APPLY EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN NURSING Nurses communicate on a variety of levels, using a range of channels, in the clinical environment with patients, their relatives and significant others as well as multi-disciplinary health care staff to deliver optimal health care commonly using interpersonal, small-group and organizational communication. During nursing communication different strategies are employed to verbally and non-verbally send and receive information to effectively deliver healthcare, convey empathy, follow policies, procedures and standards relating to communication and to encourage the therapeutic relationship. (Funnell, Koutoukidis & Lawrence 2009, pp. 446 - 447) Nurses need to be skilled and possess self-awareness in order to create effective therapeutic relationships with patients from a diverse range of backgrounds. Additionally, nurses must be factual, descriptive and contemporaneous in communications of patient information with colleagues.
PHILOSOPHY OF NURSING Philosophy of Nursing My philosophy of nursing is centered on the needs of the patients; both physical and emotional. Patient’s needs are not just limited to their primary illness; but their needs include the whole person and their family. A nurse must have the ability to adapt to each patient’s situation and realize that although the core values of the care provided is theoretically the same; each patient requires an individualized plan of care. In my practice, I try to develop a good relationship with each of my patients. In the operating room instilling a level of comfort that encourages them to voice their concerns about their care, upcoming procedure, and possible outcomes is vital to the patient’s wellbeing.
Abstract Planning and delegating nursing care efficiently and effectively is an essential skill for all registered nurses to develop and master. The nursing process will assist the registered nurse to effectively plan and implement nursing interventions as well as to appropriately delegate nursing interventions to co-workers. Additionally, following the professional standards for nurses will assist in safely managing a patient load. Equally important is the use of communication. Effective communication is essential to ensure patient safety and positive outcomes, as is effective communication between nurses and the multidisciplinary team.
Assessment is a systematic process using a rational method of planning to identify a patient’s health and any actual or potential problems that need to be met and to provide interventions to meet those needs. (Berman et al, 2010) A comprehensive assessment establishes a database of information relating to the patient including visual observations during initial interview including, skin condition, cloths, hair, hygiene, demeanor and presence of pain etc. During the interview the nurse should gather family history and both subjective and objective data to establish baseline data as a reference point and an indicator to the effectiveness of interventions. (Berman et al, 2010) Subjective data is what the patient thinks, feels and believes and can also be referred to as the symptoms including itching, pain and worry or anxiety. Objective data is measured during the physical examination; it can be seen, heard, smelt, felt, observed, tested or measured against an excepted standard, including: skin color, bowel sounds, blood pressure, temperature, level of pain, urine analysis etc.
Hence, nurses have the responsibility to advocate patients and help them out. Nurses engaged in professional activities should have the manner that protects patients’ autonomy in order to advocate for patients. According to Mahlin’s article, “Individual Patient Advocacy, Collective Responsibility and Activism Within Professional Nursing Associations”, “Patient autonomy is an essential part of patient advocacy” (Mahlin, 2010). Every patient has the right to choose whether to be involved in planning their health plan or not, because patients have autonomy to make the decision. As nurses, we should seek available resources to help patients to formulate decisions to utilize their rights and achieve their expectations if they confront a dilemma or they have inadequate health knowledge.
Fairman (2011) claims that she used the visit as the unit of analysis because it is known to be “flexible” and exemplifies “how nurses’ clinical practice changes over time and location” (p. 190). Fairman shares personal stories from nurse practitioners to demonstrate how nurses and physicians learned to work collaboratively by first establishing trust. Those personal stories show progressive gain of independence. By collaboratively working with physicians, nurse practitioner
How to be a Successful Leader It is imperative as the nursing supervisor to make certain all resources available to staff are being used to help with the care of the patients. To ensure this is happening, she could approach the FNP in a positive and respectful manner to make sure she is using her teamwork and delegation skills. As stated on a NOVA blog page for nurses, (Thompson, 2006, para. 1), “The number-one quality a good nurse manager must have
My Personal Nursing Philosophy Kimberly A. Anderson RN, BSN Holy Names University Abstract The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe my personal nursing philosophy and growth objectives in the context of preparing for the advanced practice role of Nurse Educator. Nurses are educators in the sense that they educate their patients on their health status, diagnostic interventions, medications, and after-care instructions in some manner during most interpersonal interactions. Nurses educate the physician and other healthcare team members when communicating a patient’s information, responses to interventions or special methods to utilize when approaching the patient. Nurses educate each other through the sharing of techniques, knowledge, and expertise gained from experience. Though nurses generally align themselves with a favorite nursing theorist to form their approach to practice, many concepts are based on the basic metaparadigm of nursing: person, environment, health, and nurse.
Theorist Discussion To us nurses, Florence Nightingale set an example of commitment to patient care, compassion diligent and thoughtful hospital administration. The theorist we identify the most in team C is Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale carefully assessed problems, analyzed them and was able to think about them in novel ways in order to find solutions. In difficult situations with complex patients, these skills are essential. Assessment and analysis of patient needs are fundamental to the work of nurses.
In order to be successful the nurse is able to understand and communicate the needs of the patient, be knowledgeable of available resources, and have the tenacity to stand up for their patients. Definition of Nursing In my initial paper I mention M. Jean Watson, Florence Nightingale, and Dorthea Orem as theorists that captured my philosophy of nursing. While I still think there is a great deal to be 2 learned from these theorists, I have found through my clinical experiences that the theorist I lean more towards depends on where in the hospital or community I am working and the patient or client I am working with. As the semesters have gone on I have found a love for fast paced, high stress environments, such as the Emergency Department. Virginia Henderson’s Definition of Nursing targets this population, focusing on patient safety and nursing knowledge.