The Role of a Nurse and Best Practice Preventing Pressure Ulcer - Essay Example

THE ROLE OF A NURSE AND BEST PRACTICE PREVENTING PRESSURE ULCER, IN AN ACUTE MEDICAL RECEIVING ENVIRONMENT By Lecturer: of Affiliation: City and State: Date: The Role of a Nurse and Best Practice Preventing Pressure Ulcer, In an Acute Medical Receiving Environment Pressure ulcers have become the major sicknesses that contribute to increased death rates and it is costly in terms of treatment (Gerry, Carol & John, 2004, p. 230-355). Pressure ulcer is a disease that develops due to prolonged sitting, and it mostly occurs when people are immobile or when they cannot feel any discomfort because of injuries or diseases (Alica, 2013, p. 54-61). Preventing and treating pressure ulcers is expensive; thus represents the burden of reduced life quality for patients and their caregivers. The research indicates that pressure ulcers have become a pandemic health issue affecting more than 3 million adults across the globe (Kate, Anna & Lynette, 2011, p. 346-354; Kate et al. 2011, p. 2010-2014). The state government has made significant efforts of fighting against this disease through increasing evidence-based pressure ulcer prevention protocols and other management issues in order to maintain the health of the nation. Despite the evidence-based pressure ulcer prevention protocols, patients still suffer serious problems. This results due to poor nursing practices especially where nurses fail to meet proper nursing guidelines, longer stay in hospitals, recruiting nurses with inadequate nursing skills and other issues. Preventing pressure ulcers is one of the key practices that have been for a long time carried out by nurses across the globe. It is the responsibility of nurses to deliver quality services to all patients and carry out nursing research practices in order to advance the quality to care delivery. Burkhardt and Nathaniel (2008, p. 89) argue that nurses should take into considerations the nursing ethical standards necessary in the healthcare. The healthcare ethics are crucial because they contribute to the best interests of the clients; thus achieving optimal outcomes. However, the research indicates that many clients suffer and some stay in hospitals for a long period because of poor services offered to them (Kautz, Dickey and Stevens 2000, p.70). Nurses fail to meet prevent injuries; thus contributing to longer stay of patients in the hospitals. Unfair treatment and suffering are also common in hospital environment. This is because many of the nurses fail to maintain competent practices. Furthermore, some nurses do not understand the differences between their professional code of conducts and their personal values; hence poor performance. Nurses are required to act at the best of their interests in order to save the lives of people. However, the poor working conditions in many hospitals nowadays and healthcare policies impact the performance level of nurses. For instance, the healthcare policy reform is seen as a hindrance to the effective healthcare delivery services by registered nurses. Nurses offer real life issues especially on the needs of patients in order to reduce mortality and morbidity issues. The healthcare policy can create issues especially where patients are required to pay and where those who are insured are not supposed to pay. This is one of the issues that had been noticed with the healthcare insurance; thus creating conflicting issue between insured patients and the caregivers. The healthcare costs and other aspects are all issues of political agendas; thus, they tend to impact the role played by nurses in the hospital settings (Maryland and Gonzalez 2012, pr.3). Lack of adequate training programs, inappropriate attitude and beliefs of nurses about treatment of pressure ulcers in acute medical receiving environment impacts the role of nurses. The research studies have found that adequate training and education programs have an impact on the health care delivery (Andre, Georgia & Mark, 2010, p. 2471-2480; Heaven, Beaver, Molassiotis &Farrell, 2010, p.160-166). This is because the effect of education on nurse attitudes, beliefs and confidence levels is a problem in care delivery; thus changing the attitudes or beliefs of nurses is a challenging activity. (Beeckman, Defloor, Schoonhoven and Vanderwee 2011, p 3). Staffing levels in the hospital setting tend to have an effect on the nursing outcomes on the prevention of pressure ulcers. Many hospitals nowadays experience the problem of staffing level and these impacts the performance level of care provisions. The low nursing level contributes to poor patient results, and increasing the number of nurses in hospital is not easy. For instance, the ratio of nurses to patients is estimated at 1: 1000 patients, and this impacts the quality of services offered in pressure ulcer prevention (Taylor 2011, p. 27). The research study was carried out to examine the relationship between nurses staffing level and the patient outcomes. Therefore, the report findings revealed that in the hospital settings where nurses stuffing were low, patients tended to produce poor results. They also stayed in hospitals for a long time than those hospital settings where there were high stuffing levels (Kautz, Dickey and Stevens 2000, p. 75). Nurses are aware that the current healthcare system has varied problems; thus, a need for creating changes in acute medical receiving environment. Abood (2007, pr 1) argues that the current healthcare environment face varied problems because of numerous healthcare policies, laws and regulations imposed upon the healthcare sector by the government agencies. These create challenges to both nurses and patients who are always stuck amidst of cost constraints and access to effective quality care (Abood 2007, pr 1). The number of uninsured patients in the United States is high and the cost of healthcare provision