Nursing Theories and Professional Practice: Key Concepts and Leadership

Nursing Theories

The nursing theory that has influenced my values is the Need theory (Alligood 2017). Nurses apply the need theory to help their patients in their times of need. This is achieved by creating a close relationship with the patient that will help them feel cared for and speed up the rate of healing. The nurses find a way to get details of what the patients need and help them to acquire their needs. This theory fits my practice in that it makes me understand my role as a nurse and the part that I should play in the healing process of the patient. It makes me give the patients the confidence they need so that the rate of healing is increased.

The two nursing figures that I would like to talk about are Virginia Henderson and Martha Rodgers. Virginia has earned a name as the Nightingale of Modern Nursing. Henderson is renowned as a nursing educator and she is also an author. She observed that when the patients are given a lot of confidence in themselves, the rate of healing is sped up. Virginia came up with the need theory which has defined modern nursing in a special way. Martha Rogers came up with the theory of Unitary Human Beings. She relates the environment of the patient with the healing process. Rogers says that the Nursing aims to promote the symphonic interaction between the person and the environment so that the integrity and the coherence of the human being are strengthened so that the interaction of the patient and the environment is redirected in such a way that can achieve a maximum health.

Virginia Henderson says that the nurse is the key to the patient’s quick recovery. In that, the nurse has to get under the skin of the patient to discover their needs and help them with the healing process. Martha Rodgers, on the other hand, attributes the patients healing process to the environment and the kind of relationship the patient develops with the environment. The two theories influence my practice in that I have to make sure that I develop a bond with the patient to make them feel cared for. I also need to ensure that the environment the patient is at is a place they can feel attached to so that they can recover more quickly.

Functional Differences Between the State Board of Nursing and the American Nurses Association (ANA)

State Board of Nursing is a government agency that regulates nursing practice in every state in the United State (U.S) (Tailor et.al 2001). The board ensures that nursing standards are upheld and the nurses carry out their duties competently. The board is also responsible for issuing licenses to nurses and disciplines the ones who are out of control. The Nursing Board approves the educational program that the nurses are offered. The American Nursing Association (ANA) stands for the interest of nurses in the U.S. ANA has a responsibility to promote the welfare of all the nurses in the workplace and to lobby the Congress as well as other regulatory agency on matters to do with health care issues that affect the public and the nurses. The State Board of Nursing has been keen to ensure that the Education that I have received as a nurse is of high quality and up to date with the standards in the field. ANA has continued to protect my rights as a nurse and ensure that the government addresses the issues that we raise concerning the outbreak of diseases among many issues.

Requirement for Professional Nurse License Renewal

In my state, for one to renew their license, they must attest to have practiced nursing for over 1,500 hours within the past five years in the specialty. Within a period of two years, they must have practiced for over 600 hours in the specialty. They must have graduated from the specialty program within the past 2 years. The consequences of failure to maintain license requirement include: the nurse is not allowed to provide any care to the patients. The nurse may face several disciplinary actions which include the revocation of their license.

In a compact state, the registered nurse that is moving in from another state is required to apply for a new license. In a non-compact state, allows nurses to practice in member states of the Nurse License compact without having to apply for a new license.

Functional Differences between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

CMS is part of the United States Health and Human Services and is responsible for overseeing federal healthcare program such as Medicare and forming partnership with the state governments to administer Medicaid. FDA is a federal agency of the U.S Department of Healthcare Services that protect the public health through the control of the production and sale of pharmaceutical drugs, food, medical devices, cosmetics and tobacco. CMS makes the coordination between the state and federal government running this allows me to practice my work with a lot of ease. FDA helps me to receive standard drugs and devices that will not affect the health of my patients.

As a nurse advocate, I have the responsibility to make sure the patient makes informed choices concerning their health. This includes explaining the medical terms in a language they can understand easily and in this case helping the patient stick to the current medical plan if it is better than the alternative therapy.

Discuss the Purposes of the Nurse Practice Act (NPA) in Your State and Its Impact on Your Professional Practice

NPA is the documentation that governs the nursing practice in my state (Tailor et.al 2001). It explains how I become the nurse I am. It also limits what I can do and what I can’t do. The purpose of the document is to ensure that we have one document in the whole state that defines the nursing rules, penalties, requirements and practice.

The scope of an RN requires that before a nurse performs a skill on a patient, they should have been trained in nursing school or post nursing school. The practice must also be one that other nurses are familiar with and commonly done. If the employer is not ready to allow the nurse to do the skill, then it is not in their scope. The definition of the delegation for the RN in my state is that a competent individual is given the authority to perform in a selected nursing task as well as the admission of medication.

With the help of a scientist in my field, I am able to evaluate the activities that I do. This is done through follow up questions which normally start with ‘why’. For instance, I ask myself why do I what I do and do they make a difference at the end of the day? A detective: such systematic investigations help me to discover new explanation to the questions that I ask myself or discover a new knowledge. Manager of the healing place: I understand the patient’s environment in the healing process. I therefore, create an environment that will help reduce the patients as well as the healthcare providers’ anxiety.

Provisions from the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics

The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health and safety of the patient. This provision helps me to ensure that the patients are taken care of in place where their security is guaranteed and their rights not violated. The other provision is that the nurse practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person. This provision has enabled me to attend to my patients with respect and equity. Rules can be put in place to punish the persons responsible for such acts and ensure that there is no repeat of the same in the feature.

Error that May Occur

A medication error is probably the most likely error to occur. The provision that allows me to promotes, advocates and protect the health and safety of the patient, demands that I report any medical error that may have occurred so that immediate and appropriate action can be take. The other provision requires that I treat the patients with compassion and respect. Due to the respect that I have for the worth of the patients, I will take a quick actions aimed at protecting the patient from any harm and correcting the error.

Identify Four Leadership Qualities or Traits that Represent Excellence in Nursing

The qualities are Emotional intelligence, Strong communication, integrity and dedication to excellence. As a leader at the bedside: emotional intelligence will help the nurse to advise the patients appropriately in order to manage the situation they are going through. Strong communication skill between the nurse and the patient will allow the patient to open up share what they are going through. Integrity will allow the patient to fully trust the nurse to care of them. Dedication to excellence will give hope to the patient they are going to get better because of the effort put in place by the nurse towards their healing process. Within a nursing team: Strong communication skills help a nurse to communicate his/her strategy to the members of the team in a clear and easily understandable manner. Integrity will allow the management to have full trust in a nurse to deliver with minimal supervision. Emotional intelligence will allow the nurse to guide other team members on how to handle their feelings especially after the loss of patient. Dedication to excellence will allow the nurse to be assigned important roles to lead the team on since he/she can deliver.

My work environment allows me to be able a leader in that I have to coordinate various activities with other medical providers. I have to give directions to the patients and their families. As a nurse, I have to make quick decisions concerning the patients’ healthcare or the situation can turn fatal. My role as a nurse has helped to grow every day as learn new things. I also aim higher so that I can climb the lady to be able to influence the decisions concerning the patient’s health. Work environment will promote professional development in that the Head Nurse is required to develop the junior nurses so that the organization can provide services that will the organization achieve set objectives. The organization also trusts the senior employees to mentor the juniors so that all the efforts are directed towards satisfying the customers through sustainable systems.