Today’s nurses enter a realm of opportunities and challenges for providing high-quality, evidence-based care in traditional as well as new and innovative health care settings. The rapid changes in health care mandate that nurses be prepared to provide or plan care across the continuum of settings—from hospital or clinic, to home, to community agencies or hospice settings—and during all phases of illness. Recent research has indicated that nurses make significant contributions to the health care outcomes of patients who are hospitalized. Therefore, today’s nurses must be prepared to identify patients’ short- and long-term needs quickly and to collaborate effectively with patients and families, other members of the health care team, and.
