The Future of Nursing

The Future of Nursing The nursing industry is changing rapidly in America. The healthcare industry is coping with the aging patient population with increasingly complex insurance procedures, loopholes and adjustments, along with healthcare reform. There are many changes that have been made and are expected to be made over the next 10 years, and nurses will play a major role in meeting them.

It is expected in the future that nurses may see a patient, check vital signs, and a preliminary check, then bring a doctor in via video-conference. The patient would actually only have a physical meeting with the nurse, and then have a very short video meeting with a physician.

Related: How to Manage the Mess between Notes Future nursing roles There is expected to be more and more nurse lines in the future. In the years to come, insurance companies may require a patient to call in, speak with the nurse, and get an approval code to actually visit a medical clinic.

Essentially nurses would serve as the determining body behind whether or not a patient is sick enough to be seen by a physician. Nurses currently learn operating procedures of new equipment on a regular basis, and that is anticipated to increase in the future as new medical advances are made. It is anticipated that the demand for nurses working in the clinical trial area will increase by at least 30%. Future clinical trials may be conducted by using an implanted microchip into the participant, and it may be the role of nurses to monitor all patients. The good news is this may make animal testing obsolete, and could improve cancer care.

Nurses and the operating room On April, 2016 a physician performed the first operation using a virtualreality camera at Royal London Hospital. Everyone was able to participate in the operation in real time through the medical realities website. As this may be the way of the future, it is anticipated nurses will participate more in the operating room with a role in explaining exactly what the physician is doing to observers. Robots will also begin to play more of a role in medicine and nurses will expand their versatility to programming and training robots in some means of patient care. Fear not, there will still be physical nurses at the patient’s bedside and that will never change. The robots would be used to carry supplies and retrieve medications essentially serving as an assistant

to the nurse.

Wearable devices Nurses may be trained to monitor devices that will attach to a patient, generally on their shoulder it will be the role of a nurse to monitor equipment each day virtually, and record all information to submit to the physician. In most cases, it’s expected that the nurse will gather information then separate into a critical, noncritical status. This will also be considered real-time data, and as a nurse reads reports and notices the patient’s blood pressures elevating beyond the normal range for any length of time, they would alert the patient and the patient’s physician.

Human Genomics This particular area of nursing will most likely face a shortage of nurses.

Some schools are starting to teach extra classes in the new and up and coming field to help meet future nursing demands. The mapping of the human genes will expand the world of medicine as we know it today, and nurses will be involved every step of the way working with both physicians and scientist. As patients participate in genetic trials, nurses will be providing the care and collecting the data, actually changing the course of medicine.

Related: Do You Have to Say Goodbye to Your Social Life as a Nursing Student?

Education With online courses becoming ever increasing in popularity, many nursing students will take classes from home. This may shorten the time it takes to earn a nursing degree, although certain classes will still be conducted at a school. The length of schooling may depend on demographics, as larger communities will offer more on site classroom time. For potential nurses that may be facing financial challenges, the next 10-15 years would be a good time to rely on nursing grants and scholarships. Some hospitals may help cover tuition costs with a contract of a year or more employment.

LPN’s may find that it's a great time to continue education if that is a goal, tuition reimbursement is often offered for current employees.

Medical advancements are a fact of life, and the more seminars, and trainings that nurses are willing to attend, the more job possibilities there will be. Every new medical breakthrough is to benefit patients in some form, and every dedicated nurse appreciates that.

Related: Andrea J. Davis, RN, BSN, – International Nurses Association