The Contemporary Nursing Practice Discussion

The Contemporary Nursing Practice Discussion

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Assessment Description
The field of nursing has changed over time. In a 750‐1,000-word paper, discuss nursing practice today by addressing the following:

Explain how nursing practice has changed over time and how this evolution has changed the scope of practice and the approach to treating the individual.
Compare the differentiated practice competencies between an associate (ADN) and baccalaureate (BSN) education in nursing. Explain how scope of practice changes between an associate and baccalaureate nurse.
Identify a specific client care situation and describe how nursing care, or approaches to decision making, differ between the BSN‐prepared nurse and the ADN nurse.
Discuss the significance of applying evidence‐based practice to nursing care and explain how the academic preparation of the RN‐BSN nurse supports its application The Contemporary Nursing Practice Discussion.
Discuss how nurses today communicate and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and how this supports safer and more effective client outcomes.
Review the “APA Formatting Tutorial,” located in Class Resources. Utilize the APA paper template and the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center, to ensure correct paper formatting when preparing applicable assignments.

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You are required to cite a minimum of three sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be appropriate for the assignment and relevant to nursing practice.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

There is little doubt that over time, the nursing profession has changed significantly. Given that technology was destined to transform every part of our social and professional lives, this could be seen as an unavoidable consequence. As time has gone on, there has been a shift in people’s perception of the importance of access to high-quality healthcare. The use of evidence-based practice (EBP) as the benchmark for gauging the caliber of healthcare is currently stressed in nursing education and training (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019)The Contemporary Nursing Practice Discussion. The effectiveness of interventions was not taken into consideration many years ago, when nursing was more of an art than a science. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how the practice of nursing has changed over time; and to compare and contrast an associate nurse (AND) and a baccalaureate or BSN nurse.

Contextual Background

Numerous nursing procedures were in the past applied purely out of habit and were not supported by research. With the widespread adoption of the idea of clinical inquiry, this has now changed. EBP is currently the gold standard for clinical nursing practice. This development is partially attributable to the fact that nursing education has evolved over time. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, a landmark report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), was released in 2010. The report produced recommendations intended to improve nursing practice and the standing of nurses in the healthcare sector.

The elimination of all restrictions on practice for all nurses was one of the report’s most crucial proposals. This allows them to put their knowledge, expertise, and skills to the fullest use in practice (Dillon & Gary, 2017). The report also made the noteworthy proposal that by the year 2020, 80% of nurses should hold baccalaureate degrees (Hooper, 2016; ANA, n.d.)The Contemporary Nursing Practice Discussion. These recommendations encapsulated the attitude that had long existed among the nursing profession. Having baccalaureate nurses or those with bachelor’s degrees instead of those with an associate degree (ADN) is one example. Due to their research-related education, the former are more aware of EBP and are hence more inclined to conduct clinical research.

The Change in Nursing Practice over Time

As was mentioned in the opening, there have been significant changes to nursing as a profession over time. The approach to nursing practice and education has changed as a result of this. At first, nurses were merely intended to assist doctors by following directives given by clinicians without challenging their validity. The early years of nursing are exemplified by Florence Nightingale’s journey to care for injured soldiers during the Crimean War in the middle of the 19^th century. This implied that nurses were merely passive caregivers who were exempt from a comprehensive understanding of sickness and its treatment.

The issue of scope of practice was irrelevant because nurses were just following directives from doctors. In no way were they independent clinicians. Later in the 20th century, almost 100 years after Nightingale lay the groundwork for nursing practice and education, this would change. The idea of the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) brought about the transition. In earnest, nurses started receiving postgraduate study and training for the four jobs of nurse practitioner, nurse midwife, nurse anesthetist, and clinical nurse specialist (Sabo et al., 2017)The Contemporary Nursing Practice Discussion. Since these APRNs would practice as clinicians and treat illnesses, injuries, and disease without necessarily needing the involvement of a physician, the issue of scope of practice became pertinent at this point.

