Various gaps exist in the nursing career. These gaps include the difference in nursing knowledge, the experience gap, gaps between theory and practice and the employment gap. A deficiency in nursing knowledge is caused by lack of knowledge, skill and practice. An experience gap is caused by limited experience available as a result of the retirement of nurses with advanced age, and very few are left to fill the positions. The gap between theory and practice is evident as nursing students lack an avenue to practice their skills, increase their knowledge and develop their professional identity. (Mariani & Doolen, 2016).Fascinating experiences for professional practice include clinical practice to will help in the transition of roles from a student to a vocational nurse. Clinical training will provide room for interaction with multiple professions offering experiences of learning, guidance monitoring and adaptation. Significant relationships include professional networking while situations to be in when moving to professional practice include opportunities for professional socialization which offer experiences of nurses’ values, feelings, thoughts and interactions (Mariani & Doolen, 2016).
Miller and colleagues’ presented research on working with electronic medical records (EMR) which offers information on the benefits of the system. Such benefits are increased patient safety and a decrease in the cost of health care. Electronic medical records (EMR)presents challenges in the completion of electronic care plans, collection of information needs for patient education as well as in the conclusion of the discharge plan. EMR has also changed documentation as it requires completion of patients documents in real-time instead of waiting to the end of the shifts (Miller et al. 2014). The system has also presented benefits allowing nurses to complete complex clinical calculations and identification of drug interactions. The EMR has also facilitated and quickened the process of obtaining information on patients as the appropriate electronic records are provided. Various strategies can assist in a smooth transition from paper records to EMR. Such approaches are the provision of knowledge and skills through training, decreasing the patient load for new nurses to allow them time to learn how to use EMR (Miller et al. 2014).
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A patient in the final stage of discharge can develop complications which may increase their stay in the hospital. A common cause of complexity during and after discharge are Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) (Hughes, 2008). As a nurse, addressing the patient family and convincing them of the well-being of the patient after HAIs is often difficult. The nurses are threatened with lawsuits and accused of negligence, malpractice and failure to adhere to standard clinical practice (Hughes, 2008). The best response as a nurse is to assure the patient and the present family members by explaining the condition of the patient and emphasizing on the positive outcomes experienced. As a nurse, the situation provides an opportunity for patient education by engaging the visitors by sharing information on the competency of the healthcare staff of the hospital in infection preventions. I would also use the opportunity to promote hand hygiene and other infection prevention practices such as encouraging the visitors to leave their coats, purses and personal items outside the room as a way of cutting disease transmission.
Alarms are intended to alert caregivers of potential patient problems. But if signals are not properly managed, they can compromise patient safety. Despite their critical role, alarms are often misused, and the noises become a source of irritation to caregivers as they desensitize their functioning. In many incidents, caregivers are forced to ignore or disable alarms due to the presence of different alarm systems within the health care facility. Development of alarm management and patient care strategies is essential to save lives and reduce distractions for caregivers. The organization can respond to alarm management by ensuring that alarms are installed only in areas of high risk. Clear guidelines for alarm setting should be established in each unit to avoid unnecessary distractions. Training and education of individual caregivers should be provided on safe alarm management and response (Nurses.Com, 2013).
References
Hughes, R. (Ed.). (2008). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses (Vol. 3). Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Nurses.Com (2013, April 15) . Joint Commission issues alert on 'alarm fatigue. Retrieved from https://www.nurse.com/blog/2013/04/15/joint-commission-issues-alert-on-alarm-fatigue%C2%92-2/
Mariani, B., & Doolen, J. (2016). Nursing simulation research: What are the perceived gaps?. Clinical simulation in nursing , 12 (1), 30-36.
Miller, L., Stimely, M., Matheny, P., Pope, M., McAtee, R., & Miller, K. (2014). Novice nurse preparedness to effectively use electronic health records in acute care settings: Critical informatics knowledge and skill gaps. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics (OJNI) , 18 (2).
