Nursing Education: Everything You Need to Know

Discussion Prompt 1 

The principles of nursing and its practice are professionally based on a string of guidelines that are relayed through American Nurses Association (ANA), which is in charge of ‘qualifying’ one to practice as a nurse. In doing this, a person of qualified expertise in the nursing profession is deemed knowledgeable enough to advance and apply the basic tenets of nursing in the process of making policy. The knowledge of discerning which aspects of health best relate to a community or a group of people is greatly affected by the level of education such a nurse has attained. It is, therefore, crucial that registered nurses be part of the regulatory process, as they are best equipped with both the knowledge and the experience to know which policy guidelines are best suited to the multidisciplinary of healthcare within their community of operation. 

Reference 

McArther, J. (2017). Lack of regulations hinders nursing roles. Cancer Nursing Practice , 16 (5), 6–6. doi: 10.7748/cnp.16.5.6.s3 

Discussion Prompt 2 

The major takeaways have revolved the understanding of how healthcare relates to law, how nursing, as a multidiscipline of healthcare, contributes in the overall care process, and the importance of nurses’ involvement in the regulatory process. These takeaways have provided an improved understanding of nursing, beyond the stereotyped role of patient care and that of being an assistant, to being a more involved role of influencing care through involvement in policy creation. The significant surprises in this course have been in the area of medical ethics and policymaking. This is because these two areas address contentious issues that are generally not addressed in nursing. I particularly found them intriguing due to their controversial nature that demands an in-depth understanding of, not only nursing knowledge but also law and philosophy. The application of what I have learnt in this course will significantly hinge on the area and level of application I will find myself in. Every area of study the course has addressed bears a longitudinal variance that allows for a latitudinal growth of the nursing profession theoretically, professionally, and socially. Therefore, as a nurse, I will be involved in every part of nursing practice, as the course has addressed, in an attempt to improve the stature of nursing as a profession.   

Reference 

Choo, J., Hutchinson, A., & Bucknall, T. (2010). Nurses role in medication safety. Journal of Nursing Management , 18 (7), 853–861. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01164.x