continues to increase despite the implementation of healthcare reform. The system of health care policy reform is poorly coordinated; hence driving the cost of living high, and exposing patients of acute disease such as pressure ulcers and cancer to high risks. Given the current credit crunch, which is contributing to economic crisis in many countries, the health care provision in many hospital settings across nations is deteriorating. For instance, the healthcare improvement activities have remained a matter of the state policy because many nurses have failed to deliver effective care services in acute medical environment. This results due to diverse conflicting policies and regulations regarding healthcare provision. Maryland and Gonzalez (2012, pr.5) argue that the cost of healthcare continues to rise; thus making it difficult for some patients to get the care they need. Pressure ulcers are critical issues that are common in the healthcare system and it produces a serious burden to patients and nurses. The research report estimate that more than 60 thousand people die every year, in America due to pressure ulcer and other related complications to this disease. Pressure ulcers are a multidisciplinary responsibility of nurses; thus, they need to publish practical guidelines of preventing pressure ulcers. The incidence rates of pressure ulcers vary profoundly from one health care setting to another. The NPUAP (National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel) reveal that the incidence, mortality and cost of preventing pressure ulcers are high. The incidences vary from 0.4% to 38% in hospital settings and patients can stay longer in hospitals for more than two weeks. Mortality rate is also associated with pressure ulcers and elderly people admitted in hospitals for long-term care will develop pressure ulcers within the first stay of four weeks of hospital admission. Insurance coverage problems act as a hindrance towards the benefiting opportunity of treating patients with pressure ulcer issues. The increased social inequalities and poor or inequitable resource distributions are among the causes for poor health provisions in many healthcare environment. Nurses also lack effective nursing facilities and resource constraints issues hinder them from delivering effective services to patients. Many patients are unable to meet the effective care that they need because of inequalities. Elderly people suffering from pressure ulcers are among the people who feel the impact of social inequalities. Many of them are uninsured; thus, they fail to receive appropriate health care due to financial problems. In addition, it is also the role of nurses to assure patients quality services in order to meet their demanding needs effectively. The significant goal of quality assurance is to advance the nursing care provided to patients. Therefore, quality assurance is crucial to pressure ulcer patients. Most quality assurance issues focus on uncovering deficiencies rather than implementing strategies vital for helping nurses to meet quality patients care standards (Kautz, Dickey and Stevens, 2000, p.71). Kautz, Dickey and Stevens attempt to reveal the underlying problems that make nurses to fail in meeting the care standards; thus the basis for developing intervention plan for changing nurse practices. The prospective intervention studies should primarily focus on attitudes and beliefs change of nurses in healthcare settings. It should focus on changing their confidence levels; thus enabling them to make efforts towards improving the health of patients. It is the role of the human resource manager in the hospital settings to recruit nurses with qualified skills vital for delivering effective clinical performance. Many nurse practitioners fail to meet the clinical performance requirements because of poor nursing development skills and motivation from nursing mentors. Some of those nurses recruited have insufficient skills for pressure prevention ulcers and this contributes to low performance in hospital settings. The research findings carried out reveals that mentors have become reluctant to fail students who do not perform effectively during nursing practices in the clinical settings (Jervis and Tilki 2011 p. 13). The semi-structured interviews and focused grouped discussion were employed in research analysis; thus revealed the way nurse mentors fail to support student nurses. There is also lack of effective training strategies for enabling students become competitive. This impacts many of them from advancing their competitive skills. Management Recommendations One of the effective recommendations for overcoming barriers impacting nurses from providing best practice preventing pressure ulcers in an acute medical receiving environment is developing intervention plans. Effective intervention plans should be carried out in order to enable nurse to deliver effective services in acute medical receiving environment. Intervention programs are necessary in the healthcare settings. This is because they will enable nurses to minimize any risks that might contribute to the development of pressure ulcers when patients are seated (Sharon, 2013, p. 20-25; Valentina, Stefania & Marco, 2006, p.356-364). Increasing education and training programs is vital because it will enable nurses to improve their skills vital for managing pressure ulcers. Education and training nurses are significant because it contributes to increased skills necessary for delivering effective services in the hospital settings. Effective education and training programs are the key aspects towards successful health care management. Nurses require additional skills especially from evidence-based research skills to technology skills in order to enable them deliver effective services. Therefore, providing enhanced education and training programs will be the foundation for improving their nursing skills (Zena, 