Introduction
As a student aiming at becoming a Nurse Practitioner, I am currently focusing on the exploration of the options for managing the work of the nursing staff, as well as seeking the opportunities for improving their competencies and identifying the ways to enhance the efficacy of the nursing services provided. Therefore, I believe that the issue of management, in general, and communication along with the conflict-resolving strategies, in particular, are essential in enhancing the overall nursing services quality. Despite the recent technological and research-related breakthroughs and the following numerous discoveries that swept the realm of nursing, there are a lot of white spots that need to be filled. Focusing on the issues that need to be addressed and designing the framework that will help increase the quality standards in the designated area should be the key priority for Nurse Practitioners at present.
Literature Review and the Problem
An overview of the recent nursing studies has shown that the issue of tending to the needs of people with learning disabilities is currently among the primary concerns. Although the number of patients with the identified diagnosis is getting increasingly larger, the number of solutions concerning the services that a Nursing Practitioner can provide to the target audience is very small (Sheehan et al., 2016).
For the most part, the current studies point to the necessity for creating a safe environment for the identified type of patients (Beaver, 2014). Although an admittedly important goal, the identified approach does not imply that the patient is capable of acquiring the basic skills at a moderate pace and using them correspondingly. Instead, the current nursing approaches tend to create the environment, in which the patient does not feel the urge to evolve and, therefore, prefers to maintain a consistent lack of the proper abilities.
The fact that patients with learning disabilities are often underrated as learners should also be brought up (Keller, Fisher, Marks, & Hsieh, 2014). A recent study points to the fact that people with specific learning disabilities may show impressive skills in other domains and, in fact, be capable of acquiring information in a rather fast manner. However, nurses tend to overlook the identified specifics of the patients’ learning capacities, therefore, blocking their way to success in developing the necessary skills.
Differently put, the current framework of catering to the needs of people with learning disabilities requires a reconsideration as it is based on the erroneous premise that the target audience is incapable of acquiring basic learning skills and cannot possibly have any talents. Therefore, it is necessary to design the approach that will promote active engagement of people with learning disabilities into the process of information and skills acquisition.
Potential Innovation
In order to address the problem identified above, the concept of crossing networks could be brought up. By definition, the subject matter implies creating the communication platform on which people with learning disabilities, i.e., both intellectual and developmental ones, may converse and share their knowledge and experiences. It is expected that the framework of crossing networks will serve as the foundation for building the participants’ enthusiasm about the idea of communication and knowledge and skills acquisition. Moreover, the platform will create the breeding grounds for sparking the patients’ social engagement and encouraging them to device specific communication, negotiation, and conflict-solving strategies that will allow them to converse with others successfully.
Reference List
Beaver, M. A. (2014). Project GRANDD revisited: A community-based service learning experience for nurse practitioner students. International Journal of Child Health and Human Development, 7(3), 331-335.
Keller, T., Fisher, D., Marks, B., & Hsieh, K. (2014). Interventions to promote health: Crossing networks of intellectual and developmental disabilities and aging. Disability and Health Journal, 7(1), 24-32.
Sheehan,R., Gandesha, A., Hassiotis, A., Gallagher, P., Burnell, M., Jones, G.,… & Crawford, N. J. (2016). An audit of the quality of inpatient care for adults with learning disability in the UK. BMJ Open, 6(4), 1-7.