Nurse Sensitive Indicators

Ethical practice is another component of the social contract of nursing which is a reflection of the values, beliefs and moral principles of the nursing profession. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has established the “Code of Ethics for Nurses” which serves as a “guideline” for the nursing profession in which clinical judgements and

The knowledge of nursing sensitive indicator can be helpful in providing the patient care which meets the quality and ethical standards. Nursing sensitive indicators rely on evidence to take patient care decisions (Patrician, 2010). According to Patrician (2010), Evidence Based Nursing is the use of personal expertise and research to take decisions on patient care. In case of Mr. J, there is a clear lack of evidence based nursing. Mr. J was kept in restraint without considering that Mr. J was not trying to get out of bed by himself. When the pressure ulcer was identified, the nurse

Nursing sensitive indicators reflect the structure, process and outcomes of nursing care. The structure of nursing care is indicated by many factors such as supply of staff, education level and quality of care provided. Process indicators measure aspects of nursing care such as assessment, intervention, and RN job satisfaction. Patient outcomes that are determined to be nursing sensitive are those that improve if there is a greater quantity or quality of nursing care (Nursing world, 2013). In 1999, the American Nursing Association recognized a total of 10 indicators that apply to hospital based nursing care (Americansentinel.edu, 2017). Indicator such as pressure ulcers, patient falls and nosocomial infections are recognized in this list and are considered preventable with proper nursing action. Knowledge of these indicators could have assisted the nurses in several ways involving this case study involving Mr. J.

Ethics Committees are formed to help hospital and medical personnel resolve ethical issues that arise in their facility. The committee members are a mix of hospital personnel, including physicians, nurses, administration, social work, chaplains and others. These professionals work together to assure quality patient care in their facility. To achieve their goal the members must work together with open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision making. I will discuss three points related to the ethics committee, 1) the development, structure, importance and goals of the ethics committee; 2) the importance of intra-professional collaboration, including the role of the nurses; and 3) present the structure, organization and role of an

Healthcare provider’s perception and judgment in the patient’s well being as well as taking into account the right of the patient in every action is one of the key elements in nursing practice. International Council of Nurses (ICN), (2006) states “The nurse at all times maintains standards of personal conduct which reflect well on the profession and enhance public confidence” (p. 3). Furthermore, nursing action guided by theory and principles of moral and legal

The State of Tennessee Board of Nursing’s Rules and Regulations of Registered Nurses, Rule # 1000-01-.13-1r states that unprofessional conduct is defined in part by "failing to take appropriate action in safeguarding the patient from incompetent health care practices" (State of Tennessee, 2011). There are a number of arguments in this case study that incompetent health care practices are being performed, from the decision to place a patient on a ventilator for an oxygen saturation of 88%, circumventing the patient’s written and verbal advanced directives, utilizing an unauthorized family member to get consent for

Fowler, M. D. (2010). Guide to the code of ethics for nurses: interpretation and application. Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Association.

There are nine provisions included in the ANA code of ethics. The provisions can be broken into three categories. The first category is the nurse’s ethical responsibilities to her patient which is provisions one through three. Second is the nurse’s obligation to herself, provisions four through six. The third ethical requirement for nurses is related to their relationship to the nursing profession, community, nation, and world overall. This focus is summarized in provisions seven through nine [ (American Nurses Association, 2013) ].

Nursing sensitive indicators are identified as steps towards standardized measurements of nursing care, which provides details about the relationship between qualities of healthcare given to patients (ANA, 2011). Today healthcare strives to provide great quality service to the patrons of the community. Everyone knows that providing quality healthcare care plays a dramatic role in encouraging helpful patient outcomes. It also important to remember the way nursing sensitive indicators are delivered has a major influence on the patient. It has been known that nursing care standards were identified through the nurse sensitive indicators.

As an effective and ethical leader, it is of most importance that they create and foster an ethically principled environment. In this scenario, the importance of patient confidentiality would be identified and addressed with all staff members of the health team. Ethical behaviors would be discussed with each team member in order to ensure that the healthcare needs of the patient are met as well as their privacy protected. A new process would be implemented so that patients would be identified by assigned numbers instead of identified by name. Also it would be enforced that no patient be treated in an open area unless some

Ethical issues in nursing will always be an ongoing learning process. Nurses are taught in nursing school what should be done and how. Scenarios are given on tests with one right answer. However, there are situations that nurses may encounter that may have multiple answers and it is hard to choose one. “Ethical directives are not always clearly evident and people sometimes disagree about what is right and wrong” (Butts & Rich, 2016). When an ethical decision is made by a nurse, there must be a logical justification and not just emotions.

The Code of Ethics for Nurses was created to be a guide for nurses to perform their duties in a way that is abiding with the ethical responsibilities of the nursing profession and quality in nursing care. The Code of Ethics has excellent guidelines for how nurses should behave, however; these parameters are not specific. They do not identify what is right and wrong, leaving nurses having to ultimately make that decision. Ethics in nursing involves individual interpretation based on personal morals and values. Nursing professionals have the ethical accountability to be altruistic, meaning a nurse who cares for patients without self-interest. This results in a nurse functioning as a patient advocate, making decisions that are in the best

As an individual’s ethics will play a large part in their practice, there are specific guidelines and legislation that exist to ensure that nurses, as well as other health professionals, practice in a way that is ethical (Avery, 2013). These laws further exists to attempt to simplify the ethical issues that sometimes present in nursing practice and to attempt to guide one’s actions. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) provides guidance to nurses by providing a number of professional codes and guidelines (Avery, 2013). The NMBA has developed a code of ethics for nurses comprising of eight codes (Avery, 2013). These are as follows; 1) Nurses value quality nursing care for all people; 2) Nurses value respect and kindness for self and others;

Using all of these tools we educate the staff. We can educate at the bedside, classroom or roving in-services. With education not only are the staff able to understand the quality indicators they are also able to identify any

Nursing sensitive indicators are important to identify the structure, process, and outcome of evaluating nursing care. The effects of nursing sensitive indicator are used to assist in planning and derive programs to increase the quality and safety of patient care by nurses. Nursing sensitive indicators involve Structural, Process and Outcome indicators. (The 3 Types of Nursing Sensitive Indicators, 2011) Structural indicators include the quantity of nurses available, and skill, education or certification level of the nursing staff. Process indicators measure techniques of assessment and nursing interventions, as well as job satisfaction of nurses. The quantity or quality of nursing care will define and improve the outcome of the indicators. A prime example of areas that use nursing sensitive indicators are falls, UTI’s, DVT’s and pressure ulcers. Staff information and education within nursing sensitive indicators will offer improvement in patient care. Staff attitude and communication also need to be examined and improved with nursing sensitive indicators.