Practicum Nursing Service Administration Reflection - Essay Example

Practicum Nursing Service Administration Reflection paper Lecturer’s Introduction As one of the most delicate fields, nursing profession requires a lot of keenness in practicing and training. In attaining this, the American Nursing Association has played a fundamental role in enhancing health promotion, protection, prevention and alleviation of suffering and illness. This has been through the development of standards guiding nursing practice that needs to be adhered to in enhancing safe and quality care delivery. Moreover, these standards are important in providing direction and guidance on how nurse should conduct themselves in the care setting. The standards includes maintenance of ethical standards, enhancing education, evidence based practice and research, enhancing environmental health, communication, leadership, collaboration, resource utilization, professional practice evaluation and enhancing quality performance. The paper outlines a reflection of the above stipulated standards. Ethics The code of ethics for nurses acts as a guide ensuring that nurses carries out their responsibilities in a manner that is consistent with the quality and ethical obligations of the profession. These obligations are stipulated in American Nursing Association. The standards of professional performance by ANA describes the behavioral competency in the role of the profession in activities that commensurate with quality while providing care; education; and appraisal of performance among many others. It promotes nursing profession by advocating for high level or standard practices ensuring that the rights of nurses are catered for at the work place. Nurses have an obligation to integrate ethical conducts in the different facets of their practices. Nurses in the profession have a mandate to not only to establish and maintain professional therapeutic, patients and nurse relationship but also discharge health care in such a way that the patient’s dignity, autonomy and rights are upheld. They are also required to make ethical decisions while at work; report cases that are incompetent and illegal; and maintain and ensure patients on confidentiality within the boundaries of regulations and legal requirements. It is a nurse’s responsibility of being accountable for their nursing practices and evaluating ideal and correct task delegation mechanisms. These tasks ought to be consistent with their duties to provide appropriate care for the patients as per the required standards. The ethical code of conduct also stipulates that each nurse has an obligation of upholding the safety and integrity of their patient. Moreover, each nurse ought to be involved in establishing, improving and maintaining a safe work environment according to the expected standards. Thus, ANA in articulating the expected values in the nursing discipline is thus, crucial to ensure that there is integrity in practice and the profession as well as shaping policies in the arena. The ethical codes also stipulate that nurses must participate in their professional advancement of the discipline. In meeting the expected standards and quality, the ethical codes of conduct are of paramount importance. To ensure that these codes of conduct are followed books and pamphlets need to be provided to the nurses to ensure that they are conversant with the expected standards. Education A key role that each nurse should ensure and adhere to is enhancement of their education. In the nursing professional education, is an important fact that firmly holds the nursing profession into place ensuring that each practicing nurse has the relevant skills, knowledge and competency to practice rightfully? Thus, each nurse has an obligation of taking part in any ongoing activities pertaining to educational enhancement such as seminars, educational advancement and workshops in an effort of knowledge and skills advancement. The American Nursing Association holds a stand that the entry level into nursing profession is baccalaureate degree. For one to practice nursing, he or she needs to be registered, given license, and authorized either by the state or by the commonwealth or by the territory in question for the practice. Nurses who are registered into learning institutions are educated on not only the art but also the science of nursing which provides them with the ammunitions of obtaining, maintaining, and the restoration of health. In regards to this, nursing institutions have established educational programs i.e. masters and degree programs equivalent to bachelor’s degree. The ANA has introduced two level degree programs that are the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and the Clinical Nursing Leader (CNL) in an effort ensuring that the right level of knowledge is passed to the practicing nurses to promote quality health delivery. Enhancement of education is essential in ensuring that the practicing personnel are acquitted with the relevant knowledge and skills of enhancing patient’s safety that is constantly changing with new research. Thus, hospitals and health care organizations need to encourage and facilitate professional nursing education to improve on the patients care delivery process. Evidence based practice and research Evidenced based practice in nursing began with Florence Nightingale during the Crimean war. She is credited with identifying why it is important to collect evidence empirically and laying more emphasis on practices that have evidences (ANA, 2010). Evidenced based practise entails the use of the best current evidence in making decisions on