The Role Of Nurses And Other Healthcare Professionals

In my personal philosophy, it is my goal to assure that my patients receive the upmost quality care. Although each working shift I am faced with many undaunting challenges, it is still my calling that the patients who remain under my care for 12 hours remain without harm. According to the Arkansas State Board of Nursing (2017),” The mission of the Arkansas State Board of Nursing is to protect the public and act as their advocate by effectively regulating the practice of nursing” (para. 1). Once completing my education and seating before the NCLEX boards, I took an oath to act in accordance with this mission. In my current student status, transforming my diploma degree into a baccalaureate degree, I will now learn to integrate new Quality and Safety Education for Nursing competencies into my philosophy.

They are responsible for what seems like everyone and everything. However, nurses have all the tools they need to be effective and safe nurses early on. The standards of precautions are one of those tools nurses are taught that aids them in protecting every patient they care for, including him or herself. Regardless of the patient’s health status, the nurse should use their better judgment when implementing care. In order to prevent interruption in the chain of infection, nurses are to adhere to the standards of precautions by thinking critically when providing patient care. No matter how presumably capable or experience a colleague may be, evidence-based practice proves that standard precautions are greatly impacting the nursing field. Nurses need to stick to their guns and not compromise their beliefs for fear of being the odd man out. The more the nurse implements those practices in their everyday routine the more it will become second nature. By gaining knowledge of the importance of standard precautions, the nurse will in turn become more compliant and adherent, and be better suited to provide effective quality care to all

healthcare organization accrediting bodies, and to maintain credibility with patients and peers alike, must adhere to the National Patient Safety Goals. As stated by Ulrich and Kear (2014), "Not only are nurses responsible for providing safe patient care, we are also responsible for creating an environment in which others can provide safe patient care, and for being the last line of defense when needed between the patient and potential harm. Having a deep understanding of patient safety and patient safety culture allows nurses to be the leaders we need to be in ensuring that our patients are always

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how safety in the nursing profession affects the nursing education, nursing practice, and nursing research. Safety in the nursing profession means to minimize the risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performances (QSEN, 2014). Patient safety is a very important aspect in the profession of nursing. It is the nurse’s job to keep up to date with their patients and to make sure that protocol is being followed at all times. To maintain this strategy, the nurse must show proper knowledge of a nurse, skills of a nurse, and also a professional attitude.

When nurses are held to a professional standard, staffing becomes safer and more efficient. The professional standard created by the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics (ANACEN) for Nurses is commonly used. The standard is made up of nine points that ensure patients will receive the highest quality of care. The purpose of the standard is to determine whether nurses have the assets, abilities, responsibility, and expertise to make judgments concerning professional practice and optimum care for patients and families (Clevenger, et al. 2005). The goal of safe staffing is to provide optimal care for patients and the patients’ families, so facilities should invest in nurses with a high degree of professionalism who can

Role is a function played by an individual or particular group of individual in a particular situation. It includes connected obligations, behaviors, rights, beliefs, and norms as theorized by people in a social state. The role of a nurse practitioner (NP) started to manifest in the mid-1960s. This came as a response to the nationwide physicians’ shortage. The NPs were then classified under the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) umbrella. The origin of the NP role in the United States came through the effort of Loretta Ford (RN) and Henry Silver a pediatrician who had insight for the nurses to be developed and be more effectively used to improve the health care. The demand for primary healthcare was increasing as physician were moving to areas of specialty because of the associated income, lifestyle incentives and status. The nurses were to fill the gap. To realize this, education was essential. The nurses where then equipped with skills of performing developmental tests, history taking, doing evaluative procedures, some laboratory procedures and physical examination and referral for medical care that traditionally had been a medicine domain (O’Brien, 2003).

Nurses are undoubtedly one of the most trusted professionals worldwide. Patients, family members, and doctors entrust nurses to provide the utmost quality care to sick individuals. Top priorities of all nurses are advocacy for their patients: including advocating for their physical health, holistic welfare, and utmost importantly, their safety. Patient safety will always be the top priority when providing patient care. The nurse’s responsibility during every patient encounter is to ensure that each patient under her care, receives no harm. As a direct result of the previous statement, it is crucial that every nurse knows their rights to refuse unsafe patient assignments, the process to refuse unsafe patient assignments, and the legal or ethical ramifications that could present themselves if proper judgement is not used. By understanding these rules, nurses not only achieve the responsibility of advocating for patient safety but also safeguard their careers and license.

The Nurses of the Future Nursing Core Competency model is composed of ten competencies. Some of these competencies include patient centered care, collaboration, and teamwork. One particular is safety, which I believe to be one of the most important of the competencies. Safety is minimizing the risk of harm to patients and healthcare providers. This is important to nursing because insuring the safety of a patient is a number one priority, without safety is the care of a patient successful? Nurses are the first line of defense when it comes to safety towards patients and providers. In order to ensure safety there must be a plan of action and then set the plan in motion in order to avoid unsafe outcomes.