2010, p. A15-S18). Many hospitals have already started offering education and arranging for training programs for nurses. This is because they realized that additional skills are the key aspects for enabling nurses to deliver necessary services to pressure ulcer patients (Jackie, 2011, p.S18-S26). In addition, employing education intervention methods, which, is based on belief and attitudes change, is significant. This is because it will enable nurses to deliver effective healthcare services to patients suffering from pressure ulcers. Education intervention methods have a positive impact towards the attitudes and beliefs of nurses in dealing with patients with pressure ulcers. Rehabilitation facilities are inherently labor intensive; thus, there is need for education intervention methods vital for improving the nursing knowledge. Marie, Elizabeth and Nina 2010, p. 334) also argue that building an effective framework for an elderly sensitive people is crucial. This is because the pressure ulcers commonly affect the elderly people; thus offering them special care is significant. Increasing the stuffing level of nurses in hospital setting will break the barrier to stuffing problems. This is essential because it will enable nurses to offer effective management and care prevention to pressure ulcers patients. In most cases, long term stay in hospital is associated to the number of stuffing nurses in hospitals, thus increasing the number of nurses in the hospitals setting is crucial. Although stuffing is not easy, it is vital for the government to offer funds to students in order to encourage them to take nursing courses. This will improve the number of the stuffing level with necessary skills vital for handling and managing patients suffering from pressure ulcers. The study indicates that pressure ulcers prevention can become challenging where there are shortages of nursing staffing turnover. Therefore, increasing the nursing turnover and the number of nursing in the hospitals settings can create a positive change. As the health care managements practices are shifting towards an effective team-based approach, many nurses in hospital environments have also started transforming their roles in order to increase the performance level (Hignett eta al, nd, p. 415-423). Thus, there is need for the government to offer support to nurse through funding their research activities in order to enable them meet the demanding needs of patients. Nurses can have a profound effect on the outcome of pressure ulcers prevention; thus, encouraging and supporting them to meet their demanding needs is significant. The resource managers in the hospital settings can encourage nurses to work together as a team in order to meet the desired goals of their clients effectively. Therefore, it is crucial to offer nurses moral support and finance their research activities, as this will enable them to deliver effective services to their clients. Lastly, increasing evidence-based pressure ulcer prevention protocols and other management issues, but ensure that nurses meet proper guidelines vital for creating change in hospital settings. There is need for healthcare resource managers to ensure that nurses follow proper hospital guidelines, provide daily reports for their clients and participate in staff management activities. The resource managers should actively engage them in resource planning and the critical care factors required for delivering quality and cost effective services (Dimitri, Tom, Lisette & Katrien, 2011, p. 166-176). They should work together as a team and understand the facilities required in relation to patient needs; thus creating a positive change in the healthcare environment. Code of Conduct Due to the completive nature in the way various services are offered, having a sound code of conduct is paramount in enhancing productivity as well as efficiency. This is because how best the clients are handled increases their confidence levels and consequently enhaces long-term relationship. In this regard, in preventing pressure ulcer, in an acute medical receiving environment, there is well stipulated code of conduct, which ensure smooth interactions among various stakeholders in the outlined fields. In conclusion, pressure ulcer patients suffer due to poor nursing practices especially where nurses fail to meet proper nursing guidelines, longer stay in hospitals, recruiting nurses with inadequate nursing skills and other issues. Preventing pressure ulcers is one of the key practices that have been for a long time carried out by nurses across the globe (Courtney, 2011, p. 6-13). Thus, nurses are required to act at the best of their interests in order to save the lives of people. Lack of adequate training programs, inappropriate attitude and beliefs of nurses about treatment of pressure ulcers in acute medical receiving environment impacts the role of nurses. Staffing levels in the hospital setting tend to have an effect on the nursing outcomes on the prevention of pressure ulcers. Therefore, increasing the stuffing level of nurses in hospital setting will break the barrier to stuffing problems. Increasing also the stuffing level of nurses in hospital setting will break the barrier to stuffing problems. Effective intervention plans should be carried out in order to enable nurse to deliver effective services in acute medical receiving environment. Lastly, increasing evidence-based pressure ulcer prevention protocols and other management issue can contribute to better prevention of pressure ulcers in the hospital settings. Bibliography Abood, S. (January 31, 2007). "Influencing Health Care in the Legislative Arena". OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 12 No. 1, Manuscript 2. Alica, B. (2013). Prevention of pressure ulcers in nursing home residents. Nursing Standard 27(24), p54-61. Andre T., Georgia B. & Mark, H. (2010). 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