Impact of the 2010 IOM Report on Nursing
Grand Canyon University: NRS 430V

In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by the United States government and is the largest health care reform since Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. With this new legislation, there will be a huge transformation of the health care system we know today. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is an organization that is independent of government and provides unbiased advice used in making informed legislative decisions about health care. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the largest philanthropy in the United States, collaborated with the IOM to evaluate and transform the nursing profession in order to provide
In order to enhance patient care delivery, the IOM recommends lifting the restrictions of nursing practice enforced by previous state legislation. By allowing nurses to practice to the full capacity of their training, they will assume a partnership role with physicians resulting in more patients receiving quality holistic, continuous care across the diverse population in need. Highlighting the need for a larger primary care workforce and recommending the use of qualified nurses will call on the profession to take on more responsibility for the better good of patients. The IOM recognizes the insight and capability of nurses to lead the transformation of healthcare. The profession needs to wash its hands of the historical ideas of nursing as a “do as you are told” role in patient care. Nursing holds a vital position in the care delivery model since they are involved in the direct patient care arena. No other profession is more knowledgeable of patient needs on a comprehensive level, but this single entity cannot act alone to implement improvements. Nurses must be recognized as partners with physicians and other healthcare workers. Interdisciplinary collaboration allows for identifying challenges and making quality improvements to reach a common goal. This again requires nurses to fulfill the role as a patient advocate and leader. In addition, translating the needs of patient care in the