Free Essay Example on Improve Your Nursing Practice with Evidence-Based Practices

Introduction

The course has enhanced my understanding of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) that nurses should apply to care for their patients. The new practice approaches that I have learned are based on solid research and clinical expertise. The first one is evidence-based infection control policies that should be implemented to prevent Healthcare-Acquired Infections (HAI). I have noted that the best ways to prevent HAI in my professional practice are wearing personal protective gear, keeping the healthcare environment clean, and exercising barrier precautions.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

However, I have discovered that many nurses do not use evidence to guide their practice despite extensive research that emphasizes EBP (Wilson et al., 2016). Some of the barriers to EBP in nursing practice are preferences for conventional ways of working, negative perceptions towards evidence-based approaches, and inadequate training in the subject (Wilson et al., 2016). The second practice approach that I have learned is using oxygen in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). In this regard, I have discovered that providing oxygen to COPD patients is helpful, despite the belief that it can cause acidosis issues. The third practice approach that I believe will be of great importance in my profession is using a smaller-gauge catheter when administering blood. According to Acquillo (2007), small-size intravenous catheters help enhance patient comfort. A proper understanding of the three EBPs enabled me to achieve the course objective of practicing safe, evidence-based nursing care.

Healthcare Delivery and Clinical Systems

A robust healthcare delivery system that guarantees high-quality healthcare services is necessary for Americans to enjoy optimal health. I have discovered that a sound healthcare delivery system is patient-centered and is effective in reducing medical errors. According to Dunn et al. (2005), patients should be at the center of an intricate network of medical devices, healthcare professionals, and other system elements.

One of the course objectives is to equip learners with knowledge of how healthcare delivery systems work. To achieve this goal, I have researched opportunities and challenges bedeviling healthcare services in the US. In my research, I learned that every interface between machines or medical devices and healthcare professionals contains opportunities for errors (Dunn et al., 2005). Adverse events may occur in such instances because the information in clinical systems may not be accurately acquired and recorded. After a thorough evaluation of common challenges underlying healthcare delivery and clinical systems, I noted that the human elements are the leading cause of failures in the system.

It is recommended that healthcare professionals change their behaviors to reduce human errors when using clinical systems and other information technologies. My strengths in examining this topic were the ability to search and critically evaluate information in the literature. However, my weakness was focusing too much on the details.

Ethical Considerations in Healthcare

Ethical values are essential for healthcare professionals. In this topic, I have discovered that nurses encounter several ethical issues, and for this reason, ethical practice is the foundation of their work. The four main principles of ethics that I have learned are non-maleficence, autonomy, justice, and beneficence (Ulrich et al., 2010). Often, ethical dilemmas arise in everyday practice as nurses care for their patients. I have identified three things that can help avoid ethical concerns. First, they must respect each patient's unique attributes and serve them with inherent dignity and compassion. Here, I have understood that nurses should maintain a professional relationship with their patients and family members to avoid ethical issues. Secondly, nurses' primary commitment is to their patients, who are also the first and primary concern in healthcare settings. Conflicts of interest that limit nurses' duties should be addressed so as not to affect patient care. Thirdly, ethical problems arise when healthcare professionals do not protect their patients' safety, rights, and health.

After studying this topic, I am confident that I can apply the Nurse's Code of Ethics to avoid moral issues. Aspects like respecting patient choice of medical procedures, medical interventions, and treatment are key to upholding the ethical principle of autonomy. To comply with the beneficence aspect, a nurse maximizes good while minimizing patients' harm. I have achieved the course objective of addressing ethical concerns by studying the Nurse Code of Ethics and its clinical significance. However, I still find it challenging to balance benefits against potential risks where care guidelines conflict with patient autonomy. My key strength in this subject is interpreting and applying nursing codes of ethical conduct.

