Professional Nursing Development - Literature review Example

Running Header: Professional Nursing Development Student’s Name: Tutor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Professional Nursing Development Introduction Nursing is a caring profession that is based in its practice to provide care to patients. Despite the recent increase in scientific activities as a result of complex technical development in medicine and machinery used at the bedside of every patient, nurses are the first caregivers that patients come in contact with incase of emergency or once they need some help. Benner (2006) describes that care is therefore one essential emotion that every health profession must possess before carrying out any responsibility. According to Bookman (2005) nursing can be defined as a health care profession whose duty is to provide care to individuals and to various communities. Nurses maintain, attain and recover patients’ health as well as improving their quality of life. Nurses work in various fields of specialty where they mostly work under a team or may work independently as part of the team whose role is to implement care to their patient. It is therefore necessary for government authorities in various countries to ensure that proper care is offered and at the same time maintaining credentials standards and competencies. This study analyses and identifies 3 key issues which include teamwork, workforce diversity and lifelong learning. Teamwork The nursing profession in Australia is influenced by a three major concepts. The first one is teamwork which includes team dynamics, collegiality and critical reflection. Bryant (2005) puts it that the practice of team work has gained much popularity for example in today’s health care industry. Teamwork is essential for professional nurses since they all function as a unit and therefore working as a team eases their work making it more efficient. Teamwork is therefore emphasized and valued as nurses’ work together to meet patient’s needs which is their major goal. Stein-Parbury (2009) shows teamwork improves care offered by nurses in various ways for example in hospitalized patients where nurses have to build a good relationship with the physician treating the patient where nurses should ensure they work according to instructions given. It is therefore necessary that all team members who include physical, speech and respiratory therapist communicate effectively for better results. Collegiality This is an important aspect used by professional nurses and it means the collaboration, cooperation and recognition of interdependence among heath care givers. Collegiality is demonstrated where nurses share, support, assist and counsel other nurses or students. Burgess (2008) explains that collegiality is also placed as the ninth standard of a professional nurse and which enhances nurses’ commitment towards their patients and that of their colleagues. Collegiality also shows sharing of authority or power among a number of people in this case it means where nurses share their issues. To facilitate safe patient care, various communication skills should be initiated by care givers. These include having effective teamwork that provides competent skills, respect to patients and good interpersonal skills. Most health care providers fail have problems as a result of misunderstandings among colleagues. Burgess (2008) describes that a recent study showed that about 53 percent of nurses have major concerns about their colleague’s competence and they find difficulty in discussing their concerns. It has also been shown that out of ten nurses, three of them have issues of poor teamwork and disrespect among themselves which include abuse or bullying. This disrespectful communication expressed by nurses and physicians is ironical considering that their profession is about providing care to patients (National Health Service, 2006). Critical reflection According to Brockbank and Mcgill (2005) the practice of nurses has dramatically changed with the rapid change in health care environment. Nurses have now become aware of the need to evaluate and ways of improving their practice in political, social and structural issues. A critical reflective professional is one who thinks critically about and reflects on their practice. Critical reflection as used in nursing shows a nurse who constantly asks questions and evaluates things and reviews their practice to ensure that every thing is in the right place. Reflective thinking enables nurses to develop the ability to work on unstructured material, ability to link theory to practice and to also view issues from a different point of view. The purpose of this is to demonstrate awareness and understanding of various issues that may affect their professional practice (Tomey and Alligood, 2006). Workforce diversity In discussing the professional nursing practice, this issue involves multidisciplinary teams, confidence and competence and the scope of practice. In the process of striving to recruit and in effectively managing the diverse workforce, healthcare centres have realised that a great time, energy and resources are needed to achieve these goals. Keleher et al. (2007) shows how organisations face various challenges while trying to achieve diversity in terms of identifying the role of their employees in meeting the set goals. Diversity as experienced in health care organisation includes having different cultures, religion, gender, ability and values. In nursing profession diversity is managed through encouraging members to have a planned commitment and promoting a mix of employees. Multidisciplinary