There is an organization that creates professional standards and is supervisory for registered nurses that is called the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) (College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta, 2011, p. 2). CARNA recognizes and regulates the skills that registered nurses are required to have (CARNA, 2011, p. 2). CARNA defines scope of practice in the following way:
Scope of practice refers to the knowledge of registered nurses and the comprehensive application of that knowledge to assist clients in meeting their health needs in whatever setting, complexity and situation they occur throughout the life span. Scope of practice includes all the interventions that registered nurses are authorized, …show more content…
5-10). During my observation experience, I was shadowing a nurse (for the purposes of this paper, her pseudonym will be Lola) who works in unit 103, which is the cardiac intensive care unit, at the Foothills Hospital. In this paper, I will be briefly describing the domains I came into contact with during my observation and describing the three insights I had regarding nursing. The three insights I had were regarding my nurse’s compliance to hygiene practices, the level of stress within the ICU, and the role of a nurse as an advocate for the family and the …show more content…
5). I believe that Lola’s hygiene and sanitization measures demonstrate that key role. While it has been shown that there is a gap between theory and practice when it comes to hand washing, Lola’s practices did not support that gap (Mortell, 2012, p. 1011). The gap is due to the fact that hand washing, although recognized as advantageous, can be an inconvenience (Mortell, 2012, p. 1011). I recognize that hand washing can be tedious at times and that for that reason, I was surprised to see that Lola faithfully and thoroughly keep her environment and her hands clean. Hand washing lessens the possibilities of spreading an infection, which means it decreases the chances of healthcare acquired infections (Mortell, 2012, p. 1011). As a result, patient illness and mortality rates should decrease in a similar manner that healthcare acquired infection rates decline (Mortell, 2012, p. 1011). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “reminds healthcare professionals that cleaning our hands is the most important thing to promote good health and prevent transmission of pathogens” (as cited in Martell, 2012, p. 1012). By maintaining proper hand hygiene, Lola was promoting good health, which directly relates to the health-promoting role that clinical practice nurses should have.
This observation experience was unquestionably a massive learning
Scope of practice refers to the knowledge of registered nurses and the comprehensive application of that knowledge to assist clients in meeting their health needs in whatever setting, complexity and situation they occur throughout the life span. Scope of practice includes all the interventions that registered nurses are authorized, …show more content…
5-10). During my observation experience, I was shadowing a nurse (for the purposes of this paper, her pseudonym will be Lola) who works in unit 103, which is the cardiac intensive care unit, at the Foothills Hospital. In this paper, I will be briefly describing the domains I came into contact with during my observation and describing the three insights I had regarding nursing. The three insights I had were regarding my nurse’s compliance to hygiene practices, the level of stress within the ICU, and the role of a nurse as an advocate for the family and the …show more content…
5). I believe that Lola’s hygiene and sanitization measures demonstrate that key role. While it has been shown that there is a gap between theory and practice when it comes to hand washing, Lola’s practices did not support that gap (Mortell, 2012, p. 1011). The gap is due to the fact that hand washing, although recognized as advantageous, can be an inconvenience (Mortell, 2012, p. 1011). I recognize that hand washing can be tedious at times and that for that reason, I was surprised to see that Lola faithfully and thoroughly keep her environment and her hands clean. Hand washing lessens the possibilities of spreading an infection, which means it decreases the chances of healthcare acquired infections (Mortell, 2012, p. 1011). As a result, patient illness and mortality rates should decrease in a similar manner that healthcare acquired infection rates decline (Mortell, 2012, p. 1011). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “reminds healthcare professionals that cleaning our hands is the most important thing to promote good health and prevent transmission of pathogens” (as cited in Martell, 2012, p. 1012). By maintaining proper hand hygiene, Lola was promoting good health, which directly relates to the health-promoting role that clinical practice nurses should have.
This observation experience was unquestionably a massive learning