Nurses play a major role in improving diabetes care and empowering patients to develop their self-management and life skills. Managing effectively this disorder is critical since it is associated with serious complications, which may lead to both reduction in longevity and quality of life (Mold et al. 2008). Early diagnosis of diabetes and early interventions can prevent the rise of complications. Obesity, adherence, diabetic foot, depression and micro- and macro-vascular complications are five of the many areas that pose the most challenges for nurses and other healthcare professionals in treatment of the disorder.
Are Patients Safe James E. Scarbrough III Baker College of Cadillac Are Patients Safe Patient safety is an extremely valuable aspect in the health care. The definition of patient safety is an area focusing on reporting an error, analysis and prevention of medical errors that often lead to adverse patient outcomes. Prevention means keeping patients safe from errors rather than reacting to them. These standards in patient safety inspire the most challenging issues in the health care setting. Reviewing these standards annually and publishing them on The Joint Commission Website, it is a key component to improving health care (The Joint Commission, 2011).
Within the studies researched there were possibly skewed results due to a small number of participants, some of the studies had a short duration, and dosing protocols were different. But the studies did discover that patients showed improved hemoglobins with short intervals of receiving vitamin C post dialysis treatment and also showed that the need for large doses of Epogen changed with addition of vitamin c to their regimen. Nephrology nurses can use this knowledge when monitoring lab values, as they may see increased Hgb levels when Vitamin C is introduced and will need to adjust the patients epogen doses. Lastly nurses need to be apprised to side effects related to vitamin C use and monitor and assess their patients for signs of hyperoxalemia such as noted crystals in the tissue of the body, cardiovascular changes and symptoms and vascular changes. Summary In summary, this research found that there was some benefit of using Vitamin C for improving hemoglobins in patients with ESRD receiving hemodialysis.
As the world prevalence of diabetes increases, efforts to promote diabetes self-management education are critical to reducing the human and economic burden of diabetes. A collaborative effort among people with diabetes and those at risk of diabetes, governments and health services, health care professionals and the general public, is needed. Therefore, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) believes diabetes self-management education is a critically important, fundamental and integral component of diabetes prevention and care and should be available and accessible to everyone. The goal of IDF, through the work of its Consultative Section on Diabetes Education (DECS) is to address these and other issues by developing and implementing strategies that facilitate equitable access to high quality diabetes self-management education and support. The purpose of diabetes self-management education (DSME) and diabetes self-management support (DSMS) is to prepare those affected by diabetes to: Make informed decisions Cope with the demands of living daily with a complex chronic disease Make changes in their behaviour that support their self-management efforts and improve outcomes.
Basically when a nurse does assessment, he or she comes up with a diagnosis, this diagnosis helps the nurse to better treat the patient. Baccalaureate nurses have better academic standings to come up with the proper diagnosis, which in turn will help the patient get the right and proper treatment. Baccalaureate nurses are also good planners in patient care, after the assessment and diagnosis, the planning of the patient care takes place, since baccalaureate have a higher knowledge and skills the plan efficiently on how to carry patients which honestly overshadows the associate degree nurse’s ways of planning patient care. Implementation or rather execution of the work itself takes a vital role too, the Baccalaureate take a upper hand in the patient care since they have the right knowledge than the associate degree nurses .Finally, after all is said and done, evaluation of the whole processes of patient care is carried to determine if indeed the optimum goal of patient treatment was a achieved. Baccalaureate nurses due to their education and evidenced based approach on tackling patient’s issues, they do a better evaluation on patients than their counterpart, associate degree nurses.
Effective personal healthcare communication can contribute to all aspects of disease prevention and health promotion and is relevant in a number of contexts, including (1) provider-patient relations, (2) patient’s experience with health information, (3) patient’s compliance to clinical treatments, (4) the formulation of public campaigns and health messages, (5) the sharing of individual and population health risk information, also known as risk communication, (6) mass media and cultural portrayal of health, and (7) the teaching the public about how to gain access to the public health and healthcare system (Healthy People, 2010). In a healthcare setting, treating the right patient by the right provider at the right time is critical. More important, there is a
With this knowledge I plan to work toward a more cost effective and delivery system with healthcare provided to the patient population. In building a stronger healthcare system it will not only be profitable, but will also provide better care to all the patient population. As a registered nurse (RN), I have learned that I need to stay flexible and be able to adjust and adapt to the constant change that comes along in my profession. Also as an RN, I look at the healthcare profession as a revolving door, which constantly spins out new concepts, methods, and approaches. I think this will help prepare me for a management position in my field because it is imperative for a manager in this profession to have the ability to adapt, adjust and welcome new ideas and concepts directed to him or her.
They can ensure smooth handoffs as the patient transitions through the continuum. They often prevent medication errors, reduce infection rates and facilitate patient transitions from hospital to home. (Howell, 2013) Nurses at every level take a leadership role through knowledge and caring. Demonstrating understanding of the person, health and environment helps to drive nursing practice and patient care. (AONE, 2010) Leadership is not just managing but facilitating.
Because the values and responsibilities of nurses is shaped by history the report was based on this idea, and was developed as a historical evidence grounded modern data. History shows evidence of what nurses can achieve, like how nurses were the founders of community health practices. History also helps in arguing about major policy issues. For example if nurses are allowed to participate as leaders and valued clinicians only will better, quality and easy health access can be achieved. Nursing historians are important to give advice on policy matters, so that all the interested parties can achieve the same goal and better patient care.
Importance of Theory in the Nursing Profession The importance of nursing theory to nursing as a profession is of immeasurable magnitude. McCurry, Revell, & Roy (2010) clearly note that the nursing profession has an obligation to contribute to the well being of society by utilizing evidence-based practice. They continue to note that nursing knowledge is built on theories that answer the problem questions of science. Once a theory is validated by research it is articulated into nursing practice. These actions; theory, research, and evidence-based care will shape nursing’s values and goals to improve the quality of care and health of individuals, families, and society.