Nurses play a crucial role in the healthcare industry. They perform essential medical duties and play a primary role in various healthcare settings such as hospitals, private clinics, and nursing homes. They can perform life-saving procedures, counsel and educate patients, record medical history of the patients, and coordinate with other healthcare providers to provide top quality of care to patients.
Nurses can pursue advanced degrees to specialize in specific subjects like neonatal care, labor and delivery care, anesthesia administration, mental health counseling, and more. Specialized nurses have the knowledge and skill to perform specialized tasks and provide optimal care to all their patients.
Nowadays, the need for mental health practitioners, including psychiatric nurse practitioners, is growing in the US. Various factors like increased unemployment, isolation and pandemic-related stressors are contributing to this rise.
Overall, the nursing profession is evolving, and various new trends have become a part of it. In this article, we are going to discuss the nursing trends and growing demands for mental health practitioners.
1. The Number of Specialized Nurses is Increasing
The healthcare industry is evolving rapidly, and this rapid evolution is creating a demand for specialized nurses. Therefore, more and more nurses are choosing to pursue advanced degrees to equip themselves with the latest knowledge and specialized skills.
Nurses with a bachelor’s degree in nursing can pursue a master’s or Ph.D. degree in a specific subject like mental health or psychology to become mental health nurse practitioners to provide specialized quality care and counseling to patients.
Moreover, specialized nurses have more career growth opportunities, chances of getting hired, and a higher earning potential. Therefore, nursing specializations are a beneficial trend for nurses and the entire healthcare industry.
2. Online Advanced Nursing Degrees are Gaining Popularity
A notable trend in advanced nursing education is the rise in online degrees. Online degrees help students save money on the daily commute and provide other benefits like the flexibility to choose their study hours, convenience to study from anywhere, and more. Moreover, many nurse students pursuing advanced degrees can’t afford to stop working. Therefore, they choose online degree options.
Many colleges and universities offer online master’s and Ph.D. programs in nursing and nursing-related specializations. Students can choose to study full-time or part-time to increase their knowledge and upgrade their skills without sacrificing their jobs.
3. Online Healthcare Services are Becoming Popular
Nowadays, technology has become a part of every industry. It has also transformed the healthcare industry and has led to better patient care and healthcare outcomes. Online healthcare services have become a popular trend in the healthcare industry over the past few years. Online healthcare services are mostly provided through audio or video calls.
Digital healthcare apps have helped educate patients and enabled them to monitor their own health status. Moreover, digital healthcare applications have fast-tracked the entire healthcare system by digitizing health reports, test results, and prescriptions.
Digital healthcare services have improved the patient experience in a healthcare setting and helped nurses perform their duties more efficiently and effectively. Many argue that the pandemic led to the popularity of online healthcare services. According to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), online healthcare appointments grew by 154% during the pandemic. However, no matter what led to the rise of online healthcare services, this trend is here to stay.
4. Technology is Becoming a Key Part of the Healthcare Industry
Technology has and will continue to transform the healthcare industry. Incorporating technology into healthcare services can help provide more accurate and better patient care and improve overall healthcare outcomes. Moreover, it can help streamline the entire healthcare system and help patients and healthcare workers save a lot of time.
Special educational programs are designed for the older generation of nurses to educate and equip them with the knowledge of the latest medical technologies. The younger workforce is encouraged to learn and adapt the latest healthcare technologies to provide efficient and effective healthcare to patients.
Technologically advanced medical devices and tools will become commonplace in healthcare settings. Therefore, nurses and other healthcare workers must learn and adapt to the latest technological advancements in medicine to provide optimal care in a technologically advanced healthcare setting.
5. Medical Care On-the-Go is the Future
America is facing a shortage of experienced nurses. Therefore, to temporarily fix the shortage in short-staffed hospitals, nurses may be required to travel more to different cities or even states or work in mobile units.
Traveling nurses can fill in positions at multiple locations. They are not a solution to the problem of nurse shortage. Therefore, the government should take proper measures to deal with the shortage crisis. However, until that issue is resolved, registered nurses will be required to travel to different places in which they are needed.
Why is there a growing demand for mental health practitioners?
Mental health was considered a taboo topic for years. However, people’s attitude toward mental health has dramatically changed in recent years. People value their mental health and encourage others to do so. Therefore, the demand for mental health practitioners grew.
Moreover, the major stressors in recent years, like the pandemic and the resulting economic instability, have led many people to experience anxiety and depression. Therefore, more and more people are resorting to therapy to deal with these complex issues.
Moreover, even though the demand for mental health practitioners is growing, there are not enough professionals to meet this demand.
All these factors have led to an increase in the demand for mental health practitioners.
The Bottom Line
Nurses play an essential role in the healthcare industry. In recent years the healthcare industry has undergone rapid evolution, which has led to the emergence of new trends in the nursing profession. Some of those trends are an increase in the number of advanced degrees offered online.
Another notable trend has been an increase in the number of specialized nurses. The pandemic led to the popularity of online healthcare services. Moreover, nurses must become tech-savvy to function in technologically advanced workplaces. Lastly, nurses will be required to travel more often to deal with the nurse shortage problem in America.
Mental health practitioners are specifically growing in demand due to a shortage of competent professionals and an increase in mental illness diagnoses. Hopefully, this article will help you understand the nursing trends and the growing demand for mental health practitioners.
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