Addressing Contemporary Practice Issues in Professional Nursing

This essay provides a reflective analysis of contemporary issues in professional nursing practice, addressing five key areas: clinical governance, quality and safety, leadership and management, organizational culture, and professional practice. The clinical governance section focuses on enhancing consumer participation through patient-centered care, emotional support, and informed decision-making. The quality and safety section highlights the risks associated with blood transfusions and proposes strategies for improvement, such as proper patient identification and blood product labeling. The leadership and management section emphasizes the importance of self-management and interpersonal communication skills for registered nurses. The organizational culture section defines the characteristics of a learning culture and suggests ways for nurses to contribute, such as sharing information and promoting workshops. Finally, the professional practice section discusses role conflict and self-care strategies for nurses, including maintaining social support and getting adequate sleep. This essay offers insights into the challenges and opportunities in modern nursing, promoting quality patient care and professional well-being. Desklib provides similar solved assignments and study resources for students.

Running Head: ENGAGEMENT IN PROFESSIONAL NUSRING 1
Engagement in Professional Nursing
Name
Institution
Date

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Clinical Governance
In the Australian healthcare system, there are various ways in which consumer
participation helps in shaping healthcare service delivery. The ways include; decision making,
planning, support, and feedback. In this paper, I shall focus much on only two ways, that is,
decision making and support. Consumer participation becomes a success when consumers,
caregivers, and the community members are closely and meaningfully involved in the process of
decision making concerning the health care policies and budgeting, care and the treatment
process, and more about the wellbeing of themselves and the community at large. Another
strategy for consumer engagement in the shaping of health care services delivery is support
offered to the patients, families, and carers. Such a strategy aims at developing knowledge,
relevant skills, and actions which enables people to take care of themselves and their neighbors.
(O Connor, 2011).
As a registered nurse I will increase consumer participation in planning, implementation,
and evaluation of the care that I deliver through the patient-centered care. The patient-centered
care refers to the healthcare which is respectful of, and quite responsive to the patient’s
preferences, needs, and values of patients and the consumers. The broadly accepted scope of the
patient-centered care includes respect, emotional support, physical comfort, relevant information,
and in-time communication. Also, the continuity and the transition, care coordination, family and
carer engagement, and easy access to care. Research that has been conducted has proven that the
patient-centered care has greatly improved patient care experience and developed public value
for health services (Hasson, 2010). I shall offer emotional support to my clients, patients and
families/carers feel happy and satisfied when their current circumstance is taken seriously and
overall emotional feeling shown by a health care provider. Through emotional support,

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consumer participation will be enhanced in arriving at an informed decision since the patient,
family or carer will open up and share his/her views and ideas. I shall offer physical support to
my clients as much as I can, in cases of an emergency I shall freely join the rescue team and
family members in rushing the patient to the emergency and causality room and offer possible
support services like first aid while waiting for the doctor to arrive. In the process of trying to
stabilize the patient, family members or other consumers will feel more comfortable and secure
to share relevant information on how maybe the accident occurred and give patient history
(Cavanaugh, 2014). By sharing all these I may get vital information on how to handle the patient.
fourthly, I will keep consumers’ information confidential and private as much as I can as per the
professional ethics and code of conduct.
Also, will use the better mode of communication which will enable my clients to share
more easily in a language they understand well and I shall offer relevant education to the patient,
family or carer in taking of the patient. I shall involve patient, family, and friends present in
decision making by giving the views and ideas priority. Informed decision-making results to the
provision of better and safe health care services to the patient (Segal, Dunt, & Day, 2014).
consumers participation will increase in the process since the decision-making process involves
each and every one present. Lastly, I shall observe and remain sensitive to the matters which are
sensitive to nonmedical, beliefs and spiritual dimensions of health care.
Quality and Safety
One of the 10 standards from the National Safety and Quality health Service Standards
(2017) is the standard for blood and blood products. The standard gives a description on the
systems and the strategies for an equally safe, effective and in appropriate management of the
blood and its products in ensuring that the patients receive safe blood free of contamination. The

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major risk involved with the blood and blood products standard is the procedural errors in the
blood transfusion process (Muniz et al., 2012). The errors occur at different parameters, which
include; blood transfer to a different patient due to incorrect patient labelling. Another error is
that arising due to the incorrect labelling of the blood sample. Finally, another procedural error
arises during the administration of blood or its products to the wrong sick person.
The potential outcome from such procedural errors will lead to the blood infections
amongst patients. For instance, a number of infections such as the serum hepatitis and HIV virus
spread. HIV/AIDS has become rampant due to errors arising during transfusion. The disease
remains a killer if the best practices are never followed by the healthcare professionals. Other
infections out of procedural errors include bacterial infections, transmissions of malaria, the
Epstein barr infectious virus, the Cytomegalic infectious virus, the syphilis condition, the
Babesia of the microti infection and the Trypanosoma infectious of the cruzi (Medicine et al.,
2013). There have been high incidences reported for such erroneous procedures during massive
blood transfusions. This affects negatively the patient outcomes. In that patient response to drugs
will be very low and resulting to continued illness and increase of their critical condition. Such
blood reactions may also cause severe complications such as the severe electrolyte imbalance,
the coagulopathic condition, the citrate toxicity and the hypothermic condition.
As a registered nurse I will have two strategies to be laid down in the process of
improving the patient outcomes under the blood and blood products standard. Firstly, I will
ensure that all patients requiring blood transfusion are properly identified and labelled clearly,
their conditions clearly outlined and their blood groups well displayed. Also, cross matching
must be conducted before any transfusion is done (Sandman, 2009). Secondly, as a nurse, I shall
ensure that the blood and blood products are well labelled and their expiry dates displayed

