Nursing practice has changed over decades. In the past, nurses could only care for patients who had minor injuries and could only assist the patients who had difficulties in performing their normal duties. Nursing was a practice that was focused on dealing with minor injuries. There was no need for education in order for one to become a nurse and this made it possible for just anyone to be a nurse. However, nursing as a career has changed over time as currently an individual without a license cannot practice nursing in a healthcare facility. The formation of nursing council in different countries enhanced the standards, rules and regulations under which nurses should work. One can only become a nurse after they attain proper training and have the required qualifications. Moreover, continuous training programs are mandatory for nurses to improve on their skills and to get up dated with the career.
Practice between the ADN and BSN has a variety of differences. Both practices perform the same patient care but only BSN have the permission to perform special procedures together with the physician. Associate nursing degree takes two years to complete the whole course and the practice is mainly about patient care (Råholm, 2010). On the other hand, Baccalaureate course takes four years to complete. It covers a specialized introduction in all nursing fields and the comprehensive care of patients in healthcare settings. In addition to that, it covers a wide range of subjects such as statistics, management, computer skills, public health nursing and legal aspects of nursing among others. This is critical in all aspects of patient care.
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Consider a patient care situation in which there is a patient in an emergency room who is in need of intubation. The role of BSN covers various professional levels such as nursing practitioner which is an advanced role. Such a nurse has the authority to intubate the client and prescribe the lifesaving medicine to such patients. Another situation that can be considered is a client who is in end of life care. The BSN has the authority to consider all aspects such as palliative care but ADN does not have the required training in such aspects. Since training, BSN practice is evidence-based. Nurses who undergo the training apply nursing theories in practice and conduct research in all levels of patient care.
Evidence-based nursing practice is a patient-centered care approach which is based on clinical expertise and patient experience (Gilgun, 2005). Nurses who consider this kind of approach must be updated with the most current healthcare research. The practice aims at promoting the quality of healthcare as it improves patient care outcome. This is due to the use of the most current healthcare research which helps in minimizing the complications that are associated with chronic illnesses and prevents additional diseases. Evidence-based practice has lowered the cost of health care in that it helps in eliminating unnecessary costs that are associated with treating patients (Bauer, 2010). The practice enhances more advanced and critical decision-making skills in nurses. This puts them in a better position to handle critical situations and they feel confident when performing their duties. Evidence-based nursing practice enhances the delivery of high quality patient care as nurses learn theories and apply the knowledge in their career. The academic preparation supports the application of the evidence-based practice by providing continuous learning to nurses. The education sector encourages nursing research in healthcare and provides nurses with opportunities to research and build their skills. This enables them to work in different areas of healthcare. In addition to that, nurses are allowed to acquire higher education and this enables them to have higher job satisfaction.
Nurses are the only advocates that patients have in all situations that they encounter. They look out for the needs of patients. This means that nurses need to collaborate with other teams in the healthcare facilities through communication. The only mode of communication that they have is through records and reports. This can either be done in written form or in a digital manner. Nurses are required to record all information that concerns patients so that other interdisplinary parties can read their work (Reddy, 2002) . For instance, if a nurse communicates on phone with a patient, it important for such conversations to be recorded to avoid contradictions between the physician and the patient during treatment. Nurses must be able to communicate effectively between the interdisplinary teams so as to have collaboration in patient care. Effective communication enhances effective teamwork and promotes unity within the healthcare system ( Suter , 2009). It fosters teamwork, encourages collaboration and helps in prevention of medical errors. Communication enhances quality healthcare in that the collaboration among clinical staff and healthcare teams improves efficiency in healthcare services which increases patient satisfaction.
In conclusion, nurses have different roles and responsibilities in the current society as compared to the past days. This is seen in the training, which is currently more comprehensive and requires schooling. Nurses pursue higher education, which allows them to make informed decisions for patients. This has allowed them to take up more responsibilities than in the past days, and they are viewed as respected medical professionals. Nursing education focuses more on helping practicing nurses to get in a position to handle patients without the help of physicians due to the growing number of patients in healthcare facilities. Nurses are no longer viewed as assistants in hospitals but rather as professional individuals who have the required medical knowledge to care for patients
References
Bauer, J. C. (2010). Nurse practitioners as an underutilized resource for health reform: Evidence‐based demonstrations of cost‐effectiveness. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners , 22 (4), 228-231.
Gilgun, J. F. (2005). The four cornerstones of evidence-based practice in social work. Research on Social Work Practice , 15 (1), 52-61.
Råholm, M. B., Hedegaard, B. L., Löfmark, A., & Slettebø, Å. (2010). Nursing education in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden–from bachelor’s degree to PhD. Journal of advanced nursing , 66 (9), 2126-2137.
Suter, E., Arndt, J., Arthur, N., Parboosingh, J., Taylor, E., & Deutschlander, S. (2009). Role understanding and effective communication as core competencies for collaborative practice. Journal of interprofessional care , 23 (1), 41-51.
Reddy, M., & Dourish, P. (2002, November). A finger on the pulse: temporal rhythms and information seeking in medical work. In Proceedings of the 2002 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work (pp. 344-353). ACM.
