NURS 3101 – Issues and Trends in Nursing Week 1: The Power of Nursing: One Nurse at a Time

As a Registered Nurse, you are a member of an honored profession that traces its roots back centuries. You are following in the footsteps of distinguished historical nursing figures such as Florence Nightingale, Lillian Wald, Mary Ezra Mahoney, Juan Ciudad, Mary Breckinridge, and Walt Whitman. Each applied professional skill sets to the specific demands of their time. Each left a legacy upon which the nursing profession has built a standard of care. Distinguished contemporary leaders are forging ahead with their legacies.

But times are constantly changing. Now it’s time to start building on the individual expertise and knowledge that you bring to Walden. The time has come for you to build your own legacy. Discover your passion, develop your leadership potential, and prepare yourself to make a difference in the lives of those affected by your nursing expertise.

 

 

 

 

 

Building your own professional legacy will not be without challenges. Registered Nurses (RNs) comprise the largest health care occupation in the U.S., yet the demand for RNs exceeds supply. The nursing shortage continues to expand, fueled by increases in population rates, greater longevity, and technological advances in health care. The nursing shortage is exacerbated by other factors, including the number of nurses aging out of the workforce and dissatisfied nurses leaving the profession prematurely. Additionally, the workplace is evolving in critical ways that increase the time required of existing nurses, including factors such as evidence-based practice, emphasis on quality and safety, and technology requirements, to name a few.

 

You have chosen to prepare yourself today for the challenges of tomorrow, and we are here for you. When you leave the classroom, you will take with you enhanced professional expertise and insights for your patients, their care, and the health care industry as a whole. When you graduate, you will be prepared to meet the specific demands you will face tomorrow; the demands of YOUR time. Welcome! Walden is glad you chose us as the place where you want to learn. Your legacy has begun.

 

 

 

 

 

Grossman and Valiga, in their book The New Leadership Challenge: Creating the Future of Nursing (2009), sum up leadership and the pursuit of excellence in nursing with these words of advice, quoted from Claude T. Bissell, Canadian author and educator, and the University of Toronto’s eighth president.

 

Care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, and expect more than others think is possible. (Grossman & Valiga, p. 191)

 

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Analyze challenges and solutions related to nursing

Evaluate the role of advanced education as it relates to developing a personal nursing legacy

Analyze the impact of nurses on patients, peers, and superiors

Analyze the role of leadership in the field of nursing

Develop a technology plan for use in an online classroom

Reflect on personal and professional strengths and needs

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Heege, M. (2011). The empty carriage: Lessons in leadership from Florence Nightingale. Nursing Science Quarterly, 24(1), 21–25.

 

Hinds, P. S., Britton, D., Coleman, L., Engh, E., Humbel, T. K., Keller, S., … Walczak, D. (2015). Creating a career legacy map to help assure meaningful work in nursing. Nursing Outlook, 63(2), 211–218.

 

Document: Week 1 Assignment 1 Form (Word document)

 

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2009a). Issues and trends in nursing: Introduction [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

 

 

 

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 3 minutes.