The Scope of Nursing Practice, Essay Example

Nurses possess a considerable level of knowledge and understanding of many areas of the practice environment and are required to be effective communicators as they treat patients with a variety of conditions. Theories regarding self-care are prominent in nursing literature and represent an opportunity to examine the different challenges of the practice environment, and how these contribute to effective outcomes. It is important to consider how self-care in the context of chronic illness is particularly relevant, as it encourages nurses to work with patients to provide them with the necessary tools and resources to manage chronic illness effectively (Riegel, Jaarsma, & Stromberg, 2012). In this capacity, nurses must be able to promote self-care as part of a larger framework for success and achievement in areas such as pain management, quality of life, fatigue, and stress, among others (Riegel et.al, 2012). Chronic illnesses, in particular, require nurses to educate patients in regards to their behavior so that they are able to manage a given disease while not directly under the care of a physician or nurse (Riegel et.al, 2012). These factors demonstrate the importance of recognizing how nurses work with patients in a given healthcare environment with the aim to improve patient’s personal decision-making in regards to their diagnosis (Riegel et.al, 2012). Nurses may take this information and aim to better understand how their patients might respond to adversity and to other conditions whereby they are able to contribute to the self-care environment in a positive manner (Riegel et.al, 2012). It is expected that nurses will contribute to the theoretical perspectives regarding self-care and other issues that influence patients with chronic illnesses in different forms (Riegel et.al, 2012). This practice is likely to provide patients with information that will be useful in managing their condition in the home environment and in recognizing the value of information sharing to achieve the desired results and performance within nursing practice.

Nurses must not only serve as care providers, but also educators for their patients, particularly those who lack resources or knowledge in different areas. This process requires nurses to develop programs and identify specific information that may be useful for patients, given their lack of knowledge within this area in regards to insurance and access to healthcare services. By using basic nursing principles and parameters, there must be a greater emphasis on quality of care and knowledge so that more patients recognize the value of understanding the practice environment and how it impacts patient care quality (Hood, 2013). These factors influence how nurses administer care to their patients, how to communicate with patients, and how to move forward to ensure that patient care needs are timely and effective at all times (Hood, 2013). It is important for nurses to not only examine the benefits of healthcare access from a clinical perspective, but also in the context of its ability to minimize gaps in care that some patients experience that influence their overall health (Hood, 2013). In general, access to care and treatment must be timely so that patients receive the desired benefits, and this is best accomplished by using a framework that will have a positive and lasting impact on outcomes for those who might not have routine access to care and treatment (Fairman, Rowe, Hassmiller, & Shalala, 2011). This practice supports nurses’ improved and expanded role in educating patients regarding their own healthcare needs in order to provide them with opportunities to achieve growth and to seek medical attention as part of a larger group of patients who are insured and may seek healthcare without difficulty.

There are several ways, which nurses can use to influence the policy process to improve the quality of health care. These way ranges from simply making a call or writing a letter about an issue to a policy maker or even being elected to a public office.

Once a nurse is aware of an issue affecting care delivery they can explore the pros and cons of various option available. Depending on the issues and the confidence of a nurse, one can testify the problem during meeting, work with the media, or lobby the policy maker for or against certain policy. However, one important thing to note is that many health care issues are normally too big to be resolved by an effort of one person. Beside, the complexity of the health care policies calls for knowledge and effort of organized groups (Fairman, Rowe, Hassmiller, & Shalala, 2011). For this reason, it is important that nurses join a professional nursing organization where they will enhance their individual advocacy functions. By joining a professional nursing organization, they will gain more resource and thus will be able to strategize more effectively to bring their perspective to health care policy. In addition, professional nursing organization enables public policy monitoring and offers their members with an opportunity to learn about health policy.

Most importantly, professional nursing organization encourages their member to register and vote. These organizations also provide their member with reliable information to ensure that they vote for candidates who are supportive of nursing. Bearing in mind that nurses are the largest group of health care workers, they have potential of voting and maintaining in office, officials who they can work with in formulating policy that will improve health care. In conclusion, nurses as the largest health care group have potential to make a difference in key health care issues through legislative process.

References

Fairman, J. A., Rowe, J. W., Hassmiller, S., & Shalala, D. E. (2011). Broadening the scope of nursing practice. New England Journal of Medicine, 364(3), 193-196.

Hood, L. (2013). Leddy & Pepper’s Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing. LWW.

Riegel, B., Jaarsma, T., & Strömberg, A. (2012). A middle-range theory of self-care of chronic illness. Advances in Nursing Science, 35(3), 194-204.