Last week, the Future of Nursing/Campaign for Action, AARP and the UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing hosted a town hall in Sacramento to discuss steps being taken by the California Action Coalition, as well as work needed in the future. The meeting was very well attended by nurses and consumers alike, and there was standing room only for this important discussion. Helen Thomson, RN and Kim Van Ysseldyk, RN, NP gave moving examples of nursing practice beyond traditional boundries and Sue Hassmiller, RN, PhD, FAAN of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, spoke clearly about the need for specific actions around the 8 recommendations in the the Future of Nursing report published last fall. A panel of experts from both inside and outside the nursing community answered questions from the audience about activities in California related to the recommendations, as well as areas that are as yet unaddressed. One area of full agreement among panel members was that care in the future was more likely to occur in the community rather than in hospitals and other formal institutions. This will certainly create new roles for nurses in primary care, care coordination and chronic care management, to name a few.
You can visit the California Action Coalition website for information about upcoming events and ways to become involved at http://ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/nursing/Fut...tion_Coalition. This is a great way for nurses and members of the community to actually shape the future of nursing in California.