The first case scenario presented in this project reflect the significance of gaps between nursing programs and textbooks, organizations’ policies and procedures, published literature, and the actual practice. Some of the gaps refer to nursing programs and textbooks based on an ideal nursing profession, the autonomy of healthcare organizations to establish their specific policies and procedures, traditional policies and procedures unsupported by evidence-based practice (EBP), and the individual and organizational barriers that influence the breach between the published literature and the real-world. Literature review was used to demonstrate the negative personal and professional consequences triggered from these gaps when the nurse is employed in the healthcare system. In addition, the paper suggests how improving a “Culture of Safety”, preventing an unsafe environment, and promoting Continuous Quality Improvement activities enhance the overall health care quality and safety. The second case scenario provides guidelines to the ethical dilemma of the impaired nurse, signs and symptoms of impairment, ethical and legal obligations, common reasons for not reporting, and failing to report consequences.

The actions of the preceptor demonstrated her competency for patient safety. According to the QSEN Project, nurses demonstrating the competency of safety, aim to minimize the risk of harm to the patient by effectively using their knowledge, technology and standards of practice that have been developed from the study, observation and improvement upon commonly unsafe practices. Through this, there is a development of standardized practices that support the provision of quality and safety in patient care (Cherry & Jacob, 2014, p.

Nurses are at the forefront of patient care whilst they are in the healthcare system and to ensure that patients remain safe should be of high priority to all nurses. Nurses have specific responsibilities in looking after patients, and nurses must ensure they comply and adhere to the policies, procedure and guidelines which are set out by the HCS. Nurses must ensure that they are always working in accordance to the RNs standards of practice, and by doing this it will help the nurse in delivering clinical safety to all patients (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), 2016). Standards 2 & 6 relate to the nurse providing a safe environment for patients, engaging in quality nursing care and to engage in effective therapeutic relationship with their patients. When nurses follow the standards as set by the NMBA, they are ensuring that they are adhering to policies and procedure as set out by the healthcare provider which will in turn be ensuring preventable harm to the patient does not occur. (NMBA,2016)

The role that nurse practitioner (NP) plays within the increasing complex health care system is a constant changing role with the Consensus Model and the introduction of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The scope of the nurse practitioner (NP) includes the care of the young, the old, the sick and the well. The educational needs of a nurse practitioner vary greatly from that of a Registered Nurse (RN), in the amount of education as well as the focus of the education. NPs provide coordinated primary care with the use of comprehensive health histories and physical examinations, diagnosing and treating acute and chronic illnesses, the management of medications and therapies, ordering and interpreting tests results, and educating and

     There are two specific cases that show how the standard of care is used in the determination of cases in certain situations. They both take place in Canada, and they both pertain to nurses that had left their posts to go on there coffee breaks. One of these cases was proved to be negligent, while the other was proven not to be a case of negligence. These are both taken from the publication Nursing and the Law:

There are many different variations of healthcare professionals that assist people in regaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The career field of licensed nursing is often considered to be one of the most vital professions within the medical community. Registered nurses work to prevent and heal various different types of injuries, diseases, and illnesses. They are also responsible for administering a variety of patient services, consisting of individual patient care, analyzing and monitoring patient medical reports, and also possessing the ability to operate technical medical equipment. As well as, be able provide comfort and emotional support for both physically, and mentally ill patients. All Registered Nurses are responsible for providing patients with quality health care, in compliance with professional standards set forth by the American Nurses Association. As the field continues to rapidly evolve, an increase in responsibility is placed upon registered nurses to maintain a professional standard of care. With the increase in responsibility, the role of registered nurses consistently changes to accommodate individual patient needs. As a result, the rise in responsibility placed on registered nurses correlates to a higher probability of malpractice and negligence occurring within the community. The consequences of malpractice and negligence can

Urgency of acute care varies depending on the situation but can range to anything from emergency surgeries, to injuries, chronic illnesses, and also for the recovery of those procedures. Majority of the patients in acute care settings are critically ill. Nursing responsibilities in acute care settings are vital to patient’s recovery due to the front line position nurses play as well as the wide variety of tasks carried out. Assessments are made during every encounter the nurse has with the patient along with monitoring the patient’s progress. Nurses are responsible for recognizing symptoms the patient may be experiencing due to illness or injury and whether they fall in the spectrum of normal reactions. Vital signs are measured routinely and can be indicators of the patient’s current status. When vitals are questioned diagnostic tests can be arranged to further assess possible comorbidities the patient may have. Care plans are made to plan interventions the health care team can take to help patients through challenges they face, both physical and mental. Nurses administer medications as well as first aid as needed. They are responsible for maintaining special equipment patients may require including monitors and ventilators are well.