Pew Health Professions Commission Research Articles

Advanced Nursing Practice In The 21st Century: Do We Want To Be Right or Do We Want To Win?

Because cost containment is a priority in our rapidly changing American health care system, the prestigious Pew Health Professions Commission (1995) has predicted a greater role for nurse practitioners (NPs) in the delivery of primary care. Factors favoring a broadened scope of NP responsibility for primary care include: (a) the pressing need to contain the nation's ever-escalating health care costs, (b) the present window of opportunity for advanced nursing practice, and (c) the need to use fewer resources more effectively. Because ours is a market-driven health care system with a growing surplus of physicians, NPs increasingly find themselves in direct competition with physcians for the same primary care jobs. Hence, market-driven (rather than identical) pricing of services is necessary if NPs are to compete successfully with medically trained providers of primary care. The brain has two functions: One is to be right and the other is to survive and sometimes we give up the latter. (Old Chinese proverb)

Service-learning: community-campus partnerships for health professions education.

In 1995, the Health Professions Schools in Service to the Nation (HPSISN) program was launched under the auspices of the Pew Health Professions Commission as a national demonstration of an innovative form of community-based education called service-learning. The foundation of service-learning is a balanced partnership between communities and health professions schools and a balance between serving the community and meeting defined learning objectives. This article offers a definition of service-learning and an outline of its core concepts; it also describes how service-learning differs from traditional clinical education in the health professions. Further, the author discusses how service-learning programs may benefit students, faculty, communities, higher education institutions, and the relationships among all these stakeholders. The article concludes with brief descriptions of recommended resources for integrating service-learning into the medical school curriculum.

How Nursing Should Respond to the Third Report of the Pew Health Professions

The Third Report of the Pew Health Professions Commission, "Critical Challenges: Revitalizing the Health Professions for the Twenty-First Century" (1995), describes a transformed U.S. health care industry characterized by systems of integrated care combining primary, specialty, and hospital services. Forecasting the success of such systems, the Report states that they will produce better management, accountability, responsiveness, more effective use of resources, innovation, and diversity in health delivery, inclusivity in the definition of health, more concern about education, prevention and care management rather than treatment, more orientation to what is improving the health of the entire population, and more reliance on outcomes data and evidence. The Report predicts that these changes will cause closure of as many as half of the nation's hospitals, expansion of primary care, surpluses in the supply of physicians, nurses, and pharmacists, consolidation of allied health professions, and demand for public health professionals. The Commission's seven recommendations for nursing deal with maximizing opportunities presented by the profession's educational diversity, regulation, and educational change, downsizing particularly in diploma and associate degree programs, expanding Master's level practitioner programs, developing new models of integration between education and the systems of health care, and "recovering" the clinical management role of nursing. This paper examines and critiques the recommendations of the Commission regarding nursing and discusses the challenges they present.

Science and the shifting paradigm in dental education

Dental education is faced with continuing challenges to adjust to external as well as internal pressures. These pressures are coming from a variety of sources that are often inconsistent in the nature and direction of change they would bring about. Pressure on the future direction of dental education are coming from sources such as an Institute of Medicine report, Pew Health Professions Commission reports, changes in the academic health centers in response to health care reform, and expectations of parent universities. Reactions to these and other forces are bringing about changes in the nature and extent of scientific research in schools of dentistry. As the educational programs continue to evolve, research will receive greater attention, and more of it will be funded from private sources.

Dental health services research utilizing comprehensive clinical databases and information technology

Marketplace pressures for accountability in dentistry have made clear dental delivery systems' weaknesses in information generation, management, and analysis methods. Without this type of information, dentistry is unable to quantify and document the outcomes of the dental care services it provides. The Pew Health Professions Commission and the Institute of Medicine both suggest that dental schools should be among the leaders in the development and teaching of dental information capabilities, as well as the source of fundamental dental health services research. This paper argues that dental schools are the logical location for the development of valid, reliable, and acceptable health services research methods and databases. It describes the development of an insurance claims database to demonstrate the types of investigations possible, as well as the weaknesses and shortcomings of pure administrative data.

