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Nurse education in the year 2000: reflection, speculation and challenge
NET 2000 Editorial
Nurse education in the year 2000: reflection, speculation and challenge Introduction Welcome to this special issue of Nurse Education Today that is designed to launch the journal into the year 2000. The core articles and associated commentaries have been commissioned to stimulate debate and spur you to respond in one form or another to what the contributors have to say. The accumulated arguments contained within these pages represent the innovative thinking of leading writers in their respective fields and as such may provide powerful pointers towards the challenges that face nurse educators both in the UK and across the globe. The commentaries that accompany each article are wide-ranging, often representing different views and opinions from those proffered within the core papers.
Major trends One of the principle aims in producing this special issue of Nurse Education Today is to identify some of the major trends facing the international world of nurse education as it moves onwards into the new century. Having said that, it is notoriously difficult to predict future trends, particularly in a rapidly changing world, but what can be said with some certainty, is that nurse education will continue to evolve. The global impact of research and the improved standing of published work represent an important inheritance that we take with us into 2000 and beyond. The influence of new knowledge from many and varied sources will move us along different and exciting pathways. Some of these pathways are already established such as the ethical and moral issues emerging from the work of the Genome Project and some still at the stage of embryonic development, or indeed, yet to be conceived. Not only will
© 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd DOI:10.1054/nedt.1999.0850, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on
scientific discovery play a fundamental role in how nursing develops, so will political expediency and the growth of influential religious and other global movements such as Islam. The cultural and racial impact on patterns of recruitment and retention is beginning to emerge and powerful political, social and economic influences in society will doubtless steer nursing towards an acceptance of a wider set of values and greater sophistication of the knowledge base. This in turn will drive a reconstruction of a curriculum that is more multicultural and ethically sensitive than ever before.
Information technology Information technology is making a massive impact on the way we educate and train nurses. Access to the Internet is already part of the everyday world of nursing and healthcare; therefore, it is becoming a necessity rather than a luxury. Nursing is a responsive activity and nurses themselves are adept at managing change, moving with the times and embracing new ideas such as the recently introduced NHS Direct online service. However, it is important that nursing does not become dazzled by technological and scientific advance to the point where the one fundamental off-quoted truth is subverted, that is nursing is all about caring for people, not machines. Whether this caring activity is face-to-face, by telephone or through the Internet, innovation in the form of technology is there to support the process of caring, not to replace it.
The global focus of nursing work Careful reflection on the international scope of nursing reminds us, that each day across the
Nurse Education Today
(2000) 20, 1–2
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NET 2000 Editorial
world individual nurses continue to make a difference in the lives of people in many different places. Whether this is in a rich, well-endowed country such as our own or the USA, or in a country where poverty, crippling debt and the ravages of famine or civil war cause untold misery for so many ordinary people. No matter where the location, nurses go about their work in a selfless fashion, not seeking personal glory but only acting in the best interest of their patient or client. In so doing, the nature of what they do is constantly at the mercy of political whim, but nurses continue to strive towards exerting professional power as a means of influencing social policy and in some cases actually succeeding. Nurse Education Today is read by many nurse educators from all parts of the globe and is central to much that is innovationary and radical. The Editorial Board resolve to ensure that its content continues to provide a sound basis from which arguments for educational change are supported, thus contributing to the improvement in healthcare for many people.
Altering conditions for care It is easy to become seduced by the brave new millennial world and ignore the fact that existing global healthcare problems will not suddenly disappear. Nursing in 2000 is only a continuation of what has gone before and our lives and the lives of those we care for will not change dramatically simply because we have slipped from one millennium into the next. It is the focus of nursing work that will have to alter to meet changing client needs. For example, if the predictions in demographic trends regarding longevity are true, then the average life span of people in the Western world will increase to the point where more people than ever will achieve, and in many cases exceed, their one-hundredth birthday. Some of the disease processes associated with ageing may be eliminated but others will remain and the demand for nursing care among the older population will increase proportionately. Those who plan services and determine the future pattern of nurse education must not lose sight of this, otherwise a whole section of the population will be without effective healthcare at a time when they need it most.