team Nursing as a profession plays a major role in the multidisciplinary team approach while caring for their patients. This is because nurses are responsible for provision of care at all phases that patients undergo. Multidisciplinary teams consist of groups of professionals from various disciplines who team up to give a comprehensive assessment and consultation (Mary Ann and Marcia, 2007). Confidence and competence Heath care practitioners should ensure that they are competent and are capable of fitting to practice their profession. Competence is the combination of skills, knowledge, values and abilities that build up effective performance. Nursing competence begins at education programmes where they are then accredited and approved to provide services according to their scope of practice (National Health Service, 2006). Scope of practice This is used to define the actions and procedures permitted by law in a specific profession for example nursing. This scope is based on specific experience and educational qualification that a nurse has achieved. McGrath et al. (2006) argues that to build up an effective nursing team, it is important to understand others scope of practice in order to know who will be responsible for what duty to avoid delegating duties to nurses whose scope does not fit the duty. This scope can be determined by defining the issue, reviewing laws, rules and standards in nursing and finally making a decision about the action to take. Life long learning These include aspects such as self awareness, inter-professional communication and career planning. Josiah Macy Foundation (2010) explains that life long learning is concerned with the continuous professional development. It is also referred as the attempt to improve the quality of care provision since nurse education has continually changed. It also encourages confident in nurses and provides flexibility. Self awareness According to Smith and Sherwood (2007) this has long been seen as an important tool in professional nursing and it leads to greater confidence. Self awareness is a dynamic and a transformative process of oneself. This is where one used self insights and their presence in order to guide their behaviour. It creates a genuine and authentic character that provides a healing interpersonal environment. Inter-professional communication Effective communication is important in nursing profession as it reduces the professional differences between nurses and physicians and it also prepares future nurses for better practices through improved experience. Nancy (2009) shows nurses should therefore ensure that they work according to the National Competency Standards for Registered Nurses. These standards are important as they show nurses how to be proficient in all their activities which includes practicing effective communication skills and better clinical skills. These standards also establish a collaborative relationship between health providers and individuals. Career planning Career planning is a continuous process of self assessment and goal setting and therefore important in professional development. The skills used in career planning include those that nurses use in their practice to solve problems and in developing care plans for their patients. The main role of career planning is enabling nurses to become career resilient. Nurses are able to anticipate, respond to and shape their organisation (Queensland Nursing Council, 2010). Impact of the Nursing Practice on Transitioning GRN According to Harris et al. (2010) every team member plays an important role in nursing practice. The impact of teamwork in transitioning GRN is that it strengthens nurse’s ability for them to provide higher quality and efficient care. In teams where members work together they understand their partner’s strengths and weaknesses are therefore capable of providing support to their colleagues and may compensate in case of an issue. Teamwork is therefore seen as tool for maximising quality and safety in nursing care. In order for teams to survive, the culture should be maintained and supported forming a collaborative environment in which both practitioners and nurses can share in the process of provision of care. Teamwork and communication are equally important for example while changing shifts. This is because it is necessary to provide patient’s information to the other person and if there is poor communication between nurses then care will not be provided effectively (Nancy, 2009). McMullan (2006) explains that work diversity also has an impact on transitioning GRN since it builds up confidence and competence among team members. The multidisciplinary team also help in promoting work diversity for example by enhancing professional skills and knowledge of individual member. This is facilitated through introduction of forum for learning about various disciplines. Work diversity also influences the scope of practice where nurses work according to the defined actions and procedures permitted by law in a specific profession. According to Bryant (2005) nurses should be capable of understanding how complex professional boundaries are in maintaining their job. In order to understand this, good communication skills are essential as this makes nurses to be more sensitive to the private questions asked about the patients’ health. Some of the questions and activities carried out by nurses are therapeutically acceptable only if these activities are necessary to provide the therapeutic needs of the client without crossing the boundaries. An action is said to be unacceptable if the results benefits one party only