Reflection On Time Management

Nurses play a vital role in healthcare. They are the patient’s advocate and act as the patient’s “eyes and ears”. Pictured here, is Mark, a Registered Nurse working in the Schulich Heart Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, preparing medications for his patients. Making sure the correct medication is administered at the right time is an integral part of a patient's recovery. On his unit, patients are primarily admitted under three services: cardiology, cardiac surgery, and vascular surgery. His ward in particular only has registered nurses as the patients are very acute and registered nurses have more education and training than a registered practical nurse. His daily activities include administering medications, tracking vital signs,

This assignment will reflect on and critically analyse my personal and professional development in the domain of care management over the last three years. It will additionally outline how I plan to continue to develop in this domain once I have qualified as a registered nurse. My development so far will be analysed from the perspective of the skills, knowledge and values required of a registered nurse. Through this reflection I hope to confirm that my practice meets the standards for entry onto the nursing register as outlined by the nursing and midwifery council ((NMC) 2008).

Registered nurses are the primary caregiver to the patient, they enhance the safety and care of the patient. Registered nurses put together the data collected by other nurse in order to maximize the good health status of the patient (Weydt, 2010). The challenges faced by nurses lead to delegation of duties so that there will be clinical influence and financial outcome. The delegation has been one of the most effective, challenging skills that is practiced by nurses. The registered nurse has to understand the need of the patient and family members making sure the appropriate nurse is delegated to the for patient care better outcome (Weydt, 2010). The purpose of delegation, challenges faced and how and when to delegate duties will be discussed.

As a nurse, I would prioritize by who is at risk for an emergent situation. I would prioritize the following:

As a nurse the patients are top priority. Nurses are around the patient more than any other health care worker. The nurse acts as a patient advocate, communicates with the rest of the healthcare team, and so much more. Whether it’s recognized or not, nurses are responsible for more than just clinical skills taught in nursing school. Patients are not just

for which the nurse has accepted responsibility. When the nurse delegates it is important to

I have had a lot of experience with time management and have become very experienced. I am continuously looking for ways to reduce time and costs whilst not taking short-cuts and providing the best quality of care for my patient’s to ensure a safe and calm work environment.

“Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon.” Dag Hammarskjold sums up all of healthcare in this simple statement. The care given by a nurse can aid in healing, or cause major damage. In every different setting that we find nurses, the roles they fulfill are very demanding. While nursing care is the same in the basics, every department has different demands placed on nurses. We are going to look at the differences and similarities of the role nurses play in the emergency department and in the intensive care unit.

The workload expected from an acute inpatient nurse has increased over the preceding years and this has had a detrimental effect on the nursing interactions held with patients, with many patients feeling nurses prioritize tasks over their care (Cleary 2004, McCabe 2003).

As floor nurses in a hospital setting it is easy to become overwhelmed and too busy to provide adequate patient care. Especially in times of increased illnesses, such as flu season, and times when our community experiences nurse shortages. Unfortunately, when this happens the nurses are given higher nurse/patient ratios. As health care providers, it is instinctual to want to care for every patient that walks through the door. However, in these cases, the patient may not receive the care they need. Provision 4 discusses the importance of the nurse’s responsibility and accountability for their assigned patient group (Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements Provision 4 , 2014). As previously stated it is the nurses’ responsibility

Complex situations require a nurse to fully interpret all information, analyze it, and come up with the best solution to the problem. Nurses should be capable of using higher level critical thinking in order to achieve the best outcome for

. . assess, diagnose, comfort, medicate, evaluate, and so much more. The doctor is at the bedside for about five minutes a day.” (Lampert, 2013). The nurse will be the first one (in most cases) that notices if a patient is declining and will make the call to get a doctor involved. A professional nurse will not be standing in the hallway waiting for alarms to sound. Nor will you observe nurses enjoying a leisurely three-hour lunch break. They are always busy because their job never stops. Notably, nursing core values are consistent throughout the profession globally. “They include honesty, responsibility, pursuit of new knowledge, belief in human dignity, equality of all patients and the desire to prevent and alleviate suffering.” (Gokenbach,

The lack of nurses is dramatically affecting patients’ health care. When there is a nursing shortage, the value of healthcare service to the population decreases. For this reason, nurses must work long hours in anxious situations which can put nurses into a situation of exhaustion, harm, and work frustration. A person who is considering the nursing profession should ask himself or herself the following questions: Do I have compassion or can I manage the responsibilities for people with injuries and diseases? Am I able to handle working overtime and weekends? And most importantly, do I have the competence to think critically when I am surrounded in crisis? These questions are important to ask because a person who desires to become a nurse must answer “yes” to these questions. The nursing profession has a reputation among healthcare professionals of demanding the most selfless consideration for patients. A nursing career includes a variety of methods in education, stable working conditions in the hospital, and many responsibilities for patients’ needs.

Nursing is a very demanding profession. One of the very first skills a new nurse must learn is how to prioritize. This includes the

The profession of nursing is held to high standards by many individuals. “There is increasing recognition that health professionals should engage in continuing professional development and lifelong learning” (Casey & Clark, 2010, p. 35). The United States health care practice is continuously changing and reforming, therefore, health care professionals have to develop in a way to manage the complex health care related needs of the patients (Casey & Clark, 2010). “Increasingly, registered nurses will need to acquire and develop the skills and attributes required to deal with a range of new and emerging nursing responsibilities, as health and social care teams become more diverse” (Casey & Clark, 2010, p. 38). As a nurse, I continue to assess my current status professionally and personally, as well as plan my professional development for the future.