How to View My Practice, Essay Example

With this course experience, I have learned that nursing is more than clinical methods and processes and is comprised of many psychological and emotional constructs. I must use such factors as reflection and core values in all areas of nursing practice. I must also demonstrate my understanding and commitment to my roles and responsibilities as a professional nurse. In this capacity, it is expected that I will consistently use standardized nursing terminology and data elements in all areas of nursing practice to achieve successful outcomes. In conjunction with support and knowledge from national nursing associations, I am committed to perfecting my core competencies and expanding my educational opportunities to become a more knowledgeable and experienced nurse. My experiences as a case manager are significant contributors to my professional growth and development as a nurse.

In my professional nursing career to date, I have acquired important experience as a case manager, whereby I review patient cases and provide recommendations for improvement and expansion of nursing practice. In acquiring new forms of knowledge in this course, I recognize that I benefit from using reflective practice on a regular basis to better understand patient needs and how to improve patient care. The challenges of nursing practice are not always conducive to optimal reflection; therefore, there are many complex principles and actions that are not well understood and adapted to easily (Ross et.al, 2005). Therefore, discussions with my colleagues regarding clinical issues and general breakdowns in communication must be conducted as a means of expanding professional growth and understanding of some of the areas of nursing that are not well understood, such as the use of terminology in the appropriate manner (Ross et.al, 2005).

As a practitioner, I must develop my skills and master standardized nursing terminology to advance the profession and improve quality of care.  I must distinguish between the thirteen separate languages utilized in nursing practice and determine their applicability to different situations (Rutherford, 2008). This includes the ability to evaluate and utilize data collection tools and data sets in real-world settings to improve practice (Rutherford, 2008). The nomenclature surrounding nursing practice represents a challenge to all nurses to improve communication, such as the North American Nursing Diagnosis (NANDA) and the Nursing Intervention Classification (NIC) (Rutherford, 2008). Each of these languages must be learned so that they are correctly applied in practical nursing environments to support a higher level quality of patient care (Rutherford, 2008).

The use of data elements and tools is essential to the discovery of new practice methods and approaches to common problems. Nursing informatics continues to grow with the expansion of the electronic health record (EHR); however, the extent of nursing terminology and its applicability to the HER is not well understood (Schwiran and Thede, 2011). Therefore, as a professional nurse, I must develop my skills in applying standardized nursing terminology into patient records so that they are easily understood by other nurses and physicians who are likely to review these records (Schwiran and Thede, 2011). These conditions are ripe for potential errors; therefore, my level of clarity and understanding of these terms is of critical importance. In general, nursing informatics must be well understood because nurses are required to apply these techniques and terms in their daily practice settings (Schwiran and Thede, 2011). As a nurse, I must clearly identify my role in informatics and acquire the knowledge and skill to achieve optimal performance in this area of practice.

From an ethical perspective, I must exercise astute knowledge and understanding of all ethical principles as mandated by the American Nurses Association (2013). This code of ethics represents a number of key subject areas which reflect basic patient care needs, the quality of nursing care, and trends in nursing practice (American Nurses Association, 2013). These ethical frameworks consider such areas as end of life care, genetic concerns, professional codes of conduct, and other related factors (American Nurses Association, 2013). In my capacity as a nurse, I must adhere to these standards and make decisions which will have a positive impact on my patients. I am also expected to make recommendations to practice as needed that will improve compliance with these ethical frameworks. These standards of practice are critical to my continued success as an experienced nurse; therefore, my strict adherence with these principles is critical to my expanded professional development.

As a nurse, I have tremendous responsibility for ensuring that patient care and wellbeing are achieved as best as possible. I must use many different frameworks to accomplish these objectives, including the use of standardized nursing terminology appropriately and the application of data elements and data sets as required to advance practice in new directions. In addition, I must make a continuous effort to participate in reflective practice and address problems with communication and lack of cohesion when decision-making is inconsistent. These factors ultimately contribute to poor nursing performance and less than stellar practice objectives. I will strive to overcome these challenges, to work with my colleagues in a productive manner, and enhance communication through skill development and reflection on current performance. I am committed to these objectives and will use the knowledge and resources available from the American Nurses Association and its Code of Ethics to support the framework for my practice. In my continued role as a nurse manager, I will utilize the principles of reflection, ethics, and the application of clinical terminology in order to achieve future success and to impact nursing practice in a positive manner.

References

American Nurses Association (2013). Code of Ethics for Nurses. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/CodeofEthicsforNurses

Ross, A., King, N., and Firth, J. (2005). Interprofessional relationships and collaborative working: encouraging reflective practice. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 10(1), retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume102005/No1Jan05/tpc26_316010.html

Rutherford, M.A. (2008). Standardized nursing language: what does it mean for nursing practice? The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 13(1), retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/vol132008/No1Jan08/ArticlePreviousTopic/StandardizedNursingLanguage.html

Schwiran, P.M., and Thede, L.Q. (2011). Informatics: the standardized nursing terminologies: a national survey of nurses’ experiences and attitudes – Survey I. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 16(2), retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-16-2011/No2-May-2011/Standardized-Nursing-Terminologies.html