Nursing for the future, from the past: two reports on nursing from the Institute of Medicine.

In 2010, the Institute of Medicine, in association with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released a major study of the nursing profession. The Institute of Medicine last published a major, broad-based study of the nursing profession in 1983. This brief historical analysis examines the context and key recommendations for each report and provides concrete examples of outcomes of the 1983 report. We argue that despite similarities in context and recommendations, the two reports differ in target audience and implementation strategies, and that nursing is currently better positioned to use the report as a blueprint to improve patient care, as well as garner outside support, than it was in 1983. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.