Engagement in Professional Nursing

This article discusses the importance of engaging consumers in the delivery process of healthcare services, strategies for consumer participation, the role of nurses in increased consumer participation, quality and safety for reducing the risk of harm, leadership and management for nursing role, organizational culture for learning and professional development, and self-care strategies for nurses in professional nursing.

Running head: NURSING
Engagement in Professional Nursing
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author note:

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Table of Contents
Clinical governance in improving service delivery.........................................................................2
Strategies for consumer participation..........................................................................................2
Role of nurse in increased consumer participation......................................................................2
Quality and safety for reducing risk of harm...................................................................................3
National Safety and Quality Health Service Standard.................................................................3
Strategies to improve patient outcomes for the standard.............................................................4
Leadership and management for nursing role.................................................................................5
Leadership skills for registered nurse..........................................................................................5
Personal development of leadership skill....................................................................................5
Organizational culture for learning and professional development.................................................6
Characteristics of learning culture...............................................................................................6
Contribution of nurse to a learning culture..................................................................................7
Professional practice as a registered nurse......................................................................................8
Role conflict.................................................................................................................................8
Self-care strategies for nurses......................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Clinical governance in improving service delivery
Strategies for consumer participation
The importance of engaging consumers in the delivery process of healthcare services has
repeatedly been pointed out across the literature. Healthcare consumers are directly linked with
the way in which services are provided in care settings and the quality of the same, making them
stakeholders in this process (Cherry & Jacob, 2016). According to the researchers, the process of
involving consumers in the process of care delivery is highly complex, and need strategic
interventions to enable consumers to participate in the service delivery process. Liu et al., (2015)
highlighted two effective strategies through which one can ensure consumer participation in
healthcare service. The first strategy is a crucial one and entails individualized care delivery
system. The rationale behind engaging patients on an individual basis lies in the principle that
comprehensive care is the aim of all services. It is, however, to be remembered that the social
background and cultural preferences of the client are to be taken into consideration while
interacting with him so that the process is safe for him. The second strategy would be to involve
the consumers in resource planning and allocation within the respective care setting. This relates
to receiving feedback from them in context of their satisfaction level respective of resource
allocation. The most fundamental element would be human resource allocation as this acts as the
supporting framework for any care service.
Role of nurse in increased consumer participation
At present, my contribution to the healthcare system is as a registered nurse, and I
strongly believe that patient engagement in clinical decision making is of prime importance.
While working at the geriatric ward of a reputed healthcare setting I had to once deliver care to a

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75-year-old patient of African origin who was suffering from diabetes mellitus and had been
admitted to the unit for undergoing hip fracture surgery. My subject knowledge helped me in
acknowledging that individuals from the Hispanic origin have a strong belief in their culture, and
respect their traditions and customs. Such group of the population has a preference for traditional
healing systems and minimally supports pharmacological treatment options. I, therefore, thought
it desirable to engage the patient in his care plan and assess his preferences in relation to lifestyle
modification strategies for health development. I successively outlined the care plan on the basis
of the input provided and laid out the discharge plan accordingly. I was content to witness the
patient have a speedy recovery. As stated by Mohammed et al., (2016) patient engagement in
care planning leads to better patient outcomes.
Quality and safety for reducing risk of harm
National Safety and Quality Health Service Standard
The National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards has been a
prominent guide to optimal quality healthcare services which was outlined by the Australian
Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC). These ten standards have the aim
of ensuring that healthcare consumers are provided with safe and secured services and that they
are protected from potential harm while receiving care. The NSQHS standard 3 is based on
“Preventing and Controlling Healthcare Associated Infections”. The mentioned standard focuses
on the systems and approaches must be followed by healthcare professionals for reducing the
risks of infections suffered by the patient (safety and quality.go.au, 2012). Non-adherence to the
set of the guideline and best practices would be drastic for the patients since healthcare
associated infections have been long linked with increased rates of modality as well as mortality.

