Nursing Practice Today Paper Example

The term nursing practice covers a wide array of activities, roles, responsibilities and functions that a registered nurse (RN) and advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) is competent, educated and handed the authority to perform. Nursing practice is one of the oldest careers dating back to Before Common Era (BCE). Military personnel and religious figures such as priests were responsible for taking care of those wounded in war and those who are sick. Over the years, the practice has evolved to incorporate other duties up to the point that it has reached today. As a result, the paper seeks to discuss the evolution of nursing practice and the impact that the change has had on nurses' communication and their collaboration with interdisciplinary teams.

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Although nursing practice predates the 19th century, it was not until the 1850s that it developed into practice. Nursing care was always done by at the confines of homes. Close family and friends tended to those who got sick. In the mid-19th century, an educated lady known as Florence Nightingale from a wealthy family set out to become a nurse by tending to injured soldiers in the British Crimean War (D'Antonio & Wilkerson, 2019). Her activities soon got the attention of the British government, and she was assigned additional personnel and resources. The results of their work were impressive because the number of British casualties suddenly dropped. Her activities showed the western world the importance of having educated nurses.

Nursing care evolved along with the rest of the world. Industrialization led to the growth of cities as more people moved out of rural areas. As a result, those who had no family and friends to take care of them found themselves in hospitals where the quality of care greatly varied. The increase in hospital needs, such as physicians, and women's desire for meaningful work led to the rise of trained nurses. Hospitals began having training schools for nurses. In exchange, those seeking to gain nursing knowledge provided hospitals with free nursing labor for a few years. The practice integrated an orderly routine and systematic environment that improved the healing process of patients (D'Antonio & Wilkerson, 2019). The method integrated the maintenance of aseptic and infection control protocols. These new developments allowed doctors to perform complex surgical procedures. The 20th century saw nurses become increasingly involved outside the hospital setting leading to what would be known as community nursing. An influenza outbreak in the early 20th century caused nurses to move outside of the hospital setting and start conducting educational programs to various communities across the United States and the rest of the world (D'Antonio & Wilkerson, 2019). Some took patient care to people's homes, schools, and other institutions hence further contributing to the evolution of nursing practice. Soon it became necessary to establish professional bodies that would differentiate trained nurses from those seeking to lend a helping hand. By the time they had professional organizations, the nursing practice had evolved to incorporate men. The profession was no longer reserved for women. The age of information technology improved nursing practice by enabling them to store and reference patient records electronically. It also paved the way for a new form of practice in the late 20th century known as evidence-based practice. The evidence-based practice involved the collection, processing, and implementation of the findings to improve nursing practice. As the latest trend, the evidence-based practice still is work under progress and scholars are always researching ways to optimize its results.

Sometimes employers set degree expectations among unlicensed professionals as per the norms established by industry leaders. The same situations apply to licensed professionals. Both Bachelor's level BSNs and Associate level ADNs practice as registered nurses. Despite the overlapping roles, nursing leaders insist that there is a difference between BSN and ADN nurses and there is some truth to that. According to NursingLicensure.org (2019), BSN training programs place greater emphasis on research and informatics topics. The taught topics include clinical rotations in public health along with public health settings (NursingLicensure.org, 2019). BSNs don't gain any clinical experience by carrying out assessments and procedures in an acute care setting. Research has even indicated that the performance of acute care outcomes is excellent when the majority of the nurses hold BSN. The training program for the BSN takes a longer time than the ADN. Although both paths lead to registration, a BSN gives the nurse an increased probability of earning a higher salary than ADN. The difference in earning potential results from the fact that top nursing positions tend to require a BSN even though both levels of qualifications provide similar starting salary.

Conclusion

The nursing practice of today has been profoundly influenced by evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice (EBP) has led to the development of a national research network to study improvement in healthcare. The national research network has contributed positively to nursing research as it has provided nurses with access to an extensive system of information. EBP has also enhanced the cooperation, collaboration, communication, and integration of care in teams to ensure continuous and reliable care. Working with interdisciplinary teams is among the four competencies of health professions. Multidisciplinary teams are made up various professionals who work together to achieve a particular goal for the patient. Nurses may collaborate in interdisciplinary teams by taking different roles in the fulfillment of patient care. Disruptive behavior and poor organizational structure are some of the obstacles to effective collaboration and communication in an organization. Working in interdisciplinary teams provides the institution with access to a vast pool of talents hence improving patient care.

References

D'Antonio, P., & Wilkerson, K. B. (2019, January 16). Nursing. Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc.: https://www.britannica.com/science/nursing

NursingLicensure.org. (2019). ADN and BSN nursing pathways: What are the differences? Retrieved from NursingLicensure.org: https://www.nursinglicensure.org/articles/adn-vs-bsn.html