Jeana Hare of Ranger College in Early was named the Grand Prize Winner of the Nurse Week Essay Contest at the 2012 National Student Nurses’ Association/Nursing Spectrum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The grand prize of a $500 gift check, complimentary registration to the convention and having her winning essay published online at www.nurse.com and www.nsna.org was presented at NSNA’s 60th Anniversary Convention and Reunion.
Pictured above is Hare during the presentation of the award. Photo by NSNA.
Below is Hare’s award winning essay.
Full Circle: Nursing Going Forward Back to its Beginning
by Jeana Hare
Full Circle: Nursing Going Forward Back to its Beginning is a theoretical idea of what Nursing will be like 60 years from today and its basis relies on the needs of today’s society and advancing technology. It also recognizes nurse autonomy as an obstacle to the advancement of the nursing profession. With advancement of the nursing profession comes the responsibility of higher education. My research has taught me that technology is far more advanced than I had realized and it is quite believable for hand held body scanners and hemo-lyzers to exist by 2072. I would like to thank Jackie Tucker, NP for her insight into nursing autonomy, Dean Guinn, Ranger College for her feed-back, support, and editing. Kyle Holman, ADN classmate for sharing ideas.
“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Young. I’m Grace, the nurse who will be taking care of your great grandson, Andrew, when he comes to visit the Brown County Wellness Center of 2072. Let’s go to the family room and get acquainted. “I will meet with Andrew and his family in this same room to discuss his wellness expectations and any concerns that he and his family may have.”
“Since I already know a little about you and your family, I would like to take this opportunity for you to learn about me and nursing of today. My full name is: Flora Grace Knight and I have a Doctoral degree in Nursing with a specialty certification in patient counseling. I am a fourth generation nurse and my great, great grandmother was the first member of our family to become a nurse. She graduated from the Associate Degree Nursing program at Ranger College in 2012.”
“At that time, nurses received their RN license and each state had the right to set its own nursing standards. In February of 2027, the Federal Government standardized the nursing profession throughout the United States (Report Brief 2010, 1). Standardization cuts down on the confusion of nursing duties and it allows nurses to work in any state; thereby giving aid to states who may be experiencing a nursing shortage. LVN’s and RN’s are obsolete (4-7). Nurses are now required to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and may receive advanced licensure with a Masters, Doctoral, Advanced Practice Nurse, or Nurse Practitioner degree. Certifications in specialty areas are still available to all nurses and highly encouraged. Once a nursing student has completed the Bachelor degree and passes the N-CLEX exam; he/she is then required to complete an internship at an approved Wellness Center before receiving a license (3-53). “
“Nurses have also been given autonomy and are able to function more independently from the doctor. We have the authority to prescribe medications, order labs, give complete assessments of the patients, and hold positions on advisement boards (, 5-20). In fact, APN’s and NP’s have taken the place of general practitioners who now work in specialty fields only… receiving patient referrals from the nurse (4-29)!”
“If you are ready, we can take a tour of the facility. As we walk around, you will notice that our focus is on the patient and family. The family room, for example, was once referred to as a conference room. Instead of having a desk and a couple of chairs, we now have a sofa, coffee table, nursery center, and a refreshment area so that we may meet the needs of the entire family. Patient rooms are called suites. Much like a hotel suite of 2012, there are two rooms. The patient’s family has a bedroom adjoining the patient’s room and is similar to an efficiency apartment in order to help the family with cost, comfort, and cultural diversity. This also provides additional comfort for the patient and reduces healing time. The entire suite is equipped with techno-imaging. “What is techno-imaging?” asked Mrs. Young “I’m so glad you asked. It is digital imaging that allows the patient to choose the color scheme and patterns of the room; giving the room the appearance of a home setting while maintaining the sterility of the room. For example, a five year old girl may want a pink wall with flowers and butterflies, pink curtains trimmed in lace with a matching comforter on a canopy bed. Techno-imaging provides this look at the touch of a button! Give it a try and I’ll be back in a few minutes.
“As you can see technology has advanced considerably. I’d like to show you a few of the tools that make it possible for me to provide fast and efficient care for Andrew. Let’s start with his watch. As you can see it appears to be a plain digital watch. However, it is equipped with a small computer chip that holds his entire medical history – starting with the date, time, and place of his birth. This makes it fast and easy for any healthcare provider to access health information about Andrew in case he is ever in a situation that does not allow him to relay that information himself. It also contains a Living Will, donor information, and who to contact in case of an emergency. This small device looks just like the pulse-oxemetry you are accustomed to seeing. Just slip it onto your finger and wait 30 seconds. Thank you, it just recorded your blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart rate, and temperature. We call it the Vitalis. Here is another of my favorites; the hemo-lyzer. “
“Did you say hemo-lyzer, asked Mr. Young; I thought this looked like one of those things you stick your finger with to take blood sugar?”
“Yes, that’s the correct name and I can understand why it could be mistaken for a glucometer. There will be a small finger stick. In addition to checking blood glucose, we are also checking for fluid and electrolyte imbalances, the acid and alkaline balance of the blood, red and white blood cell counts, blood type, and a few more things: all with one drop of blood and the results are given to me within two minutes. X-ray machines are obsolete. We now use a hand held body scanner that can take pictures of both bones and internal organs from head to toe. Images are immediately available and can be displayed on most flat surfaces.
“It may surprise you to learn that we have adopted a few practices of our ancient ancestors…
“Mary?”
and medications are derived only from natural resources such as herbs….
“Mary.”
and roots. Women have their children at home except in special circumstances. The only time that patients…
“Mary, wake up.”
are admitted into a Wellness Center is when a surgical procedure is needed or in cases of critical… “
“Mary. Honey, wake up. Are you ok?”
“Oh, John. I was having the strangest dream! We have a great grandson…
References
Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the
Institute of Medicine (2011). The Future of Nursing: Leading Change Advancing Health,
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001,
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12956.html
Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the
Institute of Medicine, The Future of Nursing Focus on Scope of Practice, Obstacles pg. 3
Institute of Medicine, 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001TEL 202.334.2352FAX 202.334.1412, www.iom.edu
