Implications For Nursing Practice

Healthcare systems and the way safe, quality health care is delivered are continually changing to better serve patients and communities. Professional nursing practice is a large component in the healthcare system today. Back in the 1960s, professional nursing leaders tried to adopt the bachelor degree programs as the only educational track to become a registered nurse (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). Due to nursing shortages and demands this motive did not hold fast. Individuals entering the nursing profession today must first decide which educational pathway to take to become a Registered Nurse (RN).

In addition, a DNP degree will help me better serve my community by advocating for quality and safety healthcare system. Once attained, I would seek employment at either a school or university with the mission of educating nursing students to practice the highest quality of patient care. One of the major issues facing the nursing profession today is the lack of advance nursing practices. The medical field is in crisis. Doctors are stretched to the limits, and patients are demanding more advanced care. To alleviate some of the concerns facing medicine in the 21st century, advance nursing practices is a vital area in the contribution of understanding and working within the bounds of a team structure, and the promotion of communication between the interdisciplinary health team. The mission of the advance nursing practice is to help individual patients, and their families, determine and achieve optimum physical, mental and social potential, and to do so within the challenging context of the environment in which they live and work Nurses are among the largest professional care group within the healthcare service industry. We are responsible for providing quality care and assisting patients towards independent and healthy living. Considering the changing working environment, health care practitioners like nurses are

In the article written by Ford, (2009), the doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) has an important role to play in the current health care system which is constantly changing. As healthcare around the world is transforming, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2011 report mentioned that in the United States, Advanced practice nurses play a vital role in the rapid complex changes based on the full extent of their education and training. This article describes some of the positive role of the advance practice Nurse as a facilitator in the regulatory and policy developments. The Advance practice nurse participates and provide cost-effective care models that will improve the access and quality of care of the population. Another positive area for the APN in this current healthcare system is health promotion, health maintenance, and prevention. In this evolving health care system, it gives the Advance practice nurse the opportunity to set up acute and primary care settings that will positively impact health care delivery as they meet the needs of an expanding, aging, and chronically ill population. All over the world, the NP’s role has developed and is beneficial to health care systems and health care consumers. As Advance practice nurses we must use this great opportunity to advance our role and work with others to improve and transform health care globally. DNP graduate 's role is include leadership, research, practice, education, and

Role of DNP-prepared nurse. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing AACN (2006) created VIII essentials that define the key elements that are necessary for a doctor of nursing practice program. Two key essentials that played a major role in the project manager’s planning and implementation during the EBP change project are:

With an ever-increasing body of knowledge in the field of nursing, more education is being required to enter the field of nursing. Many healthcare institutions are raising the educational requirements in order to become employed or maintain employment in their facilities. Healthcare organizations are transitioning to hiring registered nurses (RN) who have a higher level of education, such as, a graduate from a Baccalaureate Degree Nursing (BSN) program. The goal of these institutions is to have nurses with a broader array of skills that can meet the growing demands of our patient population. BSN prepared nurses are recognized for their well-rounded skills in critical thinking, management, case management and health promotion versus Associate Degree nurses (ADN)/Diploma nurses that focus on direct patient care.

In the traditional health care model, formal learning is not complete when a physician receives their medical degree and white coat at the end of their academic program. Medical school graduates are required to complete an accredited hospital residency program to become licensed to practice medicine, (Jolly, Erikson, & Garrison, 2013). However, acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) are not afforded, nor expected to complete, the same educational requirements. The current expectation that a new graduate ACNP learn their advanced nursing role “on-the-job” is unacceptable and leads to decreased job satisfaction and preparedness. In the every-changing climate of health care, the development of required residency programs for ACNPs should be maintained as a priority.

Advanced practice nurses have core competencies that are similar or are specific to each specialization defined as an advanced practice. The profession of nursing presents favorable circumstances for nurses to specialize in roles with distinct responsibilities and opportunities to contribute to the function of a health care industry with growing demands and complexity. The profession of nursing continues to debate to whom the title advanced practice nurse applies to. Examination of the core concept frame works described by nurse leaders and professional organizations tend to either support or refute the argument related to the use of the term, advanced practice nurse for nursing administrators and educators. For the purpose of this paper the author will explore the core competency similarities and differences of a nurse practitioner and a nurse educator. Nurse educators and nurse practitioners are registered nurses that possess advanced education, skills, and experience. Each specialty nurse has defined scopes of practice with distinct sets of responsibilities, requirements, and skills. Each role represents distinct educational requirements and activities that contribute to the complex and diverse health care industry.

The Carnegie Foundation reports that nurses today “are undereducated for the demands of practice” (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & Day, 2009, ¶ 17). Education of the ADN centers around the hands-on skills needed to care for a patient at bedside and less on the scientific theories that allow the holistic treatment of a patient. A report by the Milbank Memorial Fund in 2001 reports that nurses educated at the ADN level have a higher incidence of mistakes made while performing their duties (Rosseter, 2011, ¶ 24). Registered nurses who graduate with the two year degree lack research skills, leadership and managerial skills as well as informatics needed to deliver quality medical care within today’s health care system (Orsolini-Hain & Waters, 2009, p. 269).

