|
|
|
Nursing Takes Center Stage
BNH interviewed Mary Jane Williams, president of the Connecticut Nurses Association, about the evolving role of nurses in a rapidly changing world of health-care delivery in Connecticut.
|
Business New Haven
4/6/1998
By: Lori Green
|
How has the role of nurses changed in recent years?
As hospitals have restructured and downsized, nurses have become more involved in case management and in managing others to carry out patient-care plans. Their level of responsibility has increased due to there being fewer nurses in hospitals and to the more acute-care needs of hospital patients. There is a growing need for nurses at the baccalaureate level and at the graduate level. Nurses are also emerging as key players in primary care community-based settings such as clinics and home health care. Employers and managed-care companies are now emphasizing preventive care, and this is something that nurses have been doing all along.
Are there more opportunities for nurses to function autonomously?
Yes. There are nursing agencies and there are likely to be more nurse practitioner-staffed primary care facilities in the community. Currently 60 to 65 percent of nurses in the state are still hospital-based, but within the next decade that is expected to shift down to 30 to 35 percent, with the majority of nurses working in non-hospital settings. Nurses believe that access, quality and cost of health care will improve for patients if they can function even more autonomously than they do now, such as being professionally accountable to their own boards rather than under the direct supervision of physicians. We already carry legal liability for administering care and medications.
How has the demand for nurses changed?
In general, demand has been stable. But the average age of a nurse in Connecticut is 44, so as these nurses retire, there will be a new wave of demand for all kinds of nurses, and particularly those with advanced practice training. Many nursing programs across the state have been discontinued for a variety of reasons, but it is likely that enrollments and interest in nursing careers will grow in order to meet increasing demand.
Will compensation for nurses be affected by the need for higher levels of nursing expertise?
No, compensation is likely to remain fairly stable. There are already established pay scales for entry-level and more experienced nurses.
What are the cost ramifications of nurses becoming more important players in health-care delivery?
Costs will continue to decline, since nurses allow for greater access to quality medical care. For example, nurses have always been visiting patients in their homes, and now are doing more care assessments in the home as well in order to keep patients out of the hospital and allow physicians to handle the more acute cases. Managed-care companies will benefit from having nurses assume greater responsibility for delivery of primary care and patient wellness education. BNH
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
