February 1, 2016

Nursing: A Look Ahead

Cleveland Clinic nurse leaders’ 2016 projections

Kelly-Hancock_650x450

By Kelly Hancock, DNP, MSN, RN, NE-BC

Advertisement

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy

With the beginning of each new calendar year, Cleveland Clinic’s executive nurse leaders spend ample time pinpointing organizational successes and failures of the closing year and strategically evaluating opportunities and threats for the year ahead.

A good sign is often finding that our resulting discussions have direct links between our past organizational endeavors and our projected future ones.

With the turn of 2015 to 2016, we discovered a number of past and future links that our leadership team feels are important and will likely contribute to the next phases of the growing professional nursing landscape.

As can be expected, even though it has been nearly six years, many of these takeaways are those that have evolved or developed because of the monumental 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, which is centered on four key areas: Professional Nursing Practice, Nursing Education and Professional Development, Care Delivery, and Nursing Informatics/Technology.

Practice: emphasize the professional practice model

Very similar to one of our team’s 2015 projections, professional nursing models of practice will continue to focus heavily on improving patient outcomes, increasing quality and patient safety metrics and monitoring and incorporating outcomes into real-time care processes.

Practice models are the foundation for clinical nursing. In 2015, our nursing organization continued to place great emphasis on our model, which utilizes four domains:

  • Quality and patient safety
  • Healing environment
  • Research and evidence-based practice
  • Professional development and education

We’ve been working to implement our model throughout our 19,000-member Nursing Institute for a few years and have made continual and consistent progress. However, 2015 was the year in which we could confirm our model was successfully integrated into all nursing areas throughout the health system, with statistics to prove our practice model boards are being used daily on each nursing shift.

Advertisement

As nursing organizations move forward in 2016, the nurse-led model of care will continue to drive further refinement of the nurse’s role as well as the nurse’s influence on care delivery, general health policy and more.

In terms of priorities, our team recommends that nursing organizations consider the following when it comes to practice models: commitment to professional development, education opportunities and legislative involvement; review and analysis of nurse position descriptions, roles and responsibilities; improvement of nursing-sensitive quality metrics and safety initiatives; and, advancement of nursing research as well as efficiency efforts, continuous improvement and LEAN principles.

Education and development: from entry-level to tenured veteran

Also similar to another of our 2015 projections, in 2016, we will likely see continued expansion of nurses’ scope of practice as well as professional demand through a combination of normal attrition, the retirement of experienced nurses and the increased need for healthcare throughout the country.

Recently, the nursing profession has been shifting from task-oriented nursing to critical thinking nursing. With this shift, ongoing professional development is a necessity, and advanced degrees are no longer optional, especially with the IOM’s demand that nurses with baccalaureate degrees reach 80 percent by 2020.

In 2015, we continued our extensive caregiver and leadership development offerings with certification review courses, continuing education courses, tuition reimbursement, specialty training and more.

We also revisited launching a nurse associate program with a pilot that included a 10-week externship for nursing students entering their senior year in an accredited BSN program.

We had 30 students from 18 nursing schools in five states participating. Eighty-seven percent of participants said they would pursue a career at Cleveland Clinic, and 94 percent of nurse managers said they would hire their associates after completion of their degrees. Not only does this initiative help build our pipeline, but it helps ensure new nurses are better prepared for practice.

Advertisement

Also aiding in that effort is our nurse residency program, which is required by all new nurse graduate hires and nurses without prior experience in a specialty area. In 2015, our residency included two primary tracks, one in acute care and the other in operating room nursing and saw more than 1,000 residents throughout the year.

As nursing organizations move forward in 2016, in addition to programs like nurse residencies or associate externships, our recommendations are to continue to partner with local schools of nursing; to encourage and support specialty nursing certifications in all interdisciplinary areas; and to grow/refine clinical nurse specialist programs. Nurses should be practicing at the top of their abilities, including nurse practitioners practicing independently and to the full extent of their educations.

Care delivery: care coordination, patient education and beyond

Efficiency and improvements in care delivery has been and will, without a doubt, continue to be one of the largest demands of our profession. From refined care coordination and care team collaboration and communication to enhancements in nursing informatics, technology, education and process – care delivery is taking a refined shape.

The world of healthcare is focused on disease prevention, increased patient education, reduced readmissions, changes in patient access to care, standardization of care, chronic care management, and the incorporation of integrated practice units or institutes throughout a health system.

In 2015, Cleveland Clinic Nursing placed heavy emphasis on developing comprehensive care plans based on evidence-based care paths to reduce unnecessary readmissions and emergency department visits. We set forth community education initiatives to promote overall health and wellbeing and gave patients the opportunity to take a more active role in their health.

Kelly Hancock is the Executive Chief Nursing Officer of the Cleveland Clinic Health System, and Chief Nursing Officer of Cleveland Clinic Main Campus.

Related Articles

23-NUR-4263744-NurseEssentPodcast-NancyAlbert-CQD_650x450
January 29, 2024
Nursing Leader Attentiveness (Podcast)

By listening closely and responding authentically, leaders can create an environment where nurses feel valued

23-NUR-4339344-NurseEss-Podcast-GreatNursingTeam-RealWorld-Kunberger-CQD_650x450
January 9, 2024
Building Great Nursing Teams (Podcast)

Communication and self-reflection key to world-class patient care

23-NUR-3999022-NurseEssPodcast-KellyHancock-CQD_650x450
August 11, 2023
Stepping Up: Deciding if a Nurse Leadership Position Is Right for You (Podcast)

Nurse leaders play a pivotal role in employee engagement, quality, safety – and, yes, patient care

22-NUR-3060951-Luminaries_650x450
September 7, 2022
Hardships, Triumphs of Nurse Pioneers Profiled in New Children’s Book

Text highlights historic contributions to research, education and clinical care

22-NUR-3097740-FirstYearAsCNO-Kunberger-CQD
August 15, 2022
Reflections on My First Year as CNO

Insights and advice from a nursing leader

nurse leadership
October 1, 2021
Leadership Lessons Learned

Find balance, slow down, seek feedback and more

Vintage nursing photo
April 27, 2021
The Evolution of Nurses as Leaders of Patient Care

A new age in practice, physician partnerships and more

21-NUR-2043131-Nancy-HeartMonthArticle-CQD-650×450
February 12, 2021
Q&A with the Heart Failure Society of America’s First Nurse President, Dr. Nancy Albert

Insight on heart failure awareness and the work of HFSA

Ad