Measuring Nutritional Risk in Hospitals, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The purpose of the reflection is to indicate the need for nurses to incorporate information technology and patient care technology in their practices. Since nurses spend proportionately more time with the patient than the physician, it is important for them to ensure that their patients are aware of proper needs that will help them protect their health. One such example is nutrition. Nurses can use electronic health record systems to record these dietary habits. This pertains directly to DNP essential 4, which calls for the use of information systems (AACN, 2006). To prevent health concerns related to obesity and other high incidence health risks, it is essential for advanced practice nurses to consider nutrition as an important component of the advice they provide to their patients, using information systems to guide their practices.

Reflection

The literature indicates that there are many nutritional health risks present in the hospital setting. Statistical analyses indicate that between 20 and 50% of hospital patients are malnourished (Rasmussen et al., 2010). Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important for nurses to detect these problems and provide patients with necessary help to support their dietary needs. Nutritional intervention could serve as primary prevention to prevent against obesity related illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Since these two conditions are reflective of irreversible damage, it is essential for nurses to intervene before patients are faced with life threatening disease. Information systems can be used to enhance best practices related to nutrition by creating dietary logs for patients and tracking their progress over time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, information systems have many practical uses and allow for the improvement of best practices as they related to DNP Essential 4. One practical use of the system is the ability to track patient nutrition data, using this information as a preventative method to prevent obesity related illness.

References

AACN. (2006). The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/dnp/Essentials.pdf

Rasmussen HH, Holst M, Kondrup J. (2010). Measuring nutritional risk in hospitals. Clin Epidemiol., 2: 209–216.