Modern nursing practice is impacted by changes occurring throughout society across different domains, including but not limited to social, political, and economic influences. Therefore, flexibility and adaptability are necessary to demonstrate the importance of meeting the needs and expectations of nursing and healthcare practice across different areas. Nurses must continuously advance their objectives while experiencing opposing forces which emerge in the form of new regulatory requirements, expanded compliance measures, and educational needs. At the same time, they often face a reduction of available resources and mandates to improve their performance under greater constraints. Therefore, nurses must be apprised of changes throughout the industry, demonstrate their understanding of regulatory bodies, and support a flexible approach to the practice setting that will not impact quality of care.

Nurses are required to maintain updated knowledge of current policies and procedures within their field, along with managing the economic resources which are allocated to specific units by their organizations. This practice requires an understanding of the key driving forces which impact the practice setting and how to balance these issues with the responsibility to provide culturally competent patient care of the highest possible quality. They must recognize their roles in promoting excellence in patient care and in providing new and creative solutions to common problems that are not impacted by time or resource-based constraints. These options will have a positive impact on the nursing profession and strengthen their resolve as they move forward in an ever-changing practice environment with new directions and unlimited potential to meet patient care needs.

Nurses often struggle with the demands of the profession and may be limited by their public image and the stereotypes that are reinforced throughout society, and these may limit their capacity to be successful and to meet the objectives of the practice setting (Hoeve, Jansen, & Roodbol, 2014). Furthermore, they are required to delicately balance the demands of their roles as primary care providers with the expectations of leadership and management to meet specific objectives at the organizational level. Nurses also face a continuous set of challenges related to the transformation of the healthcare system towards a comprehensive patient-centered approach to care and treatment. This poses many difficulties for nurses because they may lack direction or the resources required to advance these goals, and they may also face new roles and expectations which have not been clearly identified (Fraher, Spetz, & Naylor, 2015). From this perspective, it may be difficult to identify expectations, but nurses must focus on providing excellent patient care on a continuous basis to meet the needs of different populations who rely on nurses to make a significant difference within their lives.

Nursing practice in the 21st Century is challenging on many levels and requires nurses to continuously evaluate and address changes related to political, social, and economic challenges which affect their roles and the practice setting. It is important for nurses to stay informed regarding new regulatory requirements and laws which govern their practices and to utilize available resources wisely to ensure that all possible needs are met and expectations are achieved.

Nurses must explore creative strategies to improve the practice setting and provide inspirational and effective patient care, recognizing the demand for expanded directives towards patient-centered care and the development of cost efficient approaches to meet this need. Nurses must work collaboratively to identify solutions to these problems and effectively balance the forces which impact the practice setting, such as the political landscape and social interactions with patients. These tools are likely to have a positive impact on nursing practice when nurses demonstrate flexibility and strength in accomplishing their responsibilities within these roles.