Essential III: Scholarship for Evidence-Based PracticeFactually, specialized nursing practice is founded on the conversion of the up-to-date evidence into practice. At the heart of scholarship for the baccalaureate graduate is the process of identifying the issues affecting the practice, appraising and integrating evidence, as well as, evaluating the outcomes. At some point of care, baccalaureate nurses, as practitioners, are often placed with the mandate of monitoring the patient outcomes and at the same time, identify the challenges facing the practice. According to AACN (2008), evidence-based practice models tend to offer one with a systematic process through which he or she can evaluate and apply scientific evidence that is closely associated with practice issues. Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer and Moore (2007) revealed that dissemination usually serves as critical aspect within the scholarly practice sphere. As such, baccalaureate graduates are provided with the necessary preparations that allow them to share best practice evidence with an inter-professional team.
Baccalaureate graduates are vital given that it provides a person with a primary understanding of the manner in which evidence is created, including the process of undertaking research, making clinical inferences and judgments, patient preference and inter-professional perspectives as they apply to practice. According to Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer and Moore (2007), such a basic understanding usually serves as the basis through which further compound applications at the graduate echelon can be applied. AACN (2008) reported that baccalaureate nurses put together valid and credible verification from a series of ways of knowing in an attempt to update the practice and at the same time, come up with vital clinical judgments. Working hand in hand with other members of the healthcare, baccalaureate graduates take part in the process of documenting, as well as, inferring evidence for civilizing the patient outcomes.
In each healthcare environment, legal along with ethical precepts usually guide the research process. These precepts assist in protecting the rights of those patients that are taking part, or are eligible to do so, in inquiries. Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer and Moore (2007) revealed that professional nurses tend to secure the rights of the patients, including those associated with the most vulnerable clients.
There are some ways through which the baccalaureate graduate program prepares an aspiring nurse. Foremost, it assists one to identify and explain, in a succinct manner, the relationships that take between three important domains including practice, theory, and research. Secondly, the program tends to demonstrate an understanding of the primary research process facets along with the models, which can guide the application of evidence to the clinical practice. Thirdly, the baccalaureate graduate program, given that it usually champions for the safeguarding of the human participants in the process of facilitating research, helps one to understand and recognized the various ethical issues involved and the manner to prevent any potential controversy. Further, it appraises the credibility of information sources, including internet sources and databases.
On top of this, the program assists a student to take part in the process of retrieving, appraising and synthesizing evidence hand in hand with other affiliates to the healthcare panel in an attempt to create improved patient outcomes. Moreover, the program helps one to identify the way in which to integrate evidence, inter-professional perspectives, clinical inferences and judgments and patient preferences in the process of planning, implementing, as well as, evaluating the results of care delivery. Besides, a baccalaureate graduate is allowed to understand the essence of collaborating with other stakeholders in collecting, documenting and disseminating evidence. At the same time, the student is placed with the opportunity to achieve a greater understanding of the process for how nursing along with the relevant quality and safe healthcare measures are established, authorized and certified. In a similar fashion, the student is provided with the chance to establish the mechanisms through which the identified practice incongruity between the acceptable values and practice can impact the patient outcomes in an adverse light.
Based on the above rationale, it is apparent that there are some ways to which the essential can assist me in my future professional career (Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer & Moore, 2007). One of the most important ways is by helping me to practice within the accepted professional standards and scopes. For instance, the essential helps me to understand what is demanded of me when it comes to the ethics of research and scholarly work. With this understanding, it follows that I will be in a position to engage in a professional nursing practice that is geared towards upholding ethical practices rather than one that creates unnecessary scenarios (Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer & Moore, 2007). Further, the essential will assist me to experience positive growth in my future career.
As discussed previously in this particular text, baccalaureate programs help a graduate to establish the various healthcare practice dynamics. Familiarizing with these can assist a graduate, once he or she becomes a practitioner in the healthcare system, to establish the best way through which they can deliver what is expected of them (Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer & Moore, 2007). Also, by having a deep understanding of the essential, there is a high likelihood that a person will seek to perform in a manner that exceeds what is normal. This is central new competencies are developed while the original ones are consolidated. This, in turn, assists one to become an even better nurse, one that can be relied upon to deliver optimized care. In the light of this, going into the future, I will strive to practice what the essential under focus demands. With this, I will be an exceptional nurse going into the future.
Essential VIII: Professionalism and Professional Values
According to AACN (2008), professional values along with related behavioral tendencies are of central importance given that they provide a foundation through which the practice of nursing is developed and advanced. An important aspect of the qualified practice is a satisfactory perception of the legal, historical along with the modern day context of the nursing practice. Professionalism is a term commonly used to refer to the consistent demonstration of the inherent values that nurses evidence when working in collaboration with other professionals in an attemot to secure optimized wellness and health outcomes in patients, their families and communities through a wise application of principles such as care, excellence, respect, altruism, communication, ethics and accountability. At the same time, professionalism entails the accountability for an individual’s self and nursing practice and this includes a professional engagement, which is continuous in its nature, in addition to lifelong learning.
