The Standards Of Nursing In Different Settings

Nurses are an essential part of the Canadian health care delivery system, constituting the largest group of human health resources and recognizes invaluable to the health of Canadians. Nursing services are necessary for virtually every patient seeking care. Throughout the semester I have gathered information from the required readings and class discussions about registered practical nurses (RPNs) and the variety of work settings they are seen in.

Each work setting is unique but yet similar in their own ways. Nurses are seen in a variety of work setting that can be categorized by an institutional sector or a community sector. Institutional sector nurses are seen in the following settings. Nurses in a hospital are participating in discharge planning, ensuring a smooth and safe transitions of patients between levels of care and the community, nurse manager, infection control coordinators, clinical educator, and clinical nurse researcher. Many nurses specialize as clinical nurse specialists, caring for patients with specific needs (ex; palliative) or specific diseases (ex; respiratory). Long-term care (LTC) facilities have nurses who plan, coordinate resident care, manage chronic illness, conduct rehabilitation programs and assume educational roles, and family related interventions. In psychiatric facilities nurses collaborate with doctors, physicians, psychologists, social workers, and therapists to make plans that enable the patient to return to the community. Nurses in rehabilitation centers collaborate closely alongside physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers. Nurses work with patients who are experiencing adaptation and stress, and those who are experiencing mobility challenges.

Community sector nurses are seen in the following settings. Public health nurses are seen as the primary professionals in public health clinics offering baby clinics, school health programs, sexually transmitted infections' screening and education, and health promotion programs. In physician offices nurses work alongside a physician, gathering vital signs, preparing patients for examination, document history and promote health education. Community health centers (CHCs) and clinic nurses manage the CHC’s with the goal of enabling patients to assume responsibility for their own health. Assisted living nurses assist in providing a wide range of support services, including personalized assistance in achieving maximum independence. Nurses who are working in home care have experience with all levels of care; health promotion, disease and injury prevention, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation a supportive care. Adult day support programs (ADSPs) nurses provide continuity between the care delivered at home and at the center, the nurses are promoting community resources. Community and volunteer agency nurses assist in programs that educate about prevention and detection of diseases rather than treating them. Occupational health nurses work alongside a physiotherapist, occupational therapists, and psychologists offering a wide range of programs offering promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health and prevention of illness. Nurses in hospice and palliative care are caring for patients and familiesduring the terminal phase of illness, bereavement counseling to the families and their support network.

The similarities between all of these types of nurses are the traits that these nurses carry. Nurses have great mental and emotional stability, excellent communication skills, and have empathy. Nursing is a challenging career, nurses get attached to their patients especially those who are admitted for a longer term. A nurse’s decision can be influenced by emotions if an attachment is formed. A downfault in becoming attached is that a patient can take a turn for the worst at any moment, causing a nurse to be depressed and stressed which could affect them personally and professionally. In the world of nursing it is important to have your emotions in check, to make sure that you do not allow your work to be unaffected. Nurses have to have great emotional and mental stability to be successful in their career. Nurses carry great communication skills, but this trait is crucial to be successful in the field. In nursing you will communicate with a diverse group. Patient ages will be ranged, cultural backgrounds and disease will vary. Nurses must understand how each person is unique and how to communicate with them based on their age, background, and disease. Nurses will need to understand how their specific background has influenced their decisions and actions that they have made towards their health. Empathy is the number one trait any nurse should carry. Empathy is the ability to identify and understand another person’s feelings and react to them appropriately. Nurses help their patients express their thoughts, assist with patients to overcome their stress, to help create a golden path for a successful treatment. Each nurse is different and unique in their own way, depending on who they are, and their interests will determine what area of nursing they will work in. But all nurses carry the same traits.

Standards

A standard is an authoritative statement that sets out the legal and professional basis of nursing practice. All standards of practice provide a guide to the knowledge, skills, judgment, and attitudes that are needed to practise safely. They describe what each nurse is accountable and responsible for in practice. It is important to understand how the standards of practice is similar in different roles because nurses have an overall guideline to follow. Each facility and workplace setting are unique, and a nurse’s scope of practice may vary in each setting depending on the workplace policy implemented in each facility/ setting. It is important to investigate your workplace’s policies to gather an understanding on whether your scope of practice is limited.

Experience

The information above will help me better my career as nurse. When it comes to mental and emotional stability I plan on focusing on my success and all the patients that I will have helped get better; instead, of focusing on all the patients I will potentially lose one day. My goal is to focus on my patients and how I can help to comfort and promote their health. The knowledge that I have gained learning about the different types of nursing careers has given me insight to how unique each workplace setting is. I believe I would like to work in a hospital setting, one day participating in discharge planning, helping to ensure a smooth and safe transition for my patients between levels of care. I plan to hopefully one day specialize as clinical nurse specialists, caring for patients with specific needs (ex; palliative) or specific diseases (ex; respiratory) but this will all depend on what areas interest me during clinical rotations.

Learning about the CNO standards I have gained insight that once I start my career as a nurse I need to look into my workplace policies. By looking into the policies at my workplace I can gain better insight of whether my scope of practice is limited.