As a result of this transition, APRNs are currently calling for autonomous or full practice authority (FPA) in all states (Dillon & Gary, 2017). Undoubtedly, the method of treating the patient also altered because nurses ceased to be merely assistants to doctors and became clinicians in their own right. They would be able to supply towns and people that really needed it with primary healthcare.

Comparing Associate Nurse (ADN) and Baccalaureate Nurse (BSN)

It is clear that a nurse with an associate degree and one with a bachelor’s degree have different practice abilities. Both are comparable in that they are stages of education and training that increase a nurse’s effectiveness, judgment, and capacity for critical thought when providing patient care. Better patient outcomes are the product of both. The ADN nurse is educated to develop more practical competencies, which is a significant difference. The ADN nurse lacks leadership and research skills. As opposed to this, according to the Nightingale College (2017) a BSN nurse also has research and leadership skills in addition to practical skills.

The scope of practice for BSN nurses and ADN nurses differs because of these disparities in abilities. In order to care for their patients, an ADN nurse supports doctors and other clinicians by giving prescriptions, taking vital signs, and documenting the patient’s status. A clinical nurse leader, on the other hand, is a BSN nurse who supervises, coordinates, and guides a clinical team in providing evidence-based nursing care. The Contemporary Nursing Practice Discussion

A Specific Client Care Situation in Practice

An abrupt shift in a patient’s level of acuity that necessitates admission to the critical care unit is an example of a patient care scenario that can demonstrate this variation in scope. The ADN nurse will be concerned with maintaining the patient’s parameters within physiological ranges by, among other things, providing oxygen, ensuring the patient’s comfort, and soothing the patient. The BSN nurse will be worried about making decisions. The multidisciplinary team will be informed about the patient’s altered state and the requirement to move them to the intensive care unit. In other words, they will act as a guide and leader.

Significance of Applying Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) to Nursing Care

EBP is the current practice philosophy for the nursing profession, as was stated in the opening of this discussion. Applying it to nursing practice is crucial since it is the only type of practice that ensures the achievement of intended patient outcomes. EBP only uses interventions that have been shown to be effective and are backed by research, which increases the possibility that these interventions will be successful. An RN-BSN nurse’s academic background enhances the adoption of EBP because the nurse has leadership and research training. Understanding and using EBP require a thorough understanding of research.

How Nurses Communicate and Collaborate Today with Interdisciplinary Teams

Today, nurses use a range of channels for communication and collaboration with interdisciplinary team members. Specifically, this is done via technology interfaces like the EHR platform. The greatest group of EHR system users in any healthcare organization is nurses. Using the system and its components, such as the patient data management system, or PDMS, they can communicate with other team members. This makes it easier to deliver safe care giving rise to positive patient outcomes The Contemporary Nursing Practice Discussion.

Conclusion

The field of nursing has undergone significant transformation over time. This has been particularly pronounced in the education and training of nurses. Nurses needed a more independent practice environment as they attained higher educational levels and received more extensive training. In order to demonstrate the changes that have occurred in nursing throughout time, this study used the examples of the ADN nurse and the BSN nurse.

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References

American Nurses Association [ANA] (n.d.). IOM future of nursing report. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/iom-future-of-nursing-report/

Dillon, D. & Gary, F. (2017). Full practice authority for nurse practitioners. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 41(1), 86-93. https://doi.org/10.1097/naq.0000000000000210

Hooper, V.D. (2016). The Institute of Medicine report on the future of nursing: Where are we 5 years later? Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 31(5), 367-369. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2016.08.013

Melnyk, B.M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2019). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice, 4^th ed. Wolters Kluwer.

Nightingale College (January 31, 2017). ADN vs BSN debate: These are the real differences between ADN and BSN prepared nurses. https://nightingale.edu/blog/adn-vs-bsn-differences/#:~:text=The%20difference%20is%20that%20an,well%20as%20clinical%20skills%20training

Sabo, J.A., Chesney, M., Tracy, M.F., & Sendelbach, S. (2017). APRN consensus model implementation: The Minnesota experience. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 8(2), 10-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256(17)30093-5 The Contemporary Nursing Practice Discussion