Essence of Nursing - Essay Example

CONTENTS PAGE Introduction..2 2. Nursing Knowledge..3 3. Record Keeping and sharing of information.5 4. References.8 Introduction Nursing, morethan any health care profession, regards caring as essential to its practice. Professional vigilance is the heart of caring in nursing. Caring is a vital element of nursing practice.1 Leininger and Watson came up with nursing theories that support the dominance of caring in nursing. 2 Benner, Tanner and Chesla also claimed that caring is a main function of the nurse in their study of expertise in nursing.3 The American Nurses Association (ANA) stated that a necessary feature of professional nursing is the condition of a caring relationship that allows for health and healing. 4 Yet nursing, as one of a massive amount of health care professions, does not have a control on caring. Physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and occupational therapists all refer to caring in their literature Valentine has opined that caring is a multidimensional idea that comprises of attributes of the nurse, which includes vigilance, professional knowledge, and therapeutic communication. 5 Knowledge and communication are essential elements in health care. We submit, therefore, that professional care is the core of caring in nursing, and, as such, characterize the crucial role of nursing within the health care system. 2. Nursing Knowledge I feel health is the face of psychological, physical, spiritual, and social well being that is manifested and determined by the adaptive capacity of persons. Perceptions and levels of health differ among people right through the life span. Health is also influenced by personal initiative, communication between health care providers and persons as they access the health care system. Nursing has a foremost role in being culturally responsive to the requirements of increasingly diverse populations and in assisting people access health care services. Professional nursing both an art and science, which allows for health promotion, risk reduction, disease prevention, supervision of disease in individuals, families and communities et al. Critical thinking, appliance of theory and use of research are intrinsic in the professional nursing role and offers the basis for sensible decision-making, problem solving as well as health planning. As a professional nurse, I learnt that I had to hold on to values, behaviors, and recognized standards that are the basis for moral and legal practice. Professional nurses should provide clients/patients kind, culturally sensitive care. Also important, I feel, is Evidence Based Nursing, which is the process by which nurses make medical decisions by means of the best obtainable research evidence, their clinical know-how and patient preferences. The three areas of research capability are: 1. Interpreting and using research 2. Evaluating practice 3. Conducting research These three competencies arevital to Evidence Based Nursing (EBN). To carry out EBN these factors have to be considered: 1. Adequate research must have been published on the particular topic 2. The nurse must have talent in accessing and decisively analyzing research 3. The nurse's practice must permit her/him to apply changes based on EBN. Evidence-based Nursing Practice solves problems faced by nurses by executing four steps: 1. Clearly recognize the issue or problem based on correct analysis of existing nursing knowledge and practice. 2. Search the literature for pertinent research 3. Assess the research evidence using recognized criteria concerning scientific merit 4. Choose interventions and give good reason for the selection with the most valid facts. With proper nursing knowledge I was able to give appropriate care to the patient, and cater to all his needs: health related, psychological and emotional. Vigilance is also an important part of nursing knowledge. It has been described as "a state of watchful attention, of maximal physiological and psychological readiness to act and of having the ability to detect and react to danger" 6 Adding to the accuracy of this definition, professional nursing vigilance can be defined as a state of intellectually, scientifically, and empirically grounded: Attention to and recognition of medically significant observations/signals/cues; Calculation of risk intrinsic in nursing practice situations Readiness to act suitably and resourcefully to lessen risks and to act in response to threats.7 3. Record Keeping and sharing of information Good record keeping and vigilant documentation is an indispensable part of nursing practice. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2002) affirm that 'good record keeping helps to protect the welfare of patients and clients' - which of course is a primary aim for nurses all around the world. It is equally significant that one communicates by letter and e-mail with other health care professionals, to make sure that they know exactly what you mean. High-class record keeping assist one in giving skilled and safe care wherever one is working. Registered Nurses have a legal as well as professional duty of care, according to the Code of Professional Conduct. The Nursing and Midwifery Council guidelines (NMC 2002) state that one's record keeping and documentation should reveal: 1. A complete description of one's assessment and the care designed and given. 2. Pertinent information about the patient any given time and what one did in response to their requirements 3. An understanding of one's duty of care and the need to take reasonable steps to care for the patient and not to jeopardize their safety or health during the course of the treatment. 4. A documentation of any arrangement one has have made for further care of a patient or client. Investigations into objections about care will look at and utilise the patient/client documents and records as proof, so good record keeping is necessary. The hospital, the NMC, the Health Service Commissioner or a court of law may look into the complaint, so it is logical to get the records safely. A court of law will presume that if care has not been documented then it has probably not been given. As long as the information is shared only among professionals for reflective purposes, then sharing information is not a breach of a patient's confidentiality. In fact, information sharing can be a positive experience, as it helps to make possible a greater comprehension of the patient and his requirements. The Nursing and Midwifery Council's Code of Professional Conduct (2002) asserts that if a patient does not give permission, information can be shared simply as a means protect the patient from harm or to obey a court order. Also, confidentiality can be breached legally if there is a matter of child protection. Patients should be made aware that information needs to be shared with other members of the team for their own good, and for this a signed approval form should be acquired from them. As long as the patient's history is not discussed with anyone outside the team, then information sharing can only be constructive. Nurses deem the rules of confidentiality as serious matter and patients' details are not revealed, excluding times where the guidelines necessitate such action. Patient information is used in several ways. The main objectives are: 1. Patient care 2. Operational management 3. Clinical research 4. Epidemiological research References Read More

 

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