Nursing Standards of Practice - Importance of Critical Thinking and Professional Relationships

This article discusses the importance of critical thinking and professional relationships in nursing practice. It reflects on two of the seven professional standards of practice set by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. The article emphasizes the importance of adhering to the set standards of clinical practice to ensure that nurses provide the best quality care to patients with the best interests of the patients at heart.

Running head: nursing standards of practice 1
Nursing standards of practice
Student’s name
Institutional affiliation

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Introduction
There are various standards of practice that every nurse needs to respect and adhere to in
their practice as nurses. The standards of practice are developed in the sense that Australia is a
multi-cultural society and nurses need to respect this diversity in their practice. In respect to this,
the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) has therefore come up with various
standards of practice, codes of ethics and guidelines. The set professional standards enables
nurses to deliver a person centered care to patient, to make informed choices and derive evidence
based conclusions Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2016). There are seven
professional standards of practice however, this paper provides a reflection on only two of these
standards which include thinks critically and analyze nursing practice and engages in therapeutic
and professional relationships.
Thinks critically and analyze nursing practice
Due to the broad nature of clinical interventions in the nursing field, it is essential for
nurses to think critically in order to provide a person centered care and a holistic approach to
care of the patients. It calls for critical thinking to be able to analyze the clinical interventions of
nursing practice and to make informed choices on the curative, preventive, restorative,
supporting and palliative care approaches to patients who require these interventions. Nursing
practice requires critical thinking in order to provide the best quality care to patients with the best
interests of the patients at heart.
Critical thinking is important to a nurse in various ways, for instance it helps nurses in all
other areas of clinical practice such as in the fulfilment of ethical requirements for nurses. It also
helps in maintaining all other professional standards and the application of effective leadership

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moral values and tools of transformation such as intellectual courage and intellectual humility
and empathy Cashin, Buckley, Donoghue, Heartfield, Bryce, Cox... & Dunn, (2015). It is critical
thinking therefore that informs all actions, all decisions and all other aspects of nurses that nurses
engage in in their day to day practice. According to the NMBA guidelines, critical thinking and
analyzing nursing practice ensures that nurses deeply engage in research in order to provide safe
practice. It also ensures that nurses shape their practice through experiences, reflections, feelings
and beliefs.
As a nurse, I may also cite incidences where the professional standard has led me
through. For instance, it is in my deep desire to always abide by the rules and regulation of any
organization or institution. In regard to nursing practice, the set standard has helped me to always
observe all rules, regulations and policies in making decisions and all my practice endeavors.
One of the greatest challenges I encountered initially was following the informed consent
process as I always found myself share health information about patients without observing the
informed consent process. However, through critical thinking, it is now possible to discern what
to share and what to keep.
Throughout the practice I have also observed from fellow nurses the tendency to make
conclusions that are not based on evidence. I have also learnt to challenge every decision,
opinion and beliefs by conducting appropriate research. One of the best outcomes I have come to
learn is that it is way much easier, better and cheaper to conduct research and give evidence
based conclusions than to generalize and make assumptions. Mistakes are very expensive and a
nurse cannot afford to make one. It is therefore necessary that nurses conduct research to make
conclusions, deep evaluation for strategies and interventions and always observe relevance and
quality in all aspects of clinical practice.

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Finally, thinking critically and analyzing situation helps nurses to handle different
situations in their day to day life. It is this set standard that enables nurses to respect all cultures
and beliefs of various people. Critical analysis and thinking helps nurses to get along well in
their working environments as it guides them through in all decisions, priorities and choices.
Standard 2 engages in therapeutic and professional relationships
In order to be able to treat, cure, prevent an illness or provide any other therapeutic action
on an individual, group of individuals or a community, it is important as it is necessary that
nurses engage in a health therapeutic and professional relationship (Scanlon, Cashin, Bryce,
Kelly, & Buckely, 2016). This ensures that the nurses are able to interact, share information and
conduct diagnosis and assessments without fear, intimidation or bad intentions. Forming healthy,
professional relationships helps to encourage trust between the client and the nurse. This not only
provides a conducive environment but it also makes the clinical practice a possible reality that
provides positive outcomes.
Healthy professional and therapeutic relationships for nurses are grounded on mutual
trust and respect Katsikitis, McAllister, Sharman, Raith, Faithfull-Byrne, & Priaulx, (2013). This
means that both the clients and the nurses respect each other, they observe professional
boundaries, they get rid of personal prejudice and bias, that they observe ethical and moral
boundaries defined by the regulatory bodies and the society and that nurses behave in a manner
that is both just and fair. Having this kind of a relationship ensures a suitable and peaceful
working environment for nurses, it ensures patient satisfaction and it also guarantees healthy
outcomes of the therapy.

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One thing that I have come to learn in my life as a nurse is the importance of healthy
relationships not only with the patients but also with fellow nurses and other workers and health
care providers. Healthy relationships ensures that one is always doing the right thing, at the right
time, at the right place, with the right attitude and with the intention being in the best interests of
the patients, their health and wellbeing. Healthy relationships in the clinical setting improves on
the quality of the services offered and also improves customer satisfaction.
According to Fisher, (2017) building healthy relationships helps to recognize and to
respect the rights of every person. This helps nurses to treat everyone in a fair and justifiable
manner that corresponds to the law and regulations and the set standards of practice. This may be
as simple as the premise that the patient is always right and all other professions revolve around
him.
In my view, healthy relationships that fosters trust make it possible for the nurse to also
offer an advisory role to the patient so as to guide the patient in decision making. It also builds
on the role of the nurse as an attorney and an advocate of the patient to the family and their
significant others. Building and maintaining healthy relationships therefore helps a nurse in
advocating for the patient’s health and ensures a smooth and conducive environment in all the
health procedures. Most importantly, the healthy relationship ensures that patients adopt the right
attitude towards nurses which helps them to get the best out of them and also receive medication
in a positive way which ensures quick recovery of the patient.
Conclusion
It is important that throughout their practice, nurses adhere to the set standards of clinical
practice as the standards help them to treat patients better and to understand their role in the life

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of the patient. This not only helps to improve the patient’s life but also helps nurses to ensure
balance in and resilience in their work and achieve satisfaction Moxham, (2012). The set
standards of clinical practice also ensures nurses achieve a high level of competence in their
work.

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References
Cashin, A., Buckley, T., Donoghue, J., Heartfield, M., Bryce, J., Cox, D., ... & Dunn, S. V.
(2015). Development of the nurse practitioner standards for practice Australia. Policy,
Politics, & Nursing Practice, 16(1-2), 27-37.
Fisher, M. (2017). Professional standards for nursing practice: How do they shape contemporary
rehabilitation nursing practice?. Journal of the Australasian Rehabilitation Nurses
Association, 20(1), 4.
Katsikitis, M., McAllister, M., Sharman, R., Raith, L., Faithfull-Byrne, A., & Priaulx, R. (2013).
Continuing professional development in nursing in Australia: Current awareness, practice
and future directions. Contemporary nurse, 45(1), 33-45.
Moxham, L. (2012). Nurse education, research and evidence-based practice.
https://books.google.co.ke/books?
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Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2016). Registered nurse standards for practice.
https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines-statements/professional-
standards/registered-nurse-standards-for-practice.aspx

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Scanlon, A., Cashin, A., Bryce, J., Kelly, J. G., & Buckely, T. (2016). The complexities of
defining nurse practitioner scope of practice in the Australian context. Collegian, 23(1),
129-142.s