As the country focuses on the restructuring of the U.S. health care delivery system, nurses will continue to play an important role. It is expected that more and more nursing jobs will become available out in the community, and fewer will be available in acute care hospitals.
1. Write an informal presentation to educate nurses about how the practice of nursing is expected to grow and change. Include the concepts of continuity or continuum of care, account care organizations (ACO), medical homes, and nurse-managed health clinics.
2. Share your presentation with nurse colleagues on your unit or department and ask them to offer their impressions of the anticipated changes to health care delivery and the new role of nurses in hospital settings, communities, clinics, and medical homes.
3. Summarize the feedback shared by three nurse colleagues and discuss whether their impressions are consistent with what you have researched about health reform.