Our expert answers 3 Questions
My work focuses on leveraging the skills of registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to improve health and healthcare for individuals and communities. In the minds of many, nursing practice is confined to the walls of hospitals and clinics. In reality nurses practice in both direct-care and systems-focused roles in settings that include schools, health departments, and workplaces. Still, though, there are countless settings where people live, work, play and learn in which nursing services could be integrated to meaningfully improve health. I call these settings that haven’t yet experienced the impact of integrated nursing services, nursing naïve spaces. I think about how we in the realm of academic nursing can partner with community organizations and other non-clinical environments to make nursing care a part of the services they deliver to their constituencies.
Nurses are the largest segment of the healthcare workforce. We need not look too far back into the history of our own country or the current healthcare delivery models of other countries to see how community nursing can expand access to care and improve outcomes. Unfortunately, nursing practice in much of the United States is subject to an antiquated regulatory structure that limits our ability to practice to the full scope of our training and education. It excites me to work with community stakeholders, our partners in the larger healthcare system, and policy makers to modernize the policies that govern nursing practice. And when we can’t change those policies, it delights me to find ways to work around them.
Our current healthcare system is broken in more ways than I can enumerate. Even with the rapid expansion of telehealth, services are still highly centralized, demanding that consumers come to us rather than us going to them. While nursing care is only one segment of the healthcare system, its expansion outside of the walls of hospitals and clinics is an essential step towards a more equitable and accessible healthcare system.