Nurses Now Do More Than Ever (NAPSA)—Thenext time you visit someonein a hospital or other health care setting, you may be surprised at just how muchof what happens there is donebynurses. Study Shows Recently released results from a Uni- versity of Phoenix College of Health Professions survey foundthatthe role of nurses has grown dramatically in recent years. Morethaneightin 10 registered In the next five years, many nurses expect to have increased involvesionals besides physicians (nurse practi- mentin regulations andinformation nurses (RNs) say health care profes- tioners, registered nurses and so on) are system: overall managementofpatientcare. Abouta third of RNssay they'll be focusing more onthe emotional well-being ofpatients, while nearly three in five playing or will play a largerrole in the University of Phoenix, which offers leading-edge graduate, undergraduate, certificate and nondegree programs aimedat preparing students to improve the quality of health care in their communities and the industry, sought to understand the evolving role of nurses and what this changing environment meansforthe future ofhealth care. In addition to playing a larger role in managing patient care, it found, abouta third of RNssay they’ve seen an increased role in doingtasks tradition- ally done by a physician. This may be due in part to specialty tracks available to nurses, including nurse practitioner programs. “Our nurses play a pivotal role in getting patients back to health in an increasingly demanding environment? explained Dr. Lisa Radesi, academic deanfor the Schoolof Nursing at Uni- versity of Phoenix. “As the health care industry continuesto evolve to support an aging population, advanced technologies and a multifaceted insurance strongly agree that good people skills are just as importantastechnicalskills whengiving quality care. “Theability to balance bedside care with technical and leadership skills is crucial for today’s nurses,’ added Dr. Radesi. “‘The job expectations for nurses continue to grow, but the heart of the profession will always be in providing the best possible care for patients. This should be encouraging, as nurses can usethese newskills to continueto learn and grow within their roles while healing and helpingtheirpatients.” As ‘A Promising Career opportunities continue to increase in the profession—the Bureau of LaborStatistics notes that employmentofregistered nursesis projected to grow 15 percent by 2026—RNssaytheir facilities should focus on preparing health care professionals with greater leadership skills. “The field continues to evolve, system, we mustrecognize the demand- requiring facilities and educational them to be successful in this complex environment” to help them succeedin theprofession? Whenasked how they expect their role to changewithinthe next five years, RNscited the following for mostanticipated changes: for example,aligns its programsto leading industry organization standards, and offers concentrations in nurse administration, nurse education, infor- ing work our nurses do and prepare Looking Forward + Increasing involvementwith information systems(43 percent) Increasing involvement with regulations (43 percent) Increasingly greater role in the managementofoverall patient care plan- ning(40percent) Increasingly greater leadership role (36 percent). institutions to innovate to provide nurses with the information they need said Dr. Radesi. “University of Phoenix, matics and more to help nurses special ize in what's most importantto them.” Learn More For further information about the College of Health Professions, visit www.phoenixedu. For full survey information and details about College of Health Professions programs,please visit phoenix.edu.