White, K. (1996). Ensuring your professional future...today: The latest from the Pew Health Professions Commission

White, K. (1996). Ensuring your professional future...today: The latest from the Pew Health Professions Commission

Future trends in dietetics: The multiskilled professional

Picture a future in which the registered dietitian is responsible for checking the patient’s vital signs, drawing blood, evaluating bone scans, and prescribing nutritional therapy while actively networking with the multidisciplinary health care team via a palm-top computer. This future is now. All over the United States dietitians are redefining their roles and contributions to the care of patients.’ No longer can we find comfort in the familiar or lament the infamous “that’s not my job.” To survive in a cost-conscious health care environment we must be versatile, creative, and willing to take on new roles professionally. Equipping ourselves with the skills to perform a variety of patient care activities will mean job security. We cannot be territorial with our knowledge and expertise. Remember, the average patient will soon have computer access to the nutrient analysis information and many of the nutritional status assessment measures we currently provide. Their expectations of the dietitian will become much broader than they are today, as will the expectations of the health care administrators who are increasingly concerned about rising health care costs and shrinking profit margins. In 1990, the PEW Health Professions Commission released a comprehensive report regarding the future of the allied

Pew Health Professions Commission task force releases policy considerations for reforming health care workforce regulation: December 1995

The Pew Health Professions Commission Task force on Health Care Workforce Regulation recently released its policy considerations for reforming the regulation of the US health care workforce. Individual copies of the report may be obtained from the Pew Health Professions Commission. This article summarizes the task force report.

CLOSING OF MEDICAL SCHOOLS

A private study commission is urging "the wholesale closing" of US medical schools during the next decade to avert a glut of doctors. The Pew Health Professions Commission on Thursday urged a similar retrenchment ent in pharmacy schools and elimination of at least 10% of nurse training programs. It called for constricting the pipeline of foreign doctors who come to this country to train and usually wind up practicing here. . . . The provocative study, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a private philanthropy, did not sit well with leaders of academic medicine.

Professional competencies in the changing health care system

To examine physicians' attitudes toward 16 competencies deemed essential to the effective practice of medicine in the changing health care system. In early 1991 a telephone survey was conducted of 300 physicians from random samples selected as representative of the physician population in the continental United States. The physicians were categorized as general practitioners, surgery specialists, and other specialists, and as belonging to the graduation cohorts of 1960-1969, 1970-1979, and 1980-1989. The physicians were asked to rate (1) the importance of formal undergraduate training in each of 16 competencies and (2) the adequacy of their own undergraduate training in the competencies (these ratings are reported only for the 87 physicians in the 1980-1989 cohort). The competencies were derived from the skills, attitudes, and behaviors defined by the Pew Health Professions Commission as necessary for the nation's health care practitioners to meet society's evolving health care needs. Fifty percent or more of the physicians thought that 12 of the 16 competencies were "very important" to include in undergraduate training. Over 75% thought that it was "very important" to include the five competencies involving skills traditionally valued in medical practice: diagnosis and treatment, effective communication with patients, problem solving, lifelong learning, and counseling on medical ethics. More than 50% thought that undergraduate training was "very important" in some competencies that reflect the changing dynamics of medicine and care delivery over the past ten years: health promotion and preventive medicine, involvement of patient and family in care, management of large volumes of information, appropriate use of technology, working on a team with other professionals, and consideration of cost in clinical decision making. In rating their own training, over 50% felt well prepared (ratings of "excellent" or "good") in the five traditional competencies and, in addition, in their abilities to promote health, to manage large volumes of information, to work in teams, to understand and respond to diverse cultures, and to expand access to care. However, a majority felt that their training was only "fair" or "poor" regarding the involvement of patients and their families, evaluation of the appropriateness of costly technology, consideration of cost implications in their decision making, and understanding and supporting the community's role in health care. Forty percent or more felt poorly prepared to work in managed care settings or to accommodate increasing external scrutiny. The physicians validated the traditional strengths of medical schools, but revealed curricular weaknesses in the teaching of competencies proposed as important for the emerging health care system, especially in the managed care environment.