As it was revealed by Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer and Moore (2007), a nurse is placed with the mandate for the individual nursing practice. Also, the nursing practitioner is responsible for determining the most appropriate task delegation, which is in line with the commitment to provide optimal patient health care. In addition to this, with accountability usually comes the responsibility for an individual behaviors and actions, with civility serving as a good example. To exhibit professionalism, the presence of civility is vital. Civility, according to Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer and Moore (2007), is an elementary group of acceptable tendencies for a culture or a society upon which specialized ways of doing things are founded.
For a long time, professional nursing has continued to enjoy a long tradition of high public respect. There are a series of explanations for this recognition. Nevertheless, of more importance is the compassion and caring facilitated by an individual nurse. Indeed, as it was revealed by AACN (2008), the professional nursing practice is inseparable with the caring concept. As related to the essential under focus, caring usually encompass the empathy of the nurse for, connection to, as well as, being with the client or the patient, along with the capacity to translate these attributions into sensitive, empathetic, and patient-oriented care. In the past, nurses have been known for providing care to patients within a context of what AACN (2008) referred to as privileged intimacy. This is sphere into which a nursing practitioner is allowed to create a distinctive healing relationship in partnership with the patient.
Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer and Moore (2007) added that, through such a connection, it follows that the nurse and the patient work hand in hand in an attempt to achieve a clear and deeper acknowledgement of a broad multiplicity of psychosocial, physical, spiritual, and cultural needs. It also helps them to gain a comprehension on health-illness decisions not to mention the life challenges. According to most researchers, the professional nursing practice usually necessitates striking poise between knowledge, competencies and outlooks and specialization maturity, assurance, compassion, and care. In the present day society, which has increasingly become globalized, patients have become diverse. In this regard, the need for care for assorted populations represents the requisition for evidence-based skills and knowledge, as well as, the sensitive to a rnage of demographics including socioeconomic status, spirituality, health disparities, age, race and culture among others. Baccalaureate graduates, according to AACN (2008), are usually prepared to care for vulnerable patients and these include the frail elderly and the very young. They are also prepared to support the patients in making decisions regarding terminal illnesses in the background of the client’s value structure. Besides, the nurses are often ready and willing to work with patients across lifespan especially those that are in need of genetic technologies along with treatments.
As a matter of fact, Baccalaureate education often entails the creation of certified values. It also necessitates one to adopt a value-based behavioral tendency. Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer and Moore (2007) revealed that having an understanding of the values, which other health professionals and the patients, as well, bring to the therapeutic association, is central to the provision of quality care. AACN (2008) revealed that Baccalaureate graduate programs prepare the students for the several dilemmas, which often arise in practice. The programs also prepare the graduates not only to make decisions but also to assist other individuals in creating choices within an expert moral scaffold. It has been documented across research that ethics plays a decisive function in the process of nursing. It involves advocacy and respect for the needs and rights of patients irrespective of their environment or setting. Barnsteiner, Disch, Hall, Mayer and Moore (2007) revealed that acting ethically and portraying honesty is two critical aspects of the nursing professional behavior. The presence or the absence of these two tenets can bring rise to considerable outcomes. What researchers acknowledge as blame-free accountability cultural tendencies coupled with an environment of safety are critical given that they encourage the members of the team to report whenever errors take place. Such a setting indeed enhances the safety of all patients, and the nursing practitioners, well.
The nursing essential labeled above has important implications for my career as a future nurse. In essence, it assists me to acknowledge the role of values in the practice and the need for me to develop my personal value system while maintaining and observing those attributed to the area of practice. I can rightly recognize that, as a future nurse, I will have to work with such values as integrity, autonomy, altruism, human dignity and social justice if I am to endure progress in my career. Going into the future, my knowledge about the essential will assist me to demonstrate ethical, moral and legal conduct. Also, my understudying of the essential will allow me to demonstrate a key sense of professionalism including respect for oneself and that of others, demeanor and awareness of the professional precincts with patients, their families, as well as, among the medical practitioners. Additionally, the essential will help me to identify and embrace the impacts that attitudes, expectations and values have on the care expectations especially as they relate to the most vulnerable populations.
- AACN (2008). The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice October 20, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/BaccEssentials08.pdf
- Barnsteiner, J., Disch, J. M., Hall, L., Mayer, D. & Moore, S.M. (2007). Promoting interprofessional education. Nursing Outlook, 55(3), 144-150.
