Nursing in the next decade: implications for health care and for patient safety

Nursing faces yet another divergence between demand and supply that is evidenced in insufficient nurse staffing with significant implications for patient safety. Many believe this shortage of registered nurses is entrenched in long-standing problems related to the value and image of nursing and the limited role nursing has had in identifying priorities within health care delivery systems. "Nursing's Agenda for the Future" is a plan resulting from the experience and wisdom of a broad representation of general nursing and nursing specialty organizations. Efforts to realize the priorities and objectives have evolved over the past two years in order to make larger strides, or quantum leaps, toward reaching the objectives contained within the plan. This article reviews the activities leading up to the development of this plan, presents the key areas of concern addressed in this plan, describes what has been accomplished since the publication of this plan in 2002, and outlines the work that lies ahead to bring to fruition the objectives the plan established.