According to the Fundamentals of Nursing textbook, an advanced practice nurse (APN) is an umbrella term for an advanced clinical nurse that includes nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and nurse-midwifes. These people have advanced training in a specialized field of study. They also have a much greater deal of autonomy in their practice. For example, nurse practitioners are allowed to diagnose and treat patients independently and to prescribe certain medications. Licensure is something that is being looked at with some
Nursing Transformed by IOM Brown Sara Grand Cayon University Professional Dynamics March 10, 2013 Nursing Transformed by IOM Nursing is a very important and quickly changing position. The role that nurses play can literally be the difference between life and death for the patients that they care for. As nurses, we must constantly keep up with changes in medical technology. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) produced a report which largely re-defined the nursing profession. There were quiet a number of areas that were touched on.
The ANA code of ethics has provisions in place to assist in a decision for this case. Provision 1 protects human dignity, the right to self-determination. Provision 2 protects the patient's interests and facilitates collaboration among health care providers. Provision 3 and 4 provides standards, accountability, responsibility for nursing judgment and action. In the case of malpractice witnessed by a nurse against a fellow nurse and the facility that they worked, the code of ethics also has provisions to protect nurses as well.
DELEGATION A registered nurse (RN) has many responsibilities. One of the most important is delegation. The RN has the authority to delegate certain tasks in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their patients. Delegating tasks to others allows more time for the RN to focus on more critical aspects of patient care that only a RN can perform. Delegation is transferring a task from one person to another making them responsible for the task but the RN is still accountable for the outcome of that particular task.
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.
Nursing shortages and the need to cut costs in health care organizations has led to an increase in the use of Unlicensed Assistive Personnel to perform tasks which RNs performed in the past (Kleinman & Saccamano, 2006, p.164). Effective delegation is necessary to provide patient care. The RN must know the laws of the state (nurse practice act) regarding tasks that may be delegated and also be aware of any organizational policies which spell out tasks which may be entrusted to UAP (Finkelman, 2012, p. 402). The RN maintains accountability, responsibility, and liability for the task which is delegated (Finkelman, 2012, p. 404; Kleinman & Saccomano, 2006, p.166). Using critical thinking and nursing judgment, the delegating RN must determine which tasks may be safely delegated, and communicate the task to be performed, instructions, and expectations to the appropriate, competent UAP (Finkelman, 2012, p.408-410).
As part of a nursing leadership team, we have been required to elevate our roles to accommodate the needs of the patients and help with admission and discharge planning. As nurses, we are not only capable of developing the plan of care but providing it as well. Nurses are the driving force of leadership in many hospital settings. In a teaching hospital, there are new residents that rotate every month. Those medical novices as well as their attending, rely upon the experience and valuable input in caring for complex patients.
Finally, Madeleine Leininger’s goal was to promote nursing to provide care which is congruent with the patient’s cultural values, beliefs, and practices. How nursing theory fits in our workday Throughout history nursing has been trying to connect the dots between theory, research, and practice. "As our nurse leaders shared their ideas about the essences and empirics of nursing, they spoke
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.
This can be accomplished through continuous monitoring, evaluation of any activities that need improvement. For example some hospital have QI teams made up of nurses, physicians and other healthcare workers. These teams’ helps in ensuring QI are done in an efficient manner. According to (L.Long, 2003) “Influencing nurses to accept and implement best practice and continuous quality improvement into everyday nursing activities and to change practice is a significant challenge for any nursing service.” I believe including nursing in quality improvement teams can help influence them into participating more in quality management. Usually quality improvements are viewed by staff as another workload added onto an already busy workload.