leadership are starting points to tackle the charge given to us in this endeavor.
Knowing well that change is inevitable, our consumers (patients, families, colleagues, administrators, and educators, to name a few) want more healthcare information and services for their healthcare dollar. The current and anticipated healthcare milieu changes are opportunities to not only lead this transformation but also advance healthcare for our patients and families. APSNA decided that we would adopt the four key messages of the IOM Future of Nursing call to action and align them to the APSNA Strategic Plan. You can read more about APSNA's Strategic plan on supplemental digital content (Supplemental Digital Content 1, http://links.lww.com/JPSN/A10).