Radical Reform in Nursing: Breaking Free from Temporary Fixes to Empower a Sustainable Nursing Future
Ali Fakher, BSN, RN,
UN Nurse & Global Health Innovator | NurseHack4Health Winner | Leading Voice in Nursing Transformation | Championing Nursing Leadership & Empowerment | Pioneering a Brighter Future for Modern Nursing
To those concerned who are trying to provide solutions, please don't fall into the trap of the vicious cycle. There's no benefit from mitigation or temporary solutions. If you do, the bleeding will continue.
Nursing needs radical, sustainable solutions. The current state of the nursing profession is the result of past decision-makers' fatal mistakes. These individuals shaped the profession in a siloed and unilateral way, prioritizing ego and a destructive hierarchy that relegated nursing to a subordinate and abstract role.
Even the reimbursement system for nurses is based on an outdated model, resembling how hotel servants are paid. Those who created this culture are still around today. A prime example of this ongoing, egotistical, hierarchical, and authoritarian legacy is Cidália Eusébio 's experience in her article "Nursing at a Crossroads: 200 Years After Nightingale, What Lies Ahead? " She recounts how:
"A simple inquiry from me often triggers an offensive response, leading me to realize that the issue lies not with me, but with them. I frequently encounter dismissive attitudes from senior healthcare leaders who contend that “nurses can’t be in senior leadership positions,” or assert that I am 'obviously competing against medical doctors and probably can't succeed.' Some even suggest that if I'm serious about this type of work, 'it would be better to study medicine,' or go so far as to say, 'remove nursing from your curriculum.' Yet, perhaps most shocking is the claim that nurses don't require qualifications at all—this in a country known for its progressive healthcare system, which has clearly seen the positive impacts of further education on patient care and helped create one of the best healthcare systems in the world. However, there is now a concerning trend towards regression rather than progression, with potential long-term consequences for healthcare quality."
Despite this, nursing should be recognized as a scientific field, on par with STEM, and its members deserve the right to practice independently and as decision-makers, as partners in every aspect of healthcare. This current system has created a prolonged, toxic culture that prioritizes ego for those in power. They have forced the nursing profession to operate in a reality far removed from its original purpose, leading to a staffing crisis and mass exodus of nurses.
A Call for Radical Change
We must confront the root causes of this systemic problem. Here are some actionable steps for a sustainable solution:
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The Path Forward
The nursing profession stands at a crossroads. We have the opportunity to redefine its future, ensuring that nurses are valued, respected, and empowered to make decisions that improve patient outcomes. Let's break the cycle of temporary fixes and work towards lasting, meaningful change.
Together, we can create a healthcare system that truly reflects the vital contributions of nurses. Let's champion this cause with consistency, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
Join the conversation. Share your thoughts and experiences. Together, we can inspire change and elevate the nursing profession to new heights.
I EMPOWER NURSES SUCCEED ABROAD ?? CAREER COACH & LINKEDIN STRATEGIST for IENs Nurses & Leaders, Nursing Working Abroad | Nurses Move CEO, NHS CLINICAL ENTREPRENEUR, HLA Scholar, NIC CHAIR ??DM me for Free Resources??
4 个月The quick turnover of politicians influences how they want support healthcare: with quick fixes (just to give them visibility in the short term) Considering also the economic interest of big pharma and other big stockholders interested in healthcare we understand why things are working against nursing. Another responsibility must be given to nurses themselves. 1. Nurses don't believe in themselves, they don't recognise themselves as professionals but as a workers -we must change this mentality! 2. The few nurses who understand politicians jump from a role to another, too interested in their career progression more than in delivering change - we must invest in teaching true leadership so that every nurse understand who is a true leader and who is a stockholders' pleaser! 3. Nurses spend too much time studying clinical and little, if not none, studying leadership: is not a Master or a PhD that make you a Leader those studies make you a specialist in your field! - we must to talk about leadership more often explaining what truly is and how to achieve it! I believe we not need to ask permission to anyone or necessarily further education, we already have our knowledge, we must learn leadership and communicate it! Thank you for this!
Nurses & various other Health Care Providers Practicing Medical Foot & Lower Limb Care in Ontario, Canada
4 个月Excellent article and bang on. This is currently happening for Nurses in Ontario and all over Canada who have met there learning outcomes through continued education programs to specialize and deliver essential medical foot and lower limb care. 100% we have been met with an astronomical resistance from our regulatory college the CNO. Even in spite of our efforts over three decades establishing education programs that reach far beyond a Nurses entry to practice competencies. Our members service an essential need in our communities across Ontario, Canada. There are simply not enough qualified health care practitioners to service this need. Patients end up in hospitals with amputations too often. Our Nurse members/ Podortho Foot Specialists have invested in there own private practices, are haled as knowledgeable, competent practitioners who met the needs of the public working within the legislative framework of the RHPA and to there full scope of individual practice. We continue to be attacked through law fare by our own regulatory college and other competitive regulatory colleges. Insurance companies only listen to the regulators and not what the patients ask for and needs.
Nurse coach, trainer, and keynote speaker. I help visionary healthcare organizations empower nurses and nurse leaders to become and inspire positive change in the workplace.
4 个月Ali Fakher, BSN, RN, when you talk about temporary fixes, what exactly do you mean? #1 and #2 are legislative changes. What about 3,4 and 5? How do we make High Performance Nursing or NIC or Honoring Our Stellar Nurses: A Celebration of Excellence or others like them, part of the radical and sustainable change? What’s the suggestion to make work like coaching and training to create trusted leadership and trusted environments for psychological safety and well-being of our nurses? How do we make that into a radical change? At the legislative level as well? I actually think that IS what needs to happen. ?? Until then, every day we choose to speak up and do the work that we do to empower and make a difference in one life or one organization, it matters and has a ripple effect beyond our understanding. We must be prepared from the inside to do the work on the outside. #LovingDisruption ????
RN Founder. CEO of Care. Advocate. Innovator. Entrepreneur. Advisor. Expert. Speaker. Educator. Mentor.
4 个月Thanks for sharing Ali Fakher, BSN, RN,!!!
Nursing student | Health Writer | SDG 3&10 Advocate | Research Enthusiast
4 个月I completely agree! As a nursing student, I see firsthand the need for radical and sustainable changes in our profession. It's time we re-imagine nursing and advocate for meaningful transformations that recognize our vital role in healthcare. This is insightful Ali Fakher, BSN, RN,