causing an expense to the other one. Life long learning impacts the nursing profession through professional and regulatory organisations therefore promoting advancement of nursing practice, standards and professional development. Staunton and Chiarella (2008) describes that registered nurses are said to be competent in skills, being self regulating in their profession and are committed to lifelong learning. This continued development of competence is necessary to professional nursing practice as it contributes to good quality practice that yields expected client outcomes. Competence is maintained through a reflective practice, lifelong learning and integration of learning. Lifelong learning also develops nurse’s career where they are able to anticipate, respond to and shape their organisation and accept change (Brinkman, 2007). Graduate Registered Nurse and Future Nursing Practice As a graduate registered nurse, the three issues which include teamwork, workforce diversity and lifelong learning have significantly influenced my transition to nursing practice. This is because I have come to realise that once the issues are effectively managed at the work environment, the organisation will be in a position of meeting all the needs of our patients. Work will also be easily managed for example through effective teamwork abilities. Teamwork also improves communication among members as effective communication initiates improvements and innovation in nursing practise through recognition of value of change (ANMC, 2009). It also supports quality development within the work environment. Individuals’ feedback allows quality improvement since nurses will be capable of identifying what patients prefer. To facilitate this effective communication it is important to link the role of communication and the forms used in communication. Workplace diversity has put a sense of watching over the stated rules and regulations as found in the nursing standards. In future, I will be capable of ensuring that all the above issues are all fulfilled in order to achieve competence, develop self awareness and be able to plan my career. Conclusion The three issues which include teamwork, workforce diversity and lifelong learning are important and should be observed by every healthcare professional. They also help the transitioning nurses in career development by introducing the basic issues found in nursing profession. The argument towards this study shows that nurses work in various fields of specialty under a team or may work independently as part of the team. Their role is to implement care to their patient and to promote effective communication among individuals. It is therefore necessary for government authorities in various countries to ensure that proper care is offered and at the same time maintaining credentials, standards and competencies. References ANMC. (2009). Continuing competence framework, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council, Canberra, Australia, viewed 24 May 2011,   Benner, P. (2006). From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice. Addison-Wesley, London. Bookman, B. (2005). Developing teams. Training, 29(8), pp. 12(2). Retrieved May 21, 2011, from InfoTrac OneFile database. Brinkman, A. (2007). Nurses must claim ownership of PDRPS. KaiTiaki Nursing New Zealand, 13 (2), 19. Brockbank, A. & Mcgill, I. (2005). Facilitate Critical Reflection Learning in Higher Education, Society for Research into Higher Education and O.U. Press. Bryant, R. (2005). Regulation, roles and competency development. The global nursing review initiative. International Council of Nurses, Australia. Burgess, M.E. (2008). A guide to the law for nurses and midwives, 4th edn. Pearson Education, Auckland. Harris, P., Nagy, S., & Vardaxis, N. (Ed.). (2010). Mosby’s dictionary of medicine, nursing & health professionals (2nd ed.). Chatswood: Elsevier Australia. Josiah Macy Foundation. (2010). Lifelong Learning in medicine and Nursing. American Medical Colleges. Keleher H, Joyce CM, Parker R, & Piterman L. (2007). Practice nurses in Australia: current issues and future directions. MJA, 187 (108-110). Mary Ann, F. Ronda, G. & Marcia, Z. (2007) Communication, Patient safety and the nursing work environment, Tennessee Nurse, Spring. McGrath, P., et al. (2006). Collaborative voices: Ongoing reflections on nursing competencies. Contemporary Nurse, 22, 46–58. McMullan, M. (2006). Students' perceptions on the use of portfolios in pre-registration nursing education: a questionnaire survey. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 43, 333–343. Nancy, K. (2009). Therapeutic Communication in the nursing profession, New York: Wyden books. National Health Service, 2006. Key Roles and Responsibilities of Nurses in General Practice, UK, viewed 24 May 2008, . Queensland Nursing Council. 2010. Scope of practice-framework for nurses and midwives. Queensland: Australia Smith, E.L., Cronenwett, L., & Sherwood, G. (2007). Current assessments of quality and safety education in nursing. Nursing Outlook, 55(3), pp. 132-137. Staunton, P.J., & Chiarella, M. (2008). Nursing and the law (6th ed.). Sydney: Churchill Livingston/Elsevier. Stein-Parbury, J. (2009). Patient & person: Interpersonal skills in nursing. (4th ed.). Australia. Tomey, A. & Alligood, M. (2006). Nursing theorists and their work, 6th ed., Mosby: St. Louis. Appendix 1 I have learnt that nursing profession has various issues and theories to consider I have seen the impact that the three issues have on transitioning nurses I have identified the argument for importance and Reflected on my future career development Read More