Topic 1
Healthcare is an ever-evolving field with a continual need for innovation and improvement. Today, DNPs are moving beyond traditional leadership roles into broader and more senior executive-level positions. Nursing practice and research scholars can impact change by developing and implementing policies within the healthcare system, assuming leadership roles as researchers, educators, and administrators, designing and evaluating innovative patient care models.
There are several ways in which a cadre of nursing practice and research scholars can translate evidence to change practice. In particular, intervention techniques available include audit, educational seminars, clinical guidelines, protocol, and leadership involvement (Curtis, Fry, Shaban, & Considine, 2016). It should be mentioned that before synthesizing knowledge as part of producing new tools, DNPs should ensure that it is founded on the best evidence. Also, DNPs should adapt evidence to the local context, assess possible barriers in using evidence, and evaluate outcomes after implementation of interventions.
The given cadre is capable of leading innovation due to effective leadership skills, creative thinking skills, and the ability to act as the force for change. Nursing practice and research scholars can facilitate clinical innovation by educating others about it, disseminating the information, providing support to the innovation, and leading collaborative teams to spread clinical change. DNPs have skills to implement innovative changes and evaluate their outcomes by creating new knowledge, developing healthcare policies, practices, and educational strategies, and advancing healthcare information technologies.
Speaking of ways to inspire others to embrace change in the workplace, several strategies can be implemented. The first one involves creating such an environment that could foster and encourage change and writing new guidelines and procedures to share them with the personnel. The second one is a communication strategy that implies a continuous sharing of the aim of the change with the staff, getting feedback and responding to it. Effective communication strategy also includes explaining the need for change and ensuring that workers have the required skills and knowledge to support it.
Topic 2
The current nursing practice problem experienced in my workplace is the routine use of epidural block for pain relief in labor. This is considered to be a contributing factor for adverse birth outcomes, in particular, a cesarean section (Levett, Smith, Bensoussan, & Dahlen, 2016). Viewing this problem from several levels of analysis, such a micro-, meso-, and macro-level, will help in providing a reasonable and complete framework for future research. Macro-level analysis occurs at the population (regional or national) level, and the meso-level describes community-level units, such as hospitals.
From macro perspective, there is a majority of mothers who experienced technology-intensive labor and birth that led to assisted vaginal labor or cesarean section. From meso perspective, many patients report a lower level of satisfaction with epidural block interventions and there is a high percentage of first-time mothers who had a cesarean section (Levett et al., 2016). Apart from that, from the meso-level of analysis, medical management of labor and birth is a part of the childbirth education teaching curriculum.
It is clear that the outcomes of the mesosystem affect the macrosystem since the use of the EDB by hospitals results in a higher percentage of women having adverse labor and birth outcomes. This means that the use of EDB is not only a hospital-wide issue but a nationwide one. A systems approach is beneficial in improving healthcare quality and safety since it allows for identification of the level on which a problem arises and the level on which interventions should be implemented. To minimize the use of EDB, complementary therapies for birth and labor should be considered as well as the antenatal integrative medicine education program.
References
Curtis, K., Fry, M., Shaban, R. Z., & Considine, J. (2016). Translating research findings to clinical nursing practice. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 26(5-6), 862-872. Web.
Levett, K. M., Smith, C. A., Bensoussan, A., & Dahlen, H. G. (2016). Complementary therapies for labour and birth study: A randomised controlled trial of antenatal integrative medicine for pain management in labour. BMJ Open, 6(7), e010691. Web.