2
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(2000) 20, 1–2
A similar observation regarding altering conditions for healthcare can be made within the field of complementary medicine that in turn will influence nurse education. Conventional medicine is having to give ground to an increasing demand for treatments that are unconventional, sitting as they do, outside traditional well established medical practice. Indeed, it may be a sign of the times when more and more people are becoming disenchanted with conventional treatments and instead are turning to other means of symptom relief. It is reasonable to assume that complementary medicine will consolidate as an established and respectable branch of the pharmaceutical industry, thus making a powerful claim for inclusion as a mainstream part of pre-registration and the continuing professional development of nurses. Refinement of the nursing curriculum to maintain its currency will ultimately result in long-standing subjects and favoured educational approaches becoming redundant and ultimately discarded. Within the UK particularly, the role of the practitioner/researcher in developing and updating nursing knowledge and professional practice is set to become a fundamental part of the future for nurse education. Theory will no longer up-stage practice, and graduate status grounded in the practicalities of nursing will become the baseline qualifying route for registration, with promotion to senior posts requiring evidence of relevant successful postgraduate study.
Conclusion Changes in the social, economic and political landscape will continue to have a profound effect on nursing, and the knowledge base from which caring is defined is set to broaden and change. Nurse Education Today will be at the forefront of these changes and the Editorial Team wish each of its readers a prosperous 2000 and look forward to your continued support. Finally, the journal has a new web page URL available from the 1st of January. This is: http: //www.harcourtinternational.com/journals/nedt Professor Peter Birchenall Editor-in-Chief
© 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd
NET 2000 Acknowledgement The Editorial team wish to thank the following people for their valuable contribution to the successful publication of this special issue of Nurse Education Today: Moira Attree Mary Birchenall Keith Cash Janet Gilbert Erica Joslyn Steve Knight
© 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd DOI:10.1054/nedt.2000.0456, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on
Nurse Education Today
(2000) 20, 3
3
Nurse education in the year 2000: reflection, speculation and challenge Introduction Welcome to this special issue of Nurse Education Today that is designed to launch the journal into the year 2000. The core articles and associated commentaries have been commissioned to stimulate debate and spur you to respond in one form or another to what the contributors have to say. The accumulated arguments contained within these pages represent the innovative thinking of leading writers in their respective fields and as such may provide powerful pointers towards the challenges that face nurse educators both in the UK and across the globe. The commentaries that accompany each article are wide-ranging, often representing different views and opinions from those proffered within the core papers.
Major trends One of the principle aims in producing this special issue of Nurse Education Today is to identify some of the major trends facing the international world of nurse education as it moves onwards into the new century. Having said that, it is notoriously difficult to predict future trends, particularly in a rapidly changing world, but what can be said with some certainty, is that nurse education will continue to evolve. The global impact of research and the improved standing of published work represent an important inheritance that we take with us into 2000 and beyond. The influence of new knowledge from many and varied sources will move us along different and exciting pathways. Some of these pathways are already established such as the ethical and moral issues emerging from the work of the Genome Project and some still at the stage of embryonic development, or indeed, yet to be conceived. Not only will
© 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd DOI:10.1054/nedt.1999.0850, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on
scientific discovery play a fundamental role in how nursing develops, so will political expediency and the growth of influential religious and other global movements such as Islam. The cultural and racial impact on patterns of recruitment and retention is beginning to emerge and powerful political, social and economic influences in society will doubtless steer nursing towards an acceptance of a wider set of values and greater sophistication of the knowledge base. This in turn will drive a reconstruction of a curriculum that is more multicultural and ethically sensitive than ever before.