Health care reform and implications for nursing

This article focuses on the implications for the nursing profession and the education of nurses in the era of health care reform. With the uncertainty of health care arrangements and the cer tainty of change, nurses have an opportunity to use their unique skills to improve health out comes. The Pew Health Professions Commission recommendations for preparing health care professionals are reviewed in light of the implications they have for the nursing profession, including education and home care. Policy implications also are highlighted and educators are challenged to design new learning approaches. Key words: community-based care, health care reform, interdisciplinary, nursing education, Pew Health Professions Commission

Preparing Nursing Students for Practice

1. Nursing's Agenda for Health Care Reform, The Year 2000 Health Objectives for the Nation and the Pew Health Professions Commission support the provision of primary care in the workplace. 2. The faculty in the department of nursing wanted to provide learning experiences for community health nursing students that would allow students to develop the skills of teaching, program planning, and development and assessment of exposure to environmental hazards. 3. Members of an Association of Occupational Health Nurses constituent organization were invited to participate in the planning and development of appropriate learning activities.

Changing the health care workforce: lessons from foundation-sponsored programs.

Changing the health care workforce: lessons from foundation-sponsored programs.

AAP members receive Primary Care Achievement Award

AAP members Robert Haggerty, M.D., and Barbara Starfield, M.D., were among the three recipients of the inaugural Primary Care Achievement Awards. The awards, which honor excellence in advancing primary care in the United States, provides $10,000 for outstanding contributions in the areas of education, patient care and research. It is presented by The Pew Charitable Trusts in cooperation with the U.S. Public Health Service, Pew Health Professions Commission and Primary Care Organizations Network.

Education as part of the health care solution. Strategies from the Pew Health Professions Commission

Education as part of the health care solution. Strategies from the Pew Health Professions Commission

Accreditation of Allied Health Education

IN RECENT years, educational, regulatory, and political groups have targeted effectiveness as a primary goal in American postsecondary education. This has given rise to a number of national initiatives during the past 18 months that may have a major influence on the future course of allied health education and accreditation. Three projects are of marked significance: (1) the outcomes analysis project of the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation (COPA)-Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), (2) the report of the Pew Health Professions Commission, and (3) the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Each in its own way stresses the importance of evaluating results in assessing educational quality, a concept long supported by the American Medical Association Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation (CAHEA). <h3>COPA-FIPSE OUTCOMES ANALYSIS PROJECT</h3> The outcomes analysis project conducted by COPA, with support from FIPSE's Project on Accreditation for Educational Effectiveness: Assessment Tools for

Reconsidering nursing education: the report of the Pew Health Professions Commission.

Reconsidering nursing education: the report of the Pew Health Professions Commission.

Attitudes of dentists toward emerging competencies for health care practitioners

Dentists' attitudes about the importance of formal training in a variety of skills were assessed as a part of the Pew Health Professions Commission initiative to help health professional schools prepare for the future. Through a telephone survey with a 54 percent participation rate, attitudes of a national sample of practitioners were determined concerning the importance of training in 16 competencies that reflect skills, attitudes, and behaviors identified by the commission. Most respondents indicated that competency in treating and preventing disease, practicing ethically, communicating with patients, applying problem solving techniques, and continuing to learn were very important. Conversely, less than half of dentists indicated that competency in managing information, responding to cultural diversity, supporting community agencies, and working in managed care settings were very important. The opinions of graduates since 1980 about their own training in the competencies tended to mirror their ratings of importance. These results demonstrate the continuing need for dental educators to consider prevailing opinion of practicing professionals as a part of any evaluation or planning effort.

Draft recommendations from the Pew Health Professions Commission

Journal of Dental EducationVolume 56, Issue 6 p. 366-374 Article Draft recommendations from the Pew Health Professions Commission First published: 01 June 1992 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.0022-0337.1992.56.6.tb02648.xAbout ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume56, Issue6June 1992Pages 366-374 RelatedInformation

The Pew Health Professions Commission: an agenda for dental education

The Pew Health Professions Commission: an agenda for dental education