Introduction
Nursing profession is a service oriented profession and involves taking care people all through the life. This is a profession that provides an essential service to humankind. The career possibilities for nurses are endless and it is a profession that offers exciting challenges and boundless career opportunities. Practicing as a Nurse can be both psychologically tough at the same time it can be also rewarding. The setting in which nurses work include hospitals, clinics, schools, wellness centers, long-term care facilities, home settings, and temporary help agencies. Additionally, nurses also concentrate in specific fields such as: Neonatal, Labor and Delivery, Intensive Care, Operating Room, Cardiac Care, Geriatric, Pediatric, Oncology, Rehabilitation, Occupational Health, Pulmonary, Diabetes, and others. Each of these specializations need the development of specific skills required for care by nurses.
Main body
In 1859, Florence Nightingale the founder of modern nursing expressed her meaning of nursing as “the goal of nursing is to put the patient in the best condition for nature to act upon him primarily by altering the environment”. This is the same thought that motivates most of the nurses and I have also got similar thoughts. Though it is the physicians that take care of a patient’s physical well being, nurses play important roles of consolers, comforters and counselors. Patients are more comfortable to share their true feelings with a nurse than their physicians. Nurses are the only ones who provide care to patients 24/7, and this is the reason why nurses are perhaps the best friend of a patient. No matter what patients are going through, they’re always there to thank the nurses who take care of them.
The art of nursing is seen in the care that nurses provide for patients. Nurses collectively join physicians in practicing the art of healing. Everyday nurses apply their skill, knowledge and care during their practice. Because of this, the sick people get better, and terminally ill are able to receive comfort through medicine, emotional and spiritual support from the nurses. Most of the patients get the best possible treatment and care even at the end of life journey.
The Science of Nursing involves Evidence – Based Nursing and Nursing Informatics. Evidence Based Nursing (EBN) is the method using which nurses make clinical decisions. When using EBN nurses uses the best sources of research evidence, their clinical expertise and patient preferences to solve the challenges that they face. The clinical problems they identify as the driving force for clinical change which improves health care quality. According to the definition given by Lindberg (2004), “EBN is the clinical decision making based on the best available scientific evidence, together with clinical nursing expertise and taking into account patient preferences and available resources”.
As technology has entered all other fields it has entered the nursing field also. Computerization in very common in most of the health care institutions and therefore nurses need to have good computer knowledge. Nursing Informatics is a recently developed field that combines nursing skills with computer expertise. This field is the modern technology that aids with documenting and communicating the service or care provided. Today, in most of the hospitals the records have less information and most of it is stored in computers which is a total different situation from 80s and 90s. It is often seen nurses in the hospital work with mobile computers in the patients’ room. Therefore, recent years have seen several advancement using latest technologies. The nurse compensates for what the patient cannot do, while teaching them how to care for themselves. With the death and dying, I allow as much independence as long as possible. Dignity and comfort is maintained to the end of care.
Nursing is a self-motivated profession or as an art of science with a growing body of knowledge that is supported by research within the profession. Nursing mainly focuses on supporting human beings to overcome the health challenges they face all through their life. Modern nursing teaching approaches with new technology-based teaching and learning assignments increase student attainment, including retention, motivation, and class participation; improve learning and significant thinking, provide instructional reliability, and augment clinical education. One of the key role of the nurse as a health care contributor has been one as a patient educator. Knowledge management is the unambiguous and systematic organization of fundamental knowledge and its related processes. It necessitates turning personal knowledge into knowledge for learners-at-large through the organization of information across guidelines.
In United States changes in the health care system, caused nursing to evolve into multiple level of practice because of the increasing cost and dramatic advances in scientific knowledge. In many jurisdictions, Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) are practicing separately and performing procedures previously reserved for physician practice. Nurses with advanced skills are looking for specialized and economic recognition through certification and authority to practice. But lack of stability in education, titling, credentialing, program accreditation, scope of practice and compensation have puzzled the public, legislators, regulators and nurses themselves, and have stalled efforts to make full use of assistance of APRNs to health care.
Extra professional education is necessary for an APRN to carry out within a scope of practice beyond customary registered nursing practice. With graduate level education, a nurse further develops conceptual and vital thinking, at an advanced level, knowledge of research and its explanation for practice, and the required necessary therapeutic skills. Graduate education is generally required to produce competent, independent professionals. Criteria for APRN Certification Programs (2002) identify critical elements of advanced practitioner education. According to the criteria, APRNs should graduate from a formal graduate advanced practice program with a concentration in the advanced nursing practice specialty consistent with the certification that the individual is seeking and in accordance with the National Task Force Professional nursing organizations have supported the recognition of advanced nursing practice through the mechanism of voluntary certification.
The principle of Criteria for Certification Programs is that an examination must be appraised in light of its planned purposes. Criteria used to evaluate an examination’s sufficiency will differ depending on its intended use. Nurse practice acts make out boundaries of practice. Such as, the granting of regulatory authority should be specific to the practice area. Licensed APRNs are also responsible for practice that reflects the state of the science and the evidence-based rule that form the standard of care. This standard requires ongoing aptitude and quality improvement.
