By Hugo Elliot
Over time, jobs evolve, and this can lead to the removal of careers altogether. The nursing industry sees constant changes as developments and discoveries are made about medications, treatments, and technologies. With healthcare being such a crucial part of life, rather than a deteriorating need for healthcare workers, there is an ever-increasing need for them – the roles simply change over time.
It’s impossible to say how the world of healthcare will look in 10, 20, or 50 years, but certain predictions are already starting to take place in the nursing industry. Here are some of the ways nursing will develop in the near future.
Increased Demand for Advanced Nursing Jobs
There is going to be an increasing demand for the higher careers within the nursing industry, including:
- Nurse Practitioners
- Nurse Anesthetists
- Nurse-Midwives
Each of these careers has a large projected growth of over 30%. With this, many registered nurses will apply for their MSN’s and doctoral degrees to climb the ladder within their chosen career path. For those wanting to enter the world of nursing, there are accelerated BSN nursing programs to set you on the right path. Once a person has a nursing license, they can then expand their career and choose a specialization.
The Use of Technology
With technology constantly evolving over the years, many industries are increasing their use of it and integrating it into daily lives. This will benefit the nursing industry, as technology provides access to streamlined systems, so both time and money can be saved along with an increase in precision. These technologies include:
AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) has paved the way for businesses becoming more streamlined with the analysis of data for better insights. The world of business has been taking advantage of AI for a long time, and the healthcare industry is now catching up. AI comes up with interpretations of data as well as predictions, and this can help the nursing industry by decreasing the time spent on administrative tasks. Automated healthcare will also help nurses with a diagnosis, which allows more time for other patients.
EMR
Electronic medical records (EMR) have also become prevalent in the healthcare industry and will continue to do so in the future. When nurses record patient’s treatment, they can access their personal records from their computers. This decreases the chance of human error and makes accessing a patient’s records much easier. The increased use of this means that nurses will adapt to using technologies, which will alter education and change the way nurses work on a day-to-day basis.
While it can’t be confirmed what technology will hit the nursing industry in the future, what can be said is that technology will be used by nurses more and more over the years.
An Increased Need for Education
With the general increase in growth within the nursing industry, there will also be a need for nurse educators. Many who have spent a number of years in the nursing industry might find that they turn to a career in educating.
There is also the fact that expectations of advanced nurses are starting to include obtaining a higher degree, such as a doctoral or professional degree. Due to this encouragement for higher education, the increase in educators will rise even more, and many nurses will end up with a high level of education.
Remote Settings
Telehealth is becoming more common within clinics and hospitals, so in the future, nurses will find themselves taking appointments remotely, as a regular occurrence. Previously, nurses would see patients face-to-face, but the future of healthcare will see an increased use of remote appointments.
This transition will benefit both patients and healthcare workers as it decreases the need for travel. Some patients who struggle to make it into a clinic or hospital can be seen from their own homes, eliminating the need for them to travel to the doctor/nurse or for the doctor/nurse to travel to them. It also means those with contagious diseases, who don’t need to be seen instantly, can talk to a nurse remotely. This expansion of the traditional nursing environment will only increase as the population increases, and it won’t be unusual to have an appointment from your computer.
The Need for a Wide Variety of Skills
As medical care becomes more complex and life expectancy increases, nurses will need to learn various skills to treat a variety of patients. Nursing will be about vast amounts of knowledge – they will be educated to a higher level and expected to know about a lot of healthcare varieties on top of their specialties.
Knowledgeable Patients
With the prevalence of the internet, more patients know exactly why they are seeing the nurses and what kind of treatments they should expect. Over time, this will only increase, as patients will have used technology for longer and will be used to researching their medical problems before making appointments.
Knowledgeable patients can sometimes be a good thing, and sometimes a bad, depending on how the patient reacts to the nurses’ advice. For nurses, they will grow accustomed to accepting their patients will enter the door with a solid idea about what they have wrong with them, and they will either be helped out by this knowledge or will need to inform the patient that they might not be correct.
The Focus on Overall Population
Over time, preventative healthcare will become more and more common within the world of medical care. Preventing illness is important in healthcare, and the need for it will only increase as the population ages. Nurses will focus more on communities and educating the general population about looking after their health before they need medical assistance. This includes lowering obesity rates, encouraging exercise, advice on dieting, and decreasing the number of patients with diabetes.
Research on medicines and treatments are constantly expanding the world of healthcare, and the nursing industry is one of the first areas to be affected by this. With the population changes, the patients themselves, and the increased use of technology, the nursing industry is set to evolve.
