What does the future look like for nursing careers? It is predicted that in the next ten to twenty years, things might be quite different from how they currently stand. As new technologies, treatments and drugs, shifts in health care policies, insurance policies, limited healthcare professionals especially nurses, indications are that the health care profession may have to reinvent itself. For instance, with advancements in technology, many functions could be automated. For instance, patient records and documentation, smart beds that can monitor patients vital signs, use of bar codes, and automated medicine carts could conceivably be used to save time and reduce errors in medication dispensing. Also voice-activated technologies would cut down the need to write down many things. Tasks such as serving meals could be taken taken over by trained aides to free up nurses to provide a human touch to their patients.

As a result of nursing shortages, healthcare facilities will be forced to use their nurses judiciously. Nurses will spend more time at the bedside as educators and care coordinators to refocus on the patient. With the lengths of patient stays shortening, nurses will have to make the best use of a shrinking amount of time hospital stays. Nurses will also spend more time in administration and supervision positions. They will need to know how to access knowledge and transfer it to the patient and their loved ones.

The changes in technology will possibly attract more men and minorities into the profession. Greater emphasis must be placed on supporting teaching careers and recruiting educators from diverse cultural backgrounds to relieve the serious shortage of nursing school faculty. Therefore, more loans and scholarships for master’s and PhDs would also have to be in place, and the colleges would have to pay the instructors more money.

If the nursing shortage continues, hospitals may have to be reserved only for the very sickest. That means that the number of outpatient care will increase, as will the need for home health care nurses. They will also serve more prominent roles in clinics, consulting firms, insurance companies, and software and technology companies. Nurses in the future would probably do much more population-based or community health care. They will identify risks and establish priorities for specific populations and groups. They will provide community education and work with employers and insurance payers to develop programs that save money as well as promote health.

Nurse practitioners have a bright future especially in geriatrics and gerontology. With the baby boomer generation reaching retirement, those nurses who are themselves baby boomers but are not yet ready to retire may find themselves in the role of consultants. They would be the geriatric providers of choice because they would have a better understanding of aging.

With medical and technology advancements, nurses will be required to focus more on disease and illness prevention rather than treatment. In addition, medical treatment that targets illness before they occur, and identification of potential risk will also enhance preventative healthcare. This will also mean that patients will need to take a more active role in learning more about better healthcare to prevent illness and disease. shortage and cost in healthcare will also add pressure to the system of care to concentrate more on wellness models rather than treatment models.

Despite what the future holds for the medical profession, nurses and other healthcare workers need to prepare for changing trends and for their evolving roles. In addition to remaining lifelong learners, they will be part of the transformative future of healthcare and medical care. But as you can already guess, this is far easier when one is passionate about their career.

Supporting areas in healthcare training include Pharmacy Technician Training and Public Health Degree. Learn more about these careers.

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