The Importance of
Lifelong Learning
for
Nurses
An Interview with Trisha Coady,
VP Clinical Staff Development, HealthStream
Lindsey Wheeley
Senior Marketing Manager
HealthStream
In 2011, the Institute of Medicine published The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.
One of its key messages and recommendations was the need for changes in healthcare education
to match the breadth of transformation occurring in the U.S. healthcare system, both in terms of
the care environment and in the practices clinicians follow to achieve improved outcomes. The IOM
report emphasized the need for “equally profound changes in the education of nurses both before
and after they receive their licenses” (Institute of Medicine (IOM), 2011). Because nursing is one of
the many professions that is changing rapidly in terms of complexity and the technology involved,
this report emphasizes that “creating an expectation and culture of lifelong learning for nurses is
therefore essential” (IOM, 2011).
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