Bachelor of Nursing

Discuss about the Bachelor of Nursing.

Introduction

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia has laid down standards that suggest various means through which a nurse can enhance professional practice and ensure better quality patient care. Evidence- based practice by nurses helps them to use their expertise in the light of the new research findings so that their current practice improves and the patients are provided with better quality care. Critical reflection helps nurses to constantly think and attune their practice to the current needs of the patients and pinpoint areas where they need to develop professionally. In a care regimen that is supportive and culturally sensitive to patients.

The guidelines laid down by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) contain several points that indicate the need to improve the delivery of a beneficial healthcare to patients. Among the several guidelines the implementation of evidence based practice and critical reflection by nursing practitioners are particularly important. More and more nurses understand the importance of evidence based nursing that helps the newly researched findings to reach clinical practice. Another important practice that is recommended in the standards is the use of critical reflection. The employment of critical reflection on practice can be immense and has potential to improve the benefits to patients who are in the care of nurses. These guidelines set the pace for continual improvement in quality of care delivered. The professional development in the field of nursing is ensured when a practising nurse constantly seeks knowledge whenever she faces unfamiliar situations. Senior colleagues may prove to be of great help due to their experience. Professional development is also ensured by attending continued educational programs. A nurse may maintain records of formal and informal activities that have enhanced professional development.

Evidence-based practice helps nurses because they can use relevant research and their current knowledge. The knowledge about research findings helps them to contribute to policies and guidelines. There are several benefits to patients and the nursing profession when practising nurses engage in discussion leading to dissemination and exchange of new information between colleagues from nursing. Nurses may need training in evidence based practice and exposure to training modules under the guidance of nurses experienced in evidence based practice could improve the incorporation of new research finding in practice. The major difficulties encountered by nurses in remaining updated about research are limited availability of time, lack of training in statistics which makes it difficult to understand the conclusions of research papers and difficulty in following scientific jargon of the research articles (Majid, et al., 2011). Attitudes of nurses in hospitals and community settings are similar. Nurses in general have a positive approach about the effectiveness of evidence based practice even if they have difficulties related to time, skills and knowledge (Mallion & Brooke, 2016). The field of nursing informatics is an important resource and through the use of this technology nurses can enhance the use of evidence based practice for improved patient care and for their professional development (Moen & Knudsen, 2013).

Nurses are expected to practice reflectively. Self reflection and critiquing the professional decisions or behaviour is very important in improving the quality of care delivered to patients. The process of reflection leads to better insights and helps the nurse to judge whether the actions, words during delivery of care were appropriate. However, upon inquiry it has been found that reflective practice is not practised commonly. Improved leadership in nursing is therefore necessary to make self reflection more common (Trodden, 2015). It is a skill that needs to be developed through constant practice. The impact of reflective thinking on the well being of the patients is considerable (Oelofsen, 2012). A sensitized and experienced nurse develops insights and is able to discover through the process of reflection areas of practice that can be subjected to improvement. Reflective practice has been tried in a group by engaging nurses in a clinical setting. The stimulation of reflection was primarily focussed on aspects that dealt with interpersonal interactions with colleagues (Dawber, 2013).

Conclusion

The standards of nursing practice given by the NMBA cover every aspect of a nurse's role in the clinic. It is important to adhere to the guidelines in order to provide quality care to patients. The concept of evidence based practice brings the best of the research from the nursing fraternity to the clinic. A conscious effort by nurses to remain updated about research findings so as to incorporate those in clinical practice can improve patient care to a large extent. The availability of technology and guidance from senior colleagues needs to be utilised to the maximum extent. Critical reflection by nurses is important in improving the quality of care delivered to patients. Training in self critiquing is an important part of a student nurse's education.

Description

It was during my duty at a children's ward and I was assisting the senior nurse and working under her supervision. The child whom I had to attend to had a fracture and some wounds that I had to apply dressing to. Using the no touch method I carefully bandaged the wounds. The senior nurse left to attend to another patient. Even as I was applying the bandage, the doctor on round moved from one patient's bed and without applying a hand rub examined the wound with his hand. I was about to stop of the doctor from doing so but could not. In doing so the doctor had put the patient at a risk of getting infection from another patient.

Feelings

 It was appalling to see a doctor ignoring the rules of hand hygiene. But I was perturbed that I could not stop him in time. I shared the experience with my senior nurse and she said we should talk to the doctor about it.

Evaluation

On reminding the doctor, he quickly admitted to having been too busy to remember to use hand hygiene procedure and said that he would be more careful.

Analysis

Hand hygiene is extremely important in preventing hospital acquired infections.

Conclusion

My lack of assertive behaviour put the child at a risk of infection. I should have been able to speak out at the right time.

Action Plan

I shall work on being more assertive in future.

References

Dawber, C. (2013). Reflective practice groups for nurses: a consultation liaison psychiatry nursing initiative: part 1--The model. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 22(2), 135-44.

Majid, S., Foo, S., Luyt, B., Zhang, X., Theng, Y.-L., Chang, Y.-K., & Mokhtar, I. A. (2011). Adopting evidence-based practice in clinical decision making: nurses' perceptions, knowledge, and barriers. Journal of Medical Library Association, 99(3), 229–236.

Mallion, J., & Brooke, J. (2016). Community- and hospital-based nurses' implementation of evidence-based practice: are there any differences? British Journal of Community Nursing, 21(3), 148-54.

Moen, A., & Knudsen, L. (2013). Nursing Informatics: Decades of Contribution to Health Informatics. Healthcare Informatics Research, 19(2), 86–92.

Oelofsen, N. (2012). Using reflective practice in frontline nursing. Nursing Times, 108(24), 22-4.

Trodden, W. (2015). How do nurses experience reflective practice? Nursing Times, 111(42), 25-7.

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