the care of the patient. It is important as it provides the nurses with a method of using the critically appraised and scientifically proven clinical evidence in delivering quality health care to the patients. It looks at research findings, expert opinions, quality improvement information and other evaluation data forms in identifying areas of improvement in the clinical care setting. The impact of evidenced based care in the clinical setting has been a key element in the nursing practice, science and education. It has been used in closing up the gap between the research studies being conducted and the practise gap. It is important as it challenges the practising nurses to look at the ‘why’ behind the existing methods and the processes in search for ways of improvement. Evidence based practice (EBP) is a systematic, scholarly technique of solving problems which consequently leads to the provision of healthcare that is high in quality. It is prudent to marry external and internal evidence while using EBP for making ideal clinical decision. Research in nursing and Evidence based practice immensely contribute to wealth of knowledge as well as enhancing results. The profession progressively evaluates and applies findings that emanate from nursing research. In the hospital where I work, nursing research is highly encouraged, besides the incorporation of EBP though there are no clear policies or guidelines in manuals that reinforces this phenomenon. Little has been visible on this standards set by ANA and therefore I would recommend that the hospital administration revisit its commitment to this particular standard. Quality of practice Quality of practice in nursing is the standards of performance and conduct that are deemed professional as per the expected quality practices. It is a core responsibility of every nurse to ensure that they act per the stipulated standards of practice. Among the quality standards that nurses must adhere to is exhibiting quality in the documentation process, utilization of improvement activities of high quality standards in making changes in nursing practices as well as the incorporation of creativity and innovation to elevate the delivery of nursing care. In ensuring quality, practice standards are adhered to, it is important to monitor the quality of practice that is achieved through the evaluation of the care outcomes. Quality improvement programs are paramount in continuously monitoring the effectiveness and quality of care provision in enhancing the provision of safe and quality care to the patients. This entails the identification of barriers and problems limiting effective care delivery and incorporation of appropriate implementation strategies in solving associated barriers. Ensuring quality practice in nursing is important in ensuring quality care delivery as well as enhancement of the patient’s safety in the clinical setting. Manual in form of books and magazines can be used in emphasizing quality-nursing practices like in the hospital that I work in. However, two recommendations can be incorporated in improving quality that are; minimizing restraining of patients coupled with secluding setting and the evaluation of modalities for the clinical nurses masters programs in enhancing quality. Communication Effective communication is essential in enhancing quality care delivery. A nurse should pose the ability of effectively communicating with other health care practitioners and the patients to determine their individual needs. It is important to assess the communication strategies to determine if they align with the health care needs. This is achieved by an individual assessment of one’s skills in reference to communication through constantly seeking to elevate or upgrade the existing skills. It also factors in the individual nurse’s abilities or their conflict resolution skills. Communication is a toll that enables nurses to discuss health care issues affecting them and the patients and possible ways of improving the delivery care process. Effective communication is essential in my hospital that enhances safe and quality nursing care delivery. However, there are no stipulated standards of enhancing effective communication and the hospital should employ more efforts in reinforcing the standard. Leadership According to the American Nurses Association, nurses are supposed to demonstrate and provide leadership aspects in the nursing practice setting. Regardless of the position a nurse has in the health care setting all nurses are leaders to their patients since patients look up to them for inspiration and direction. This standard is applicable to majority of the hospitals as majority of the nurses are registered with the Saudi Commission for Health Specialist (SCHS). In an effort of encouraging and emphasizing of this standard, the hospitals ought to develop manuals and guide books for all the practicing nurses on appropriate leadership skills to help in decision-making and appropriate practicing of the expected nursing duties. It is crucial for hospitals and nursing care organizations to mentor and encourage nurses to take leadership roles in the care delivery setting in an effort of meeting the health care needs of the increasing diverse US population. Like in my hospital other health care setting should be involved in assigning leadership roles to the nurses to improve their leadership roles as leadership needs practice to enhance competency. However, I would recommend that the hospital and other facilities incorporate mentorship programs in an effort of nurturing the leadership skills of the nurses. Collaboration Collaboration