I'VE BEEN A NURSE since 1982, and in those 20-odd years, I've seen the face of health care change over and over again. You have too, no doubt. We've witnessed changes in the way patient care is structured, such as team nursing and primary nursing; in the technology that's supposed to help us work more efficiently, like the electronic health care record and bar coding for medication administration; and in practice guidelines that reflect new discoveries in disease processes, including diabetes, heart failure, and stroke.
With all this change afoot, I can't help asking myself: How can LPNs/LVNs contribute to the future of health care delivery? And, how does that affect the focus of this journal for the LPN/LVN?
A perfect position
I'm sure you've heard the debates about educational levels in nursing. You may think this calls into question the future for LPNs/LVNs. I disagree: I think LPNs/LVNs have a bright future and are vital to today's-and tomorrow's-health care system, especially in light of the ongoing struggle to meet the demand for nurses to deliver patient care.
Consider that a major change in health care is the change in our patient population. We're now dealing with patients who are older and sicker, with multiple comorbidities that require a higher acuity of care. As an LPN/LVN, your focus has always been on bedside patient care. So no matter where you work-hospital, assisted living, home care, or extended care-you're perfectly positioned to respond to the challenges we're now facing and deliver competent, compassionate care to your patients.
Where does LPN2005 fit into the picture? We talk with a lot of LPNs/LVNs-face-to-face, in focus groups, in e-mail exchanges, and in written surveys. What we've learned is that you and your colleagues want-and need-a journal that helps you prepare to effectively manage the complex patients you see every day. You want the latest information on the drugs they may be on, the steps you can take to keep them as safe as possible, and the comorbid diseases that can affect your care and their recovery.
In short, you want a tool that will help you excel as an LPN/LVN today and tomorrow, regardless of how many times the face of health care changes.
We want that for you too. That's why I like to think of us as your partner not only in responding to the changes and challenges in today's health care system, but also in helping you prepare for the future. We monitor what's going on in health care so that we can tailor the journal appropriately. And, we listen to what you and your colleagues have to say about your real-world situations, which helps us better understand what you need to know.
Into the future
No matter what technology is discovered and implemented, no matter what new treatments are developed, no matter in what direction the future of health care is headed, there will always be patients-and there will always be a need for nurses to care for them.
Let's step into the future of nursing together, keeping true to the goal from which we've never wavered: to deliver the best, the safest, and the most compassionate care we can to our patients. After all, that's why we went into nursing in the first place!!
Sincerely,
Richard R. Gibbs, LVN
Editor-in-Chief, LPN2005, Ambler, Pa.