A notable change has been seen in nursing formal education. Patients’ needs have become more complex which communicates the need to have nursing professionals with higher educational attainment. In the year 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended that by the year 2020, more than half of the registered nurses should have a bachelor’s degree in nursing (Palatnik, 2016). Employers similarly have expressed a preference for employees with bachelor’s which shows the demand for the attainment of high education levels.
Changes in patients’ needs, the complexity of the healthcare system as well as changes in nurses’ roles and responsibilities are likely to change how the future of nursing will be like. Trends like nursing education, independent nurse practice, informatics, advances in technology, the emergence of outpatient centers, and expansion of telehealth, and growth of jobs are likely to determine the future of nursing.