Top Nursing Trends in the Modern World Nursing Trends

Nursing is the world’s largest health care profession. According to Worlds Health Organization (WHO), there are over 28 million nurses worldwide. The latest data show that this number is not high enough. Soon, more nurses need to be registered to fill a 6 million gap by 2030.

The health care landscape is shifting further due to the COVID-19 trend. Nursing Research Topics show that many nurses are getting more educated. Nurses need to step up and fill in the gaps in the coming years. Read on to learn more about the top nursing trends.

• Self-care for Nurses

Nurses are trained to be caregivers, but sometimes they forget about their health and self-care. Self-care is a good activity for mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. Lack of self-care can cause fatigue, errors, and burnouts, which negatively affect nurses, patients, and even the health organization.

During this period of the COVID -19 pandemic, nurses neglect self-care. Nurses should understand that, when depressed, self-care should the top priority. All healthcare facilities should make self-care a number one priority for all nurses. A self-care plan needs to be achievable, measurable, specific, and time-sensitive.

• Increase of nursing online education

Some employers need their nurses to have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Many universities have expanded online courses offering RN-to-BSN degree programs. Such programs help nurses to further their studies in a way that they can adjust their busy schedules.

Other nursing degrees include the  Master of Science in Nursing and online Doctor of Nursing Practice. Online education has made the motivation of nurses to pursue higher education greater.

• Traveling nurses

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, society saw the need for traveling nurses to meet the shifting demands of patients. But even before the pandemic, nursing was considered a travel-friendly profession.

• The growth of telehealth

Telehealth dramatically increased in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth technology helps patients to access their documents and doctors from home. This gives patients more control over their health.

There is also widespread telemedicine adoption that has created nurse task automation and easier access to patient care, new telehealth, and chatbot technologies. Online portals can now be filled with prescription requests, test results, and appointments.

Patients can access doctors or nurses through appointments, saving valuable time for patients and clinicians. Patients can schedule appointments, set reminders for medication, and also search for specialists in their area.

• Nurse navigator positions

Many hospitals are choosing to employ nurse navigators. They have a dual role, such as giving nursing care and playing the role of case managers. Nurse navigators also guide patients through their healthcare journey, treatment follow-up, and diagnosis.

Nurse navigators help reduce the hospital readmission rate. It is essential to provide a seamless transition of care from the hospitals to homes to lessen readmissions. Nurse navigators play an important role in reducing general healthcare costs.

• Entrepreneur nurses

Entrepreneurship is a trend that is on the rise for nurses. Nurses have a lot of opportunities to set up businesses. Rural areas need to have nurse navigators and practitioners who offer direct health services to patients in rural areas.

Rural areas are perfect places for nurses to set up businesses. Here, they can act as nurse consultants who go to doctor’s clinics and consult on electronic health records (EHRs). Electronic health records help with documentation and appointment scheduling for patients.

• Nurses choose to specialize

Today, nurses are expected to specialize, a trend that will continue growing. Those who choose to specialize have a higher employment demand and often demand a higher salary. When a nurse chooses to specialize, it becomes easier to come up with a case study format that helps to analyze their patient’s illnesses.

• Patients are becoming more educated

Smart devices help people consume information at all times. The information includes health-related details. Some nurses now expect to see patients who have reached about their conditions online.

This helps nurses know which medication to prescribe to their patients based on advertisements they have seen. Nurses must be prepared to serve patients who are more educated. This means they have to listen to the patient’s views about their health condition and use their professional knowledge to synthesis this information and give a diagnosis.

• Nurses are retiring later

The number of nurses aged 65 and over increased in 2013 and 2017. This is according to the National Nursing Workforce Study done by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Some nurses prefer shifting to part-time work instead of retiring. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some retired nurses have gone back to work. In March 2020, the US Department of Health and Human Services requested states to re-license retired health workers and enter the workforce again.

This trend of late retirement is expected to continue in 2021. New nurses joining the field should be sure that job opportunities will be plentiful, even if they could be working in non-hospital environments.