NAM Future of Nursing paper urges nursing’s return to social focus

In a paper commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to provide background for deliberations by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Committee on the Future of Nursing 2020-2030, Patricia Pittman, PhD, urges a reconsideration of an approach to nursing first established 100 years ago. Arguing that a model of “centralized health services organized around the idea of medical cures” is insufficient to meet the health needs of today’s population, Pittman offers a vision of nursing modeled on the work of public health pioneer Lillian Wald. Among her recommendations: “Nurses must work to develop partnerships, not just with health care providers, but also with other social and economic organizations. This involves embracing the intersection of medicine and society, rather than being concerned about establishing professional boundaries with rigid scopes of practice.”  (American Journal of Nursing article, July 2019)