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Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are the distinct infections suffered by patients while
receiving care in a healthcare organization (Núñez-Núñez et al., 2017). HAIs are of the major
healthcare concerns across the globe at the contemporary era. Chen et al., (2017) supported this
by stating that HAIs contribute to increased healthcare costs and burden on care giver apart from
poorer outcomes for patients. Resource allocation is challenging under such scenario as an
increased number of hospital bed days are found to be consumed. The ultimate consequence is
the poor quality of patient’s lives.
Strategies to improve patient outcomes for the standard
As a registered nurse I have always understood my accountability in adhering to best
practices for preventing HAIs. The key strategy, as per my nursing knowledge, to ensure
infection prevention is adherence to adequate hand hygiene techniques. As pinpointed by Jones
et al., (2017) transmission of infectious pathogenic organisms is promoted by hands, acting as a
suitable vehicle. It is, therefore, logical to exhibit good hand hygiene practices while working in
a healthcare unit. Throughout my practice, I have ensured that I adequately wash my hands on a
regular basis with suitable disinfectant prior to and after handling a patient. Evidence points out
that alcohol-based hand rubs are mostly effective in a care setting (Sunkesula et al., 2017), and I
have taken initiative to ensure the provision for the same is present. To add more relevance to
practices for prevention of HAIs, I ensure to wear personal protective equipment while working
in the care setting. According to Kang et al., (2017) personal protective equipment such as
gloves, apron and masks are effective in eliminating the transfer of microorganisms between
individuals in care settings. Transfer of body fluids is minimized when prudent measures are
taken, and sterile environment is maintained.

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Leadership and management for nursing role
Leadership skills for registered nurse
Healthcare leadership has drawn the considerable attention of healthcare advocates in the
recent few years against the evolving demands of healthcare sector (). Leadership in nursing
context has been defined as the management style in which critical thinking and advocacy
ensures optimal quality care delivery. Leadership roles played by nurses have a direct impact on
the healthcare system as a whole. Two distinct leadership roles registered nurses are to
demonstrate in due course of their practice are to be discussed in here. As suggested by Weiss
and Tappen (2014) nurses are to play a proactive role in motivating the team within which the
professional is working. This relates to mentoring of the team using appropriate strategies. A
nurse leader must understand that different people can be motivated ideally in a different
manner, and consequently find strategies to empower and motivate them. Leaders, playing the
role of mentors, must be giving other the opportunity to engage in the process of critical decision
making. Gopee and Galloway (2017) commented that nurses are required to demonstrate
leadership ability by collaborating with colleagues under diverse situations. It is significant for
nurses to establish effective and healthy relationships to bridge the gap in communication.
Professionals face challenges in communicating with other healthcare providers in a timely and
efficient manner. Leadership can solve this concern and enable a nurse to work in collaboration
with other professionals such as therapists, physicians and fellow nurses.
Personal development of leadership skill
Reflecting on the results of Leadership Skills Inventory the leadership skill I would like
to develop is conceptual skills. Conceptual skills allow a leader to visualize the entire
organization and the responsibilities to be fulfilled with relationships between abstract concepts

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and ideas that are innovative. Recognizing the relationships and understanding the noteworthy
components in any situation, a leader can act in a way, which advances the over-all welfare of
the total organization. With developed conceptual skills, one is able to solve problems and
formulate processes in a suitable manner. For this, one needs to understand the relationship
between concepts, symbols, patters and ideas. In this regard, it is to be stated that conceptual
skills need conceptual thinking, including critical thinking, innovative thinking, implementation
thinking and intuitive thinking (Northhouse, 2018).
For developing my conceptual skills, I would need to look at the scenario as a whole
instead of considering parts of it. This would involve critical thinking about a particular subject
and analysis of the potential outcome. Some of the methods by which I would develop my
conceptual skills are observation, identification of problems as case studies, attending seminars,
reading about different case studies, discussing ideas with colleagues and volunteering for cross-
functional assignments. These are crucial ways of developing ideas and getting feedback on them
from other professionals (Weiss & Tappen, 2014).
Organizational culture for learning and professional development
Characteristics of learning culture
A healthcare system is made up of individuals and systems that interact with each other
to restore and maintain health. Health care organizations are a crucial element of a healthcare
system, and nurses working in diverse practice settings hold the responsibility of engaging in a
learning culture that differentiates the settings from others. A learning organizational culture has
been described differently by different scholars. Some argue it to be the cumulative result of
learning in teams and the collective knowledge gathering occurring in the setting. Such learning

