Nursing Standards: Applying Critical Thinking and Quality Service

Running head: STANDARDS
Nursing standards
Name
ID
Course
Unit
Lecturer
Date

STANDARDS 2
Introduction
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) describe nursing standard of practice as
the rules and guidelines that trained nurses refer to while performing their duties according to
Aggar, Bloomfield, Thomas & Gordon, (2017). When nurses follow these guidelines they grow
as competent health practitioners who can handle several types of patients and treatments. In this
assignment, I will apply two standards of practice to elaborate my experience in the field. During
my attachment period I got an opportunity to deliver services medical and the surgical ward.
These two standards will provide a clear case on how I applied the nursing standards during the
practice.
Standard 1: Think critically and analyze nursing practice
Reporting
My experience started when I got an opportunity to serve at the mental ward. However, one day
one of the patient got agitated to an extend he could not control himself. The patient was new to
the placement area. He started yelling at lunch time. The nurses and the patients in the ward
could not operate in peace. One of the things that caused such yelling from this patient was that
he had refused to take the medication prescribed for him and this resulted to escalation of the
pain that he was experiencing. The worst thing is that nobody could calm down the mentally
challenged patient. Fortunately, one of the patient’s friends called Mark came to visit him the
following day and he was able to explain that the drugs were making him feel unwell.
Responding
As a nurse who was caring for the other patients in the ward I felt irritated because some of
these patients could not stand the noise from this man. The first time I felt in dilemma whether to

STANDARDS 3
send this patient away because he was a nuisance to the other patients in the ward. However I
came to think that I could use this opportunity to prove the skills of a trained nurse.
Relating
The standard of critical thinking assisted me in this situation according to Endacott et al, (2018).
In applying, the above standard I first thought of the best way to deal with this man to cool him. I
directed the friend who came to visit him to come the hospital frequently so that I can use hi to
understand the patient. Many nurses could not understand the situation but I had to relate it with
critical thinking to get what exactly the client needed. Even though using a friend to understand
the situation was time consuming, it was the best way to reach to the client
Reasoning
The standard, think critically and analyze nursing practice, require an Australian registered nurse
to think strategically depending on the scenario he or she is facing and make a sound decision
using the evidences available. When a nurse thinks critically before making a decision it means
that the patient he or she is handling is safe and will get quality service. When nurses are faced
with any scenario, Cashin et al, (2017) stated that, this standard need them to apply the following
guidelines:
i. Access, analyze and apply accurate data or evidence, these evidences may compose
of the findings from a specific research which aims at delivering quality services.
ii. Develop a consistent pattern of reflecting on the decisions, knowledge, feelings and
the experiences he or she may acquire in the course of practice. Edmonds, Cashin, &
Heartfield, (2016) said that such strategies ensures that one can make best decisions
when faced with a similar challenge.