Population Health Concerns

Adverse environmental, social, and economic trends are the primary cause of population health issues (McMichael & Butler, 2006). In this topic, I have noted that emerging and reemerging infectious diseases remain a key population health concern today. Five decades ago, health experts predicted that contagious diseases would decline because antibiotics, sanitation, and vaccines were at hand (McMichael & Butler, 2006). Since then, HIV/AIDS has remained a serious pandemic in different parts of the world. Also, ‘old’ infectious diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, tuberculosis, and cholera are still problematic. I have discovered that weak public health services, the emergence of new ecological niches, and increased antimicrobial resistance have contributed to these diseases' continued persistence (McMichael & Butler, 2006).

Global environmental change and decline in regional life expectancy is another population health concern. I have discovered that nurses can use the practice of health promotion to help address various population health issues. Briefly, nurses can educate their patients on how they can improve their health. My strength in this topic was identifying the factors that have contributed to different population health problems. By studying nurses' role in this matter, I have achieved the course objective of promoting health through risk reduction and education.

The Role of Technology in Improving Health Outcomes

Technology has improved health outcomes related to patient safety, patient experience, mortality, timeliness, and care effectiveness. I have noted that Electronic Health Records (EHRs) help reduce errors that arise due to miscommunication between clinicians. Here, the fact that EHRs reduce medication errors implies that it can improve patient safety. This information technology also fosters health outcomes on timeliness and safety of care. Remote monitoring tools allow patients to monitor their health at home, thus reducing unnecessary visits to the doctor's office. These technologies enhance convenience, patient experience, and satisfaction.

I have discovered that healthcare technologies have several ethical priorities that nurses should understand. Some of them are confidentiality, privacy, security breaches, and data inaccuracies. I have achieved the course objective about understanding healthcare technologies by studying tools like EHRs, medical records, and telemedicine elements.

Health Policy

Health policy is defined as plans, decisions, and actions intended to achieve specific healthcare goals (World Health Organization, 2016). It encompasses a range of issues in biotechnology, health care, and public health. I have learned that good health policy sets priorities and roles expected of different groups. It also carries a vision besides establishing targets and reference points for the long, medium, and short term. Health policy is essential because it sets a general plan of action to maximize healthcare quality and achieve equitable distribution of costs and benefits. For healthcare professionals, national health policy communicates desired outcomes and their role in improving the population's health.

I have understood that health policy's primary goal is to promote and protect individual and community' health (Bulger et al., 2005). The three branches of government are in charge of health policy formulation in the United States. However, government institutions should respect human rights, including the right to nondiscrimination, privacy, and self-determination. I have discovered that systematic health policy formulation is challenging in highly diverse nations like the US, where different interest groups strive to influence policymaking (Bulger et al., 2005). I have also discovered that a robust health policy is best achieved where there is a rigorous and objective assessment of the existing data. In order to achieve optimal results, policymakers should rely on scientific evidence and objective information in health policy decision-making.

References

Acquillo, G. (2007). Blood transfusion flow rate. Journal of the Association for Vascular Access, 12(4), 225-226. https://doi.org/10.2309/java.12-4-9

Bulger, R. E., Bobby, E. M., & Fineberg, H. V. (2005). The formulation of health policy by the three branches of government. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK231979/

Dunn, S., Constantinides, A., & Moghe, P. V. (2005). Clinical engineering handbook (1st Ed.). Academic Press. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/health-care-delivery-system

McMichael, A. J., & Butler, C. D. (2006). Emerging health issues: The widening challenge for population health promotion. Health Promotion International, 21(suppl_1), 15-24. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dal047

Ulrich, C. M., Taylor, C., Soeken, K., O’Donnell, P., Farrar, A., Danis, M., & Grady, C. (2010). Everyday ethics: Ethical issues and stress in nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(11), 2510-2519. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05425.x

Wilson, L., Acharya, R., Karki, S., Budhwani, H., Shrestha, P., Chalise, P., Shrestha, U., & Gautam, K. (2016). Evidence-based practice models to maximize nursing's contributions to global health. Asian Journal of Nursing Education and Research, 6(1), 41. https://doi.org/10.5958/2349-2996.2016.00009.4

World Health Organization. (2016). Health policy. https://www.who.int/topics/health_policy/en/#:~:text=Health%20policy%20refers%20to%20decisions,the%20short%20and%20medium%20term