is a very important and key aspect in enhancement of quality care delivery across all health care setting as a number of stakeholders are involved in the system. Therefore, it is fundamental for a nurse to have appropriate quality collaboration skills to be able to integrate with the patients, their families, doctors and physicians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, laboratory personnel and other health care members. This ensures unity and Unisom in the provision of safe and quality patients’ care. Effective collaboration enhance confidence among nurses leading to the creation of an appropriate working environment that is effective for appropriate for effective nursing practice. The relationship that a nurse establishes with the rest of the nurses is very significant. The practice of nursing is a continuous process and needs daily improvement. This can only be achieved through sharing new skills and experiences. It is crucial for health care facilities to put in place measures of controlling and measuring collaboration in the care delivery process. This way it will be easy to determine barriers and areas of improvement in enhancing collaboration standard in nursing practice. Just like in my hospital, nurses are expected to always work in pairs during any procedure and collaborate with other team members. This allows for corrections and clarification in health care delivery. However, I recommend an improvement in the hospital pairing system and other care setting to ensure a balance in the pairing system so that weal staffs are paired with the stronger staff to enhance learning among the staff members. Professional practice evaluation Nurse Managers as well as fellow nurses are expected to evaluate their own nursing practice in regards to the professional practice standards and regulations. Evaluation is essential as it helps them identify their areas of weakness and develop improvement strategies in perfecting their nursing practice. This is especially fundamental foe new working nurses as it helps them master strong points and work towards improvement. Nurse Managers utilize performance appraisal for evaluating each nurse and as well, self-evaluation is crucial for each particular nurse thus, nurses should be creative in establishing ways of evaluating their performance. In regards to the above information, it is important for health care facilities to encourage and performance professional practice evaluation to determine area of weakness that need to be improved and reinforced in enhancing quality care delivery. Like in my hospital, it is crucial to provide nurses and other staff evaluation time and determine ways of improving the highlighted weaknesses. Resource utilization It is necessary to ensure that every nurse is equipped with the appropriate resources to help him or her deliver patients care effectively. With the necessary equipment at stake, nurses are able to provide optimal care to their patients. On the other hand, nurse should uphold accountability and responsibility in resource utilization to reduce wastage and enhance efficiency. It is thus, paramount for care facilities to set up regulations and rules governing the use of resources under the nurse’s dispensation. These policies and guidelines determine the circumstances under which the nurses are allowed to use the resources. Apart from that, hospitals have departments and heads of departments whom nurses are answerable to. The utilization of resources in the hospital needs a system of control and management, as there are situations when employees neglect their responsibility and misappropriate them. Like in my hospital facility, it is crucial to establish a resource management center that facilitates easy access of all the necessary resources to enhance nursing care delivery. However, rather than putting strict rules governing hospital resource utilization, it is key to train nurse on how they can effectively use the available resources to enhance their performance. Environmental health Upholding the nurses and patients safety environment is essential in facilitating a quick patient’s recovery as well as enhancing the nurse’s performance. In this this regard, the American Nursing Association has incorporated an environmental health standard to enhance hospital safety and health. This standard is key in improving the hospital safety of all health care personnel and patients and in ensuring that care practitioners do not cause any public harm. Environmental effects in the hospital setting can undermine the patient’s safety if appropriate considerations are not upheld. The standard recommends use of safety precaution measures in protecting the patients as well as enhancing nurse’s protection such as the use personal protective equipment and emphasizing on the importance of hand washing, appropriate waste disposal and other techniques. Every care facility should have a safety and security team to enhance security in the hospital setting. Educating and offering training on ways of protecting themselves and enhancing safety and security is key in delivering quality care to the patients. Conclusion In ensuring that the nursing practices are adhered to in the highest excellent and quality level, there is a need to have benchmarks and guidelines. Thus, the standards stipulated by the American Nursing Association are important in ensuring that the nurses act accordingly as per the expectations. The standards and guidelines developed by the American Nurse Association are paramount in direction and guidance provision in enhancing safe and quality nursing care delivery. Read More