Although African Americans have the same rate of incidence of cancer as Whites, African Americans commonly believe that they are less likely to have cancer. (Black Americans' Attitudes Toward Cancer and Cancer tests: Highlights of a study 212) This stems from the idea that cancer is a white person disease while diabetes and sickle anemia are black person diseases. “Beliefs about cancer may influence the perception of risk of developing the disease, and participation in screening programs” One’s beliefs are often developed from one’s culture. This cultural belief in addition to others, causes African Americans to be less likely to screen for cancer. As seen in a study about screening Colorectal Cancer, African American participants were less likely to screen for Colorectal Cancer due to the belief in cancer fatalism, which is to say that one will certainly die from cancer (Shavers, Brown 334). Lack of health literacy also contributed to disinterested in cancer screening, this lack of knowledge may stem from low SES that affects many African Americans or once again the disinterest in cancer as a disease that majorly affects black people. It is important to understand that African American culture to understand and therefore make screening more available to black people without fundamentally changing African American

The second MSN essentials focused on integrative abilities related to nursing leadership, in which an APN is aware of the influence and need for organizational and systems leadership and is able to apply various organizational theories in practice. The next MSN essential is focused on integrative abilities related to quality improvement and safety. In this area, an APN is able to understand performance assessment, measurement, and evaluation processes that impact their practice. The next MSN essential is focused on integrative abilities related to evidence-based practice. Here, an APN is expected to apply research utilization and translation skills as well as function as a change agent in MSN practice. The fifth MSN essentials focused on integrative abilities related to nursing informatics. In this area, an APN is able to incorporate nursing science, information science, and computer science to communicate effectively and thus improve MSN practice. The sixth MSN essential focused on integrative abilities related to healthcare policy. In this area, an APN is capable of effectively advocate for individuals, families, and focused populations as well as for the profession of nursing across diverse systems of healthcare. The next MSN essential is focused on integrative abilities related to interprofessional collaboration. Here, an APN is able to apply elements of interprofessional collaboration and effective communication skills to practice improvements to improve health outcomes for individuals, families, and focused populations. The eight MSN essentials focused on integrative abilities related to population health. In this area, the MSN graduate should be able to apply population-focused and culturally-sensitive intervention strategies in delivering patient-centered care to individuals, families,

Although the American Association of Colleges of Nursing clearly defined the role of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree in 2004, some confusion about the academic programs still exist. The role of both the DNP and PhD-prepared individuals is to improve the quality of health care and the health of population through the use of the best evidence when assisting them in making decisions about treatment options. Melnyk, B. M. (2013). According to the national leaders in major healthcare fields, mentioned a gap between research and practice and the importance to apply research findings and engage in evidence-based practice. In order to translate this knowledge, the clinician must understand the healthcare delivery in order to help narrow the research-to-practice gap and transform health care. DNP-prepared nurses are trained to reduce the research-to-practice gap. Because most nurse lack knowledge to critically appraise research studies and the skills to effectively implement evidence-based practice (EBP) in their clinical settings.

Mastering the concept of outcome two in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program is essential to developing and evaluating the delivery of care approach to achieve current and future needs of patients based on scientific findings in nursing and other clinical sciences (Ashe-Edmunds, 2016). My growth at the start of the program was minimal with simple leadership skills; now I have the knowledge, ability as well as the accountability assurance to provide quality of healthcare and patient safety for the populations within my practice. I have also achieved leadership skills with greater insight into the development of organizational systems demonstrating higher levels of communication skills. Examples of critical events

As a student, it can often be challenging to apply research findings into practice, even more so at earlier levels of nursing programs. When involved in surgical care around appendicitis, among the many actions which can be done, the arguably most important intervention which can be applied is continual perioperative care (Lewis, 2014).

The Nursing profession is evolving and growing in recognizing the importance of developing advance practice registered nurses (APRNs). By attaining advanced degrees, nurses have the opportunity to increase their leadership role and help make decisions that contribute to a safe clinical setting leading to better quality patient care. The institute of medicine (IOM) recognizes this important role, one recommendation is collaboration, leadership, and communication (Ulrich, 2015). Encouraging nurses to become more involved in leadership roles has the potential to improve patient safety due to the fact that most of the time they are at the forefront of care. Continuing education for nurses is important, they are trained to critically think and re-evaluate a patient’s plan of care. By empowering nurses to become a leading advocate for patient safety they have the opportunity to become an important part of the organizational leadership team (Sherwood, Barnsteiner, and Herman, 2012). Nursing knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) can be improved at any level of education.

Many of the patients with ALS that we encounter in practice will always look for therapeutic options that will halt or alter the clinical progression of their condition. To date, treatment strategies are limited to Riluzole and supportive care. We owe our patients to continuously search for novel treatment approaches. Edaravone is currently approved by FDA only in Japan and Korea. It may not be available locally yet but if proven to have a robust evidence-based mechanism, acceptable adverse effects, and statistically significant impact on delaying functional deterioration and improving quality of life, it can be one of the most elusive breakthroughs that medicine has been insistently searching for.