Foundamentional Concepts in Application - Essay Example

This article has helped me to recognize some of the key barriers to the provision of palliative care services. This study highlights the importance of palliative care nurses in facilitating communication between family members and patients, especially when family members disagree with end-of-life advance care planning. One of the findings of this study which was conducted on a small sample of patients in New Zealand was that, many of the participants were cared for by their spouses who were equally sick.

Accessibility to services particularly in the rural setting also was also a challenge. One of the major issues identified in the study was the delay in making the decision to refer patients to palliative care by primary care physicians who felt that, “they were providing “good enough” palliative care themselves with the assistance of the district nurses and would refer families to hospice or hospital services when they felt it was appropriate” (McKechnie & Jaye, 2011, p. 413). It was interesting to note that throughout this research, the patients and their families were still identifying issues that need to be addressed despite the belief by their health professionals that they were doing their best.

Threaded Discussion: Response to a classmate As required for this assignment, I have selected the article summary written by my classmate _______________(Name of my classmate) who has expressed her interest in the field of nursing informatics. Authors McGonigle and Mastrian remind us that, “the work of nurses revolves around data, knowledge, information and wisdom and that improvement in technology should ensure that the right care is given at the right time to the right patients at the lowest possible cost” (2009).

In light of this profound thought, I appreciate the work of ______ (Name of my classmate) who has summarized an article on nursing informatics titled, ‘Examining the Unintended Consequences of Computerized Provider Order Entry System Implementation’. After reviewing the summary, I feel that she has done a good job in summarizing the content of the article, highlighting the pros and cons of having a computerized provider order entry system. However, the write-up could have included information about facts that came as a surprise to her/him or reaffirms what she/he already knew or has experienced at the workplace.

In light of the fact that President Obama has called for a massive effort to revamp the current health care system by incorporating standardized electronic health records in just about five years and slated more than $19 billion for health information technology, I would recommend my classmate to focus on the area of digital record keeping. The standardized electronic health records should be integrated and interoperable so as to ensure accuracy and quick access. Such a technology would benefit both the health care providers and the patients.

Scholarly Databases at my Workplace At my workplace, I have access to the Mosby’s Nursing Consult and Lippincott’s Nursing Center. I utilize these scholarly databases frequently since it helps me to be in touch with the latest practices and findings in the field of nursing. Although one has to spend some time searching through these databases if they are looking for something specific, I believe that it is not very difficult to do so. Unlike other web search