Modeling and Role Modeling Theory by Erickson, Tomlin & Swain is a theory that assists nurses care for their patients by focusing on each person’s different attributes and focusing on the individual patient’s needs. This theory acknowledges that every patient has their own perception of the world. It greatly assists nurses to accurately care for patients, by being aware of their different needs and respecting them. This theory has made a huge impact on my professional practice as a nurse. It covers areas that are vital to being an exemplary nurse, which are; being respectful and catering to the needs to each patient which all lead to providing the best care possible. A nurse must be nurturing and accepting of patients and I try my best to achieve all this by applying the modeling and role modeling theory.
Two great historical nursing contributors of the 19 th century are Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton. Florence Nightingale helped to define nursing practices on how to care for patients in different environments and how to assist the patient to deal with various symptoms related to their ailment. She introduced principles of infection control, a system for taking down physician’s orders, and a system of maintaining patient records. She led to the establishment of formal nursing education programs (Cherry & Jacob, 2005). Clara burton provided care to injured soldiers and operated a relief program that aided in distribution of medical supplies in the American civil war. She is the founder of the American Red Cross which focuses on assisting people who are unable to access health care services (Cherry & Jacob, 2005).
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The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a major national nursing organization concerned with a broad scope of practice issues: standard of practice, scope of practice, ethics, legal, and employment issues; a federation of state nurses associations; and publications relate to an array of practice issues and standards (Cherry & Jacob, 2005). The state board of nursing is a board that’s appointed in each state and has the responsibility to administer the nurse practice act of that state (Cherry & Jacob, 2005).
The FDA protects public health by regulating food and medication. The CMS oversees major healthcare programs; these are Medicaid, Medicare, and state and federal health insurance marketplaces. My nursing practice in influence by the FDA because they are responsible for regulating the medications I administer to my patients. I ensure that all the medications I administer are approved by the FDA; this means they have been tested and meet all the FDA requirements. The approval gives me the confidence I need to properly treat patients. Nurses are required to be patient advocates, CMS influences my practice by allowing me to be a patient advocate. Not all patients are able to afford health insurance and now Medicare and Medicaid are helping cover people with low incomes to ensure they get good health services. My role as a RN is to advocate for patients, with that, first priority is to have the best interests of the patient. If a patient requests for alternative therapy I must be able to give them numerous options and the different pros and cons objectively. I need to inform them of the safe options and assist them in making an informed decision.
The Tennessee board’s mission is to guard the health, welfare and safety of its state people by making it essential that all who are practicing nursing within this state are qualified and licensed to practice. The board is responsible for licensure, education and practice. This board impacted my professional practice right from the onset. I had to go to an institution approved by the board and it later issued my license and certificate once I completed all the requirements. In the state of Tennessee, nurses are recognized in state policy as primary care providers. This makes them professionals who are able to give a variety of health services. They can practice in general, family and internal medicine, although a physician’s supervision is a required (Scope of Practice Policy, n.d). Delegation for nurses is incumbent on a nurse assessing the patient’s health needs, followed by evaluating the unlicensed person who is supposed to perform the task, then teaching the task to the person, making sure the person gets enough supervision and continuously evaluating the task performed by the unlicensed person.
As a nurse it is my job to do research on my patients to find out what medications best suit them. I also have to take a scientific approach in cases that are difficult to understand as this will better help me ascertain ways to help my patient. As a detective, some patients may come in with illnesses or injuries that could point to self-harm I need to have a keen eye for these. Detective work will help me dig deeper into the real cause of the issue and assist with a solution. It is my job as a nurse to make the environment conducive for healing. I have to be aware of my patients needs and ensure they are provided. All the tools and skills necessary for a healing environment should be available and in good form.
Provision 1 in the ANA nurses code of ethics states that; compassion, uniqueness of every person, worth and respect for inherent dignity are all attributes needed for a nurse to practice. In my professional practice compassion is vital when caring for a patient, I have seen firsthand the positive effects it has. I treat my patients according to their unique situations and respect them all. Provision 3 states that advocacy for protection of rights, health and safety of the patient are what a nurse must promote. This impacts my professional practice in that my job is to ensure patient confidentiality is upheld. Also, I have to report unethical practices that I come across and lastly it is my job to ensure my patient gets all the information they need about anything they want to know. An error that may occur in clinical practice could be as a result of someone lacking enough knowledge. According to provision 3, when an error occurs it is important to investigate and understand what caused it. Once it is realized that is a knowledge gap problem then the necessary training and education must be provided to ensure this does not happen again.
Advocacy, compassion, commitment, and accountability are the four leadership qualities that represent excellence in nursing. When a nurse is the leader at the bedside they advocate for the patient by ensuring all relevant information is shared and by expressing the needs of the patient. Compassion is important because it shows care towards the patient and commitment shows loyalty and a desire to see the patient well taken care of. The nurse is responsible for the patient’s safety and this is shown by making sure they adhere to the predetermined guidelines. Within a nursing team a nurse must advocate for fellow staff members who have certain issues. Additionally, compassion is shown to colleagues in cases where one has a problem, the nurse should step up and assist. Commitment to a team is important to achieve goals. Accountability becomes visible in a team when a nurse readily owns up to a mistake.
References
Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2005). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, & management (8 th ed) 58-59-61-65-167-188 . Elsevier.
Scope of Practice Policy (n.d). Tennessee Scope of Practice Policy . scopeofpracticepolicy.org/states/tn/.