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clearly. Before transfusion get done, biodata for every patient must be counter checked all the
time.
Leadership and Management
The leadership skills inventory is mainly designed for the healthcare leaders to enable
them to be at a position to assess themselves on their abilities in a correlation to the Anderson’s
model. The model lays its foundation on five scopes. The dimensions include the individual
management skills, the interpersonal Communication skills, the consultation skills for the
developing firms and the versatile skills (Reilly & Jurchak, 2017). Under the leadership skill
inventory model, the consumer participants are supposed to respond to at least a fifty-six
itemized self-assessment in a scale of 1-10. Such responses range across the new skills, known
skills and those which a participant can teach others. It is advisable for Registered Nurses to
learn and acquire both the self-management skills and the interpersonal communication skills
(Gottlieb, 2012). The self-management skills enable a registered nurse to manage her/himself
well based on a well-drawn schedule displaying the days on duty and those on off duty, kind of
conditions to be handled, expected cases to be dealt with and readiness for any emergencies.
A registered nurse will always monitor and evaluate her/himself on the preparedness to
receive patients under any state and try as much as possible to enable them regain stability and
facilitate the faster recovery process. Also, through self-management a registered nurse shall be
at a position to re-examine her/his role as a nurse and offer safe and quality services as per the
nursing practice standards (Tancredi, 2009). Another key skill to be mastered by a registered
nurse is that of interpersonal communication skills. This is a major skill since it links the health
professional and the patient. through interpersonal communication skill, patient will feel free to
share how s/he is feeling and what s/he expects to be done as soon as possible (Edwards &

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Elwyn, 2009). Further, the skill allows the health professional to ask the patient questions openly
and cautiously not to hurt or touch on her/him privacy. Effective communication creates room
for better prescriptions and instructions on dosage from the healthcare professional.
Communication is an essential tool in a healthcare organization to both the professionals,
stakeholders, patients, family members and caregivers.
Organizational Culture
The following are the defining characteristics of a learning culture in an organization.
Firstly, learning information is kept open, freely shared and easily accessible to all. In a good
learning culture, you get that relevant and necessary data is never hidden or hoarded by the
management. In such organizations the managers and other employees do readily get access to
information, thus, sharing a similar reference framework. Secondly, learning is emphasized and
given priority value (Stoter, 2010). Learning culture is jerked up through a number of both
internal and external workshops organized by an organization. Such workshops create room for
the training and other training-related activities to be offered to employees at an equal scope.
Thirdly, where there is a learning culture support, mistakes committed by employees or any
failures are not rewarded with suspensions or warning letters. Such employees are encouraged
and guided on how to correct their mistakes and tactics of future success in their endeavors.
Some firms have written on bill boards displaying that learning is a process due each day and
people learn through mistakes (Ozcan & Linhart, 2010). No organization shall punish an
employee for coming up with new ideas that never but instead should encourage that person to
try again, through such, innovation get fastened. Lastly, all employees working in an
organization are expected to be willing and ever ready to learn. Learning should be taken up by

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each as a habit which should be done step by step in order to improve individual performance as
well as steer positive progress of an organization in service delivery.
As a registered nurse, I shall contribute to a culture of learning within my organization
through two ways. First, I shall make sure that all necessary nursing information and data is
accessible to both my juniors, equals and my seniors. I shall share freely ideas on a given
concept with my fellow colleagues without prejudice. I will create a platform where all essential
information is disseminated and displayed for all parties concerned to easily access it. Lastly lay
down the strategy of organizing both internal and external workshops in order to promote a
learning in my organization (Organization, 2011). I shall also create a learning spirit through
giving awards to new innovators, offering promotions and salary increment to those who have
advanced their studies and giving a word of encouragement to the young people who have
recently joined the organization.
Professional Practice
Role conflict emerges in circumstances when there exist divergent demands amongst two
people in which the person meant to comply to the demand finds it difficult and fails to comply.
Usually employees do experience role conflict upon finding themselves being pulled into
different directions as they make an effort to react towards to the various roles in the position
they hold. The concept may be for either short-term or stand for a longer-term. Role conflict
impacts negatively on the performance of a registered nurse (Burns, 2010). In an organization
where employees’ relationships are strained service delivery fails, remains of poor quality. This
will definitely impact on the patient outcomes negatively. Role conflict makes it difficult for a
registered nurse to freely consult and share information with others.

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As a registered nurse I will employ the following two self-care strategies to help me stay
emotionally and physically well; maintaining social support and getting adequate sleep. As a
nurse I will develop a strong social network with as many friends as possible. A strong social
support facilitates a happier and healthier life. It also acts as a stress buffer and reliever. Having
many friends creates an opportunity of going out after work and having funny while sharing life
experiences. The second strategy, will ensure that I get enough rest through sleeping adequately.
As a nurse, am aware that lack of enough sleep impacts retrogressively on the ability to deal with
stress, being productive and carry out daily activities properly. Although, tight schedules and
stress might make sleep to be more elusive (Coyne & Harder, 2011). It is quite difficult to
balance between having little time to get enough sleep, difficult moments falling into sleep with
poor quality sleep as a result of stress. However, there exists a number of ways to improve my
sleeping habits in order to stay emotionally and physically well. First, I shall draw a schedule so
that I may manage my time effectively creating adequate time from other commitments for sleep.
Also, I shall try as much as possible to find relaxation methods to assist me to fall asleep and get
quality sleep throughout the night.

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