Modern Epidemiology, Essay Example

Introduction

It is essential for the DNP nurse to implement the DNP essentials in order to promote population health. By improving the quality of patient care through enhancing practice, health professionals can gain a more comprehensive understanding of how particular interventions address the needs of patients. It is therefore the responsibility of all DNP nurses to incorporate their mastery of these skills in practice. According to the AACN, one of the primary expected outcomes of DNP nurses is to enhance “knowledge to improve nursing practice and patient outcomes” (AACN, 2006). Furthermore, leadership skills are implemented to improve the quality of care. By doing so, they are also able to contribute to an understanding of population health needs and implement studies to build a comprehension of these needs and to improve outcomes. This paper will focus on the ability of DNP nurses to improve nursing practice through their involvement with building health practices in the community.

You Decide Reflection

After completing this course, I believe that I have an enhanced understanding of the methods and background necessary to detect the need for public health interventions and to develop a meaningful study that would allow me to assess the utility of the intervention (Iowa Intervention Project, 1996). Overall, these public health programs are a major way for nurses to be directly involved in the improvement of the community. Whether these methods provide education or treatments to the populace, they provide people with resources that they would not have had access to otherwise. This is particularly important in communities with economically disadvantaged individuals because these patients are more likely to need medical help. Through an understanding of epidemiology, nurses are able to assess where intervention services are needed the most to enact primary prevention (Rothman et al., 2008). Furthermore, these principles can be enacted to ensure secondary and tertiary care is possible as well.

Leadership initiatives are an important component of the DNP nurse’s ability to achieve success in his or her field. Not only does this skill enable their ability to recognize the need for development within their local health care institution, it also allows them to recognize the needs of the general public. Therefore, the DNP nurse is better prepared to meet the needs of the many by incorporating basic nursing knowledge, the literature, and observations. Through a culmination of these factors, they are able to recognize a need for change and to implement it accordingly. As a DNP nurse, I will incorporate this understanding in my daily practice. Furthermore, I will encourage the other members of my team to do the same since collaboration will ensure both the mutual benefit of the team and the overall population.

Conclusion

In conclusion, DNP nurses are able to help improve the quality of care of their individual institution and public health as a whole by implementing their knowledge to determine the health needs of the populace. This understanding could then be used to create interventions that will benefit groups in need. Overall, it is important for nurses to work together to facilitate these quality improvement initiatives, which will benefit the development of the nursing field in addition to benefitting the patients that nurses serve.

References

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

Iowa Intervention Project. (1996). Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) (2nd ed.). St. Louis: Mosby-Year Book

Rothman K, Greenland S, Lash T. (2008). Modern Epidemiology, 3rd Edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.