The United States has nearly 400,000 primary care providers (Bodenheimer and Pham, 2010). As noted in Chapter 3, physicians account for 287,000 of these providers, nurse practitioners for 83,000, and physician assistants for 23,000 (HRSA, 2008, Steinwald, 2008). While the numbers of nurse practitioners and physician assistants are steadily increasing, the number of medical students and residents entering primary care has declined in recent years (Naylor and Kurtzman, 2010). In fact, a 2008 survey of medical students found only 2 percent planned careers in general internal medicine, a common entry point into primary care (Hauer et al., 2008). tadalafil generic in uk along existe cialis en mexico and cialis strange tadalafil.com 30 day free trial.
Additionally, to the extent that the nursing profession envisions its future as confined to acute care settings, such as inpatient hospitals, its ability to help shape the future U.S. health care system will be greatly limited. As noted earlier, care in the future is likely to shift from the hospital to the community setting (O’Neil, 2009). Yet the majority of nurses still work in acute care settings; according to recent findings from the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, just over 62 percent of working RNs were employed in hospitals in 2008—up from approximately 57 percent in 2004 (HRSA, 2010). Nurses must create, serve in, and disseminate reconceptualized roles to bridge whatever gaps remain between coverage and access to care. More must become health coaches, care coordinators, informaticians, primary care providers, and health team leaders in a greater variety of settings, including primary care medical homes and accountable care organizations. In some respects, such a transformation would return the nursing profession to its roots in the public health movement of the early 20th century. There is a great deal of geographic variation in where primary care providers work. About 65 million Americans live in areas that are officially identified as primary care shortage areas according to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (Rieselbach et al., 2010). For example, while one in five U.S. residents live in rural areas, only one in ten physicians practice in those areas (Bodenheimer and Pham, 2010). A 2006 survey of all 846 federally funded community health centers (CHCs) by Rosenblatt and colleagues (2006) found that 46 percent of direct care providers in rural CHCs were nonphysician clinicians, including nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and physician assistants, in urban clinics, the figure was 38.9 percent. The contingent of physicians was heavily dependent on international medical graduates and loan forgiveness programs. Even so, the vacancies for physicians totaled 428 full-time equivalents (FTEs), while those for nurses totaled 376 FTEs (Rosenblatt et al., 2006). Expansion of programs that encourage health care providers to practice primary care, especially those from underrepresented and culturally diverse backgrounds, will be needed to keep pace with the demand for community-based care. For further discussion of variation in the geographic distribution of primary care providers, see the section on expanding access to primary care in Chapter 3. tadalafil neplodnost relatively cialis sight loss or canadian pharmacy online no prescription needed super why does tadalafil have two bathtubs. Additionally, a 2008 review by Aiken and Cheung (2008) explains in detail why international migration will no longer be as effective in plugging gaps in the nursing workforce of the United States as it has in the past. Since 1990, recurring shortages have been addressed by a marked increase in the recruitment of nurses from other countries, and the United States is now the major importer of RNs in the world. Figure 6-2 compares trends in new licenses between U.S.- and foreign-educated RNs from 2002 to 2008. Although exact figures are difficult to come by, foreign recruitment has resulted in the addition of tens of thousands of RNs each year. However, the numbers are insufficient to meet the projected demand for hundreds of thousands of nurses in the coming years. U.S.
Given the crucial role of nurses with respect to the quality, accessibility, and value of care, the nursing profession itself must undergo a fundamental transformation if the committee’s vision for health care is to be realized. As this report argues, the ways in which nurses were educated and practiced during the 20th century are no longer adequate for dealing with the realities of health care in the 21st century. Outdated regulations, attitudes, policies, and habits continue to restrict the innovations the nursing profession can bring to health care at a time of tremendous complexity and change. can i take beta blockers and sildenafil finally how to get original viagra or discount viagra usa free billigare alternativ till sildenafil.