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culture has also been linked with an increase in organizational efficiency and effectiveness
through mutual understanding and shared knowledge. The overall impact is therefore on the
performance of the organization on a regular basis (Gagnon et al., 2015). Tsai (2014) in this
regard gave the viewpoint that learning culture is to be considered as a system-level phenomenon
forming a characteristic of the organization irrespective of the changes faced by professionals
who are a part of it. Organizational learning is altered context-specific learning by team members
to translating knowledge into practice and successfully evaluating those for creating shared
knowledge amongst themselves. Individual and team learning has been reported to complement
organizational learning (Ammouri et al., 2015).
Contribution of nurse to a learning culture
A registered nurse can play a primate role in enabling a leaning culture in the
organization he is working in so that the same can address the evolving needs of healthcare. By
promoting a learning culture, a nurse can understand the dynamic systems of healthcare and
improve patient care (Masters, 2015). In this context, I would bring into focus two strategies
through which I have the potential to lead to a learning culture in my workplace. The first and
most important method would be to engage in reflective practice. As stated by Howatson-Jones
(2016) reflective practice enables a nurse to critically reflect on own practice and analyze own
experiences in the context of present situations. Logical implications are to be drawn through
reflections that give the opportunity to act in a different manner in future. Reflective practice is
the artistic process that would enable me to engage in thinking about a certain activity that allows
the professional to challenge assumptions about present practices. The second strategy to
contribute to a learning culture is to promote continuous research directed towards knowledge
enhancement. As opined by Maters (2015) nursing research helps in learning advancements in

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the nursing domain, and I would, therefore, be better placed to deliver better quality care.
Translation of nursing research into practice, in the form of evidence-based practice, would be
crucial in this regard.
Professional practice as a registered nurse
Role conflict
Role conflict in nursing domain refers to the conflicting situation when demands exceed
the practice activities involving a professional fulfilling more than one role. Role conflict has
been pointed out to be the situation where a nurse has to play two dissimilar roles that are not
companionable with each other. Multiple roles usually include care provider, resource manager
and educator, and role changing between these lead to role conflict. Such role conflicts are
common in settings where there is much demand for care services against huge consumer
population (Kearney-Nunnery, 2015). Schmidt et al., (2014) argued that role conflict in nursing
has multiple organizational and personal effects, the latter being of much importance. Under
situations when a nurse experiences role conflict, it is inevitable that the professional would
suffer frustration, tension, dissatisfaction and showcase tendency to withdraw from the
collaborative team. The levels of occupational stress and emotional exhaustion experienced by
nurses are noteworthy. This leads to poor productivity performance as compared than the
expected limits without role conflict (Almost et al., 2016). Role conflict is primarily of
qualitative nature. Different nurses tend to react differently to role conflict. This implies that role
conflicts have a dissimilar impact on each individual.

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Self-care strategies for nurses
Nurses are prone to suffer stress and burnout due to role conflicts, and they must address
to issue to ensure safe and satisfactory practice. Self-care strategies are beneficial in reducing
emotional and physical burnout imposed by role conflict. Such strategies ensure that a peaceful
and relaxing environment is created that helps in restoration of lost energy and zeal (Masters,
2015). Two self-care strategies for nurses are participation in relaxation exercises and taking
breaks between shifts. These techniques have been proved to be powerful to reduce stress and
augment nurse’s overall being wellbeing. Further, these methods act as a guiding vehicle for
physical healing. Self-hypnosis, guided imagery, and progressive relaxation in combination with
deep breathing have been commonly practised by nurses as beneficial relaxation techniques. The
aim of taking breaks between shifts all these techniques is to enhance the relaxation response of
the body that enables a feeling of well-being. A nurse can engage in multiple recreational
activities during such breaks that can divert the mind from occupational stress on a temporary
basis which is praiseworthy. It is to be highlighted that nurses are to be encouraged by the
respective care organizations to adhere to such practices for supporting optimal care delivery
(Cherry & Jacob, 2016).

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