The Role of Nursing Education & Practice in Assuring Quality Health Care in Low-Resource Countries A case study of Kenya

Abstract

The role of nursing educaion and practice in quality and access to quality health care can never be overstated. During each patient encounter, the nurse is focused on confirming that treatments are successfully delivered, assessments accurately documented, and medications administered correctly. The quality and impact of patient care depend on safe and effective care delivery as well as quality of training. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, the IOM (2011) identified issues and made recommendations related to the scope of nursing practice; preparing nurses for leadership roles in system transformation; development of nurse residency programs; and ensuring nurses engage in life-long learning. The report identified the close link between the future of nursing and the success of healthcare reform. The report looked at the future of nursing in these respects. Sources from American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) indicated that Registered Nurses comprised one of the largest segments of the U.S. workforce as a whole and were among the highest paying large occupations. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, Registered Nursing was/is the top occupation in terms of the largest job growth projections from 2008 – 2018. Nearly 58% of RNs worked in general medical and surgical hospitals, where RN salaries averaged $66,700 per year.According to International Council of Nurses, in the area of policy makers, nursing's aim should be simple – to be a part of this group, to be able to articulate and demonstrate the value of the contribution nursing can make, and be seen as a credible and integral part of the process. Many times the phrase "healthcare reform" is mentioned but it is exactly what it is by how it affects your nursing practice. There is no escaping this reality. Nursing education and leadership are critical areas that must be developed and sustained for us to be able to surmount these challenges. Nursing has a long and proud history of influencing the development of new policies in order to enhance the health of the people we serve. Hospitals were going to be paid for the value their services produce, not the volume of services performed. This was already happening elsewhere. From Florence Nightingale to Lillian Wald, to Loretta C. Ford to Ramey Johnson nurses have been active in directing the policies that shaped their practice and their patients. Nurses today are no exception. That is why it is important for us, as emerging leaders, to understand the importance of policy, advocacy and gain some insight into the strategies that can be used to advance a policy initiative. When she was nearing the end of her life, Florence Nightingale said: “May we hope that when we are all dead and gone, leaders will arise who have been personally experienced in the hard, practical work, the difficulties and the joys of organizing nursing reforms, and who will lead far beyond anything we have done.