Information technology Information technology is making a massive impact on the way we educate and train nurses. Access to the Internet is already part of the everyday world of nursing and healthcare; therefore, it is becoming a necessity rather than a luxury. Nursing is a responsive activity and nurses themselves are adept at managing change, moving with the times and embracing new ideas such as the recently introduced NHS Direct online service. However, it is important that nursing does not become dazzled by technological and scientific advance to the point where the one fundamental off-quoted truth is subverted, that is nursing is all about caring for people, not machines. Whether this caring activity is face-to-face, by telephone or through the Internet, innovation in the form of technology is there to support the process of caring, not to replace it.
The global focus of nursing work Careful reflection on the international scope of nursing reminds us, that each day across the
Nurse Education Today
(2000) 20, 1–2
1
NET 2000 Editorial
world individual nurses continue to make a difference in the lives of people in many different places. Whether this is in a rich, well-endowed country such as our own or the USA, or in a country where poverty, crippling debt and the ravages of famine or civil war cause untold misery for so many ordinary people. No matter where the location, nurses go about their work in a selfless fashion, not seeking personal glory but only acting in the best interest of their patient or client. In so doing, the nature of what they do is constantly at the mercy of political whim, but nurses continue to strive towards exerting professional power as a means of influencing social policy and in some cases actually succeeding. Nurse Education Today is read by many nurse educators from all parts of the globe and is central to much that is innovationary and radical. The Editorial Board resolve to ensure that its content continues to provide a sound basis from which arguments for educational change are supported, thus contributing to the improvement in healthcare for many people.
Altering conditions for care It is easy to become seduced by the brave new millennial world and ignore the fact that existing global healthcare problems will not suddenly disappear. Nursing in 2000 is only a continuation of what has gone before and our lives and the lives of those we care for will not change dramatically simply because we have slipped from one millennium into the next. It is the focus of nursing work that will have to alter to meet changing client needs. For example, if the predictions in demographic trends regarding longevity are true, then the average life span of people in the Western world will increase to the point where more people than ever will achieve, and in many cases exceed, their one-hundredth birthday. Some of the disease processes associated with ageing may be eliminated but others will remain and the demand for nursing care among the older population will increase proportionately. Those who plan services and determine the future pattern of nurse education must not lose sight of this, otherwise a whole section of the population will be without effective healthcare at a time when they need it most.
2
Nurse Education Today
(2000) 20, 1–2
A similar observation regarding altering conditions for healthcare can be made within the field of complementary medicine that in turn will influence nurse education. Conventional medicine is having to give ground to an increasing demand for treatments that are unconventional, sitting as they do, outside traditional well established medical practice. Indeed, it may be a sign of the times when more and more people are becoming disenchanted with conventional treatments and instead are turning to other means of symptom relief. It is reasonable to assume that complementary medicine will consolidate as an established and respectable branch of the pharmaceutical industry, thus making a powerful claim for inclusion as a mainstream part of pre-registration and the continuing professional development of nurses. Refinement of the nursing curriculum to maintain its currency will ultimately result in long-standing subjects and favoured educational approaches becoming redundant and ultimately discarded. Within the UK particularly, the role of the practitioner/researcher in developing and updating nursing knowledge and professional practice is set to become a fundamental part of the future for nurse education. Theory will no longer up-stage practice, and graduate status grounded in the practicalities of nursing will become the baseline qualifying route for registration, with promotion to senior posts requiring evidence of relevant successful postgraduate study.
Conclusion Changes in the social, economic and political landscape will continue to have a profound effect on nursing, and the knowledge base from which caring is defined is set to broaden and change. Nurse Education Today will be at the forefront of these changes and the Editorial Team wish each of its readers a prosperous 2000 and look forward to your continued support. Finally, the journal has a new web page URL available from the 1st of January. This is: http: //www.harcourtinternational.com/journals/nedt Professor Peter Birchenall Editor-in-Chief
© 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd
NET 2000 Acknowledgement The Editorial team wish to thank the following people for their valuable contribution to the successful publication of this special issue of Nurse Education Today: Moira Attree Mary Birchenall Keith Cash Janet Gilbert Erica Joslyn Steve Knight
© 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd DOI:10.1054/nedt.2000.0456, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on
Nurse Education Today
(2000) 20, 3
3