Negligence to control advanced nursing practice creates potential hazards for the public. Without licensure, complex activities requiring a high level of specialized knowledge, and independent decision-making may be performed by persons without sufficient training and skill. However, professionals are in general not held legally accountable for their practice if they do not have the license. For most boards of nursing, the current approach to licensure involves reliance on educational credentials, certification examinations and the information provided by the applicant. Therefore, support of educational institutions, accrediting bodies, credentialing organizations, regulators and licensees is essential to produce the best result for the health care of the public (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2002).
In general, the vision that nurses have is one in which each and every patient is treated equally with dignity and respect always. For this purpose the health care institutions have systems that are designed for the benefit of individual needs. At the same time the work performed by nurses is valued and respected. From a nursing perspective the main points that aid nurses achieve the vision are as follows: development of care plans that are focused on patient and measures as part of performance management and the clinical governance agenda. Secondly, the development of leadership based on personal growth and principles and last but not the least the development of new clinical career and competency framework for nursing (Kitson, 2001). In order to achieve these visions there is a need for a paradigm shift in the values, priorities, policies, and power associations in the health service.
In 2002, nurses were raised to such a position that they are able to influence healthcare policy and legislation. Today there is a greater need to develop leadership skills among nurses together with the clinical skills. For this purpose new nursing training schedules needs to function on operating the latest technology and complex medical equipment. However, it is not always possible that nurses are able to use all the knowledge and expertise when they are the bedside (Valentine, 2002).
Nursing requires strong, consistent and knowledgeable leaders, who are visible, inspire others and support professional nursing practice. Leadership plays a key role in nursing profession as it is one of the most important elements in creating quality professional practice environments. And only under this leadership wing can new nurses start their professional life. Nurses need to understand that the main leadership qualities that they need to develop is as follows – to be the providers of quality care, propagating teamwork, articulate communicator, counselor, risk taker, role models and visionary. It is important to remember that it is only with effective nursing leadership that nursing practice and effective health care policies can be shaped and influenced in future (Antrobus and Kitson, 1999).
Creative thinking is an important link in the teaching-learning process, as it is a very important aspect that enhances problem solving in nursing practice (Kalischuk and Thorpe, 2002). Today, there are several health care units that have initiated programs that consist of arts and creativity. Researchers have found that due to the unique links with patients, nurses play a vital role in bringing creative arts into patient care (Lane, 2005).
The importance of communication skill for professional nursing practice is well recognised. When communications are good, information flows smoothly, delivering clear messages that people can easily understand and act on. When it is not, confusion leads to misunderstanding, inaction or wrong actions. Any mistakes in communication among the nursing staff can lead to serious problems. There is a growing demand for nurses with skills to treat patients with multifaceted care needs. The traditions in which people communicate have deep effects on those who are around them. Peplau (1952) redefined nursing as an interpersonal, interpretive practice (Tilley, 1999). Peplau created one of the first statements of principles for the study of nursing as a communicative practice. Nurses must take action on the basis of the meaning of events to them, on the base of their instant understanding of the environment and performances that emerge in a particular rapport. However, the patient may act on the basis of his illness to him. “The interaction between nurse and patient is fruitful when a method of communication that identifies and uses common meanings is at work in the situation” (Peplau, 1952). The impact of this outlook of the nursing has been deep over the last 50 years and there has been a revolution in research and theory on communication processes in health care.
In reality, there are a lot of studies gone into nursing and communication skill needed for a nursing practitioner. Therefore, it is vital for practitioners to understand the main tendencies and topics in the learning of communication, so as to integrate this information within professional practice. Communication is an influential life-changing activity and a varying outcome can come out from the method of caring for others depending on the way communication is managed. Information on the National Health Service in the UK (Ombudsman, 2003) and various studies have revealed inadequate communication in health care was the major source of patient discontent (Caris-Verhallen et al 1999). According to Fredricksen (1999), “in what manner nurses speak, write, gesture, use signs and images and react to the spoken, written and non-verbal communication of others have a major effect on the quality of health care”. Indeed, health care and communication goes hand in hand.
Modern nursing is changing with new roles and working practices. As mentioned earlier, professional nursing is an art and applied science. Nursing is a self-motivated profession or as an art of science with a growing body of knowledge that is supported by research within the profession. Today, the nursing profession is serious problem of shortage of staff that it becomes difficult for giving the patients the best risk free environment. The worldwide nursing shortage is a matter of concern to every one.
If we look at the healthcare industry, it is growing fast when compared to other industries. The reduction in the number of nursing leaders may result in influencing the shortage of nursing staff as studies have found that nursing leaders can bring in flexibility in the profession. Today there is a real scarcity of nursing staff in major research and teaching hospitals and there is a great concern about the scarcity of nursing staff (Singhapattanapong, 2002).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that nursing is a profession that involves taking care of patients with utmost care and using the latest technologies. All the efforts focus on creating a best environment for the recovery process of patients. Basically, nursing faculty needs to make use of their critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving and effective communication skills. Nurses also need to be understanding towards the cultural diversity while they are delivering therapeutic care. Modern nurses need to be leaders, coordinators, teachers and practitioners. Additionally there are several responsibilities that they have to specialize. With the increasing demand for nursing staff all over the world, it is important that more and more people get trained and get into this noble profession. In simple terms, this is the only profession in which nurses focus on helping individuals, families and communities in achieving, re-achieving and maintaining optimal health.
References
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