help please

[aronld1]

I need a topic about something that has changed in the RN field over the past 20 years, for a debate type forum.

I am new to the medical field and I am having a hard time coming

up with any ideas.....................

can anyone help.

thank you

[Music in My Heart]

I'd use the proliferation of technology. For example, the advent of IV pumps, patient-controlled analgesia dispensers, PDAs, etc.

Or, the proliferation of drug-resistant bacteria.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

the one thing that i can think of off the top of my head is how the licensing exam is being done. when i took my "state board" in 1975 it was a paper and pencil exam where i went to the long beach arena for two full days of testing. it was grueling. today, you all take the nclex on a computer and it is all over in a matter of 4 hours or less.

also, laws have been added to many states mandating that criminal background tests be done on nurses prior to the issuance of a license. another new thing related to licensure is the nurse licensure compact which allows automatic endorsement of your rn license to another state if you are licensed in a state that participates in the compact agreement (https://www.ncsbn.org/nlc.htm).

i have recently heard that there is a new agency that has been set up to collect data on nurses who have been sued or had a judgment of malpractice against them. this database is something that the medical staff personnel of a facility hiring nurse practitioners would know about since it would be part of their credentialing process of their nurse practitioners. in some cases, querying this new database may be a requirement of medicare or some of the insurance companies. to my knowledge these kinds of databases have only been in existence for doctors. this is the first time i've heard that one has been started to track lawsuits against nurses' practice.

i would also like to suggest that traveling nurses are less than 20 years old, but we had them in 1980 at a hospital here in california where i was working 27 years ago.

something you can do is go to the library and check back issues of the american journal of nursing in particular. each month they include nursing news items. you could also check their website to see if there is anything printed there.