Nursing has evolved immensely in the past few decades. There was a time when it was considered a valuable yet domestic or basic endeavor involving a few caretaking duties. 

Today, things have changed manifold, and nurse practitioners (NPs) and registered nurses (RNs) are the most trusted professionals in the healthcare industry. The World Report 2023 Best Health Care Jobs list ranked NP as the second, and according to the U.S News, it holds the first on the 100 Best Jobs List.

There is a growing need for warm interactions with patients, along with providing them with supportive care. Consequently, nurses have more responsibilities than ever before. The field has become increasingly clinical and research-oriented, demanding specialized and extensive training. Nurses must commit to professional and personal improvement.

Today, the healthcare sector is faced with two scenarios: the shortage of nurses and the advancement of science. It will result in the growth of lucrative and meaningful work. In this article, we will share some of the crucial nursing trends for 2023.

Trend #1: Telemedicine Will Keep Gaining Prominence

2020 brought about a huge shift in the way Americans started to respond to healthcare facilities because of the pandemic. Almost 20% of the medical visits were conducted virtually. Reports suggested that telemedicine revenue was expected to triple by 2023. The massive adoption of telemedicine has automated nursing tasks and provided increased accessible patient care, along with chatbot options and telehealth.

Telehealth technology provides ease and flexibility and enables patients to have access to doctors and their documents from home. It provides better control over their health care and also makes them feel comfortable in their home. The online portals offer prescription refill requests, test results, and multiple appointments. 

Furthermore, nurses and doctors are accessible through a telemedicine device for hosting virtual meetings, saving valuable time for both clinicians and patients.

The chatbot services allow patients to take increased ownership of the care that they receive. The patients can fix appointments as well as set reminders for medication administration. It also enables them to look for specialists in their locality.

Trend #2: Popularity of Online Nursing Programs

Online education has gained prominence over the past few years. The same holds for online nursing courses and programs such as the online RN to BSN program degree and master of science in nursing offered by multiple universities across the globe. The nurses who are employed can leverage the ease and flexibility of the online programs, pursue their nursing courses, and work simultaneously.

The ‘American Academy of Nurse Practitioners’ predicts that by 2030, there will be a scarcity of 120,000 providers of family medicine. Enrolling in online BSN to FNP programs for advanced training enables nurses to contribute to the solution.

An FNP (Family Nurse Practitioner) can bring about a change in a patient's life with their rich know-how and expertise to provide the correct treatment to their patients. Once a nurse gets the license of an FNP they will exercise additional independence in practice and can earn an increased salary. Additionally, they can also provide counseling, help with disease anticipation and management, and wellness education for family members across various ages.

Wilkes University states that such online programs enable nurses to implement critical thinking skills for diagnostic reasoning and decision-making. It helps to positively impact patient outcomes psychologically, physically, cognitively, developmentally, and spiritually.

Trend #3: Travel Nurse Salaries Will Keep Increasing

The demand for traveling nurses has gone up in the past few years. Earlier travel nurses were typically recruited to help in times of acute need and they earned higher wages because of the urgency. After the pandemic, both the demand and earnings of travel nurses have significantly increased. Data by Indeed reveals that travel nurses earn 30% more compared to staff nurses.

That aside, even Bloomberg reported that job opportunities for travel nurses had gone up by 30% between 2020 and 2021. Owing to the current demand, travel nurses today are earning 8% to 10% more than other nursing staff. Travel nursing has helped to address crucial health emergencies and has created new job opportunities. It also emphasizes caring for and maintaining the current nursing staff.

Trend #4: Popularity of Nursing Informatics

Since the time the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act urged hospitals to embrace EMR (electronic medical records), hospitals have been embracing systems to store them correctly. It means that they require staff who can read, interpret, and monitor this new data correctly. To address this growing need, a new nursing specialty has been introduced and is estimated to expand in the forthcoming years.

It is Nursing Informatics (NI) that blends nursing with EMRs for correcting using them. When hospitals use more EMRs, there will be an increased need for NI. The Advance Healthcare Network for Nurses states that 70,000 nurse informatics jobs will be generated in a few years, making this a popular nursing trend.

Conclusion

It’s a known fact that nurses today are an essential aspect of the healthcare sector. Nurses are also eager to advance their careers in a way that they can serve patients better and earn a higher income. For this, online nursing courses can be of immense help. The nursing trends discussed in this article provide a glimpse into how nurses can impact the healthcare segment.

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