E-Portfolio Reflective Essay: Nursing Practice and Standards

This reflective essay explores the significance of evidence-based practice and practice standards in nursing. The author, an aspiring nurse, discusses the importance of these elements in providing safe and effective patient care. The essay highlights how evidence-based practice allows nurses to develop interventions based on clinical research and adapt to innovations in healthcare, minimizing errors and ensuring up-to-date care. It also emphasizes the role of practice standards as a framework for nurses, guiding them in competent care delivery and serving as an evaluation tool for clinical proficiency. The author concludes by expressing their commitment to implementing these concepts in future clinical practice.

Running head: E-PORTFOLIO REFLECTIVE ESSAY
E-portfolio reflective essay
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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E-PORTFOLIO REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Nursing is a noble profession of providing care and support to the sick and ailing of
the society, which has attracted me from the childhood. However, nursing profession comes
with many a responsibilities, evidence based practice and practice standards represent two
core elements of the professional responsibilities of nurses across the globe. In this reflective
essay I would explore my perception of the importance of evidence based practice and
practice standards in nursing practice.
The innovation and advancement movement in the health care industry has facilitated
the involvement of the nurses in the decision making process to achieve more improved care
outcomes. As a result, the scope of practice and responsibilities of the nurses have also
expanded extensively, with the evolving health care attempting to meet the changing market
dynamics, the evidence based practice has become a very important aspect in the nursing.
There are various advantages that the integration of evidence based programs provide to the
nursing scenario. Patient safety has become a crucial challenge for the nursing practice in the
present day scenario, and the evidence based practice allows the nurses to develop their
intervention with respect to clinical research. Along with that, incorporating innovation has
become a crucial aspect in the health care industry with the increasing market competition
and consumerism. The evidence based practice is an easy to implement and comfortable
format that allows the nurses to design interventions that are in accordance with the recent
innovations in the health care sector. As a result, there is very minimal chances of errors in
the planning and implementation of the interventions and the care provided is up-to-date and
effective.
Similarly, another very important aspect of nursing profession is adherence to the
applicable practice standards. It has to be mentioned in this context, that the importance of
practice standards is supreme in the clinical practice and there are various contributing factors
to this. On a more elaborative note, the nurses have to practice under the influence of many

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E-PORTFOLIO REFLECTIVE ESSAY
legislations, professional regulations, and guidelines. This extensive array of guidelines can
be very confusing to the nursing professionals and can affect direct patient care as well as
affecting the career growth responsibilities of the nurses involved. The practice standards are
a very potent tool serving as a systematic framework for the nurses with the cumulative
assortment of all the guidelines that the nurses should be following while administering care.
The practice standards help in describing the competent level of care for the nurses in every
phase of their care planning and implementation. The primary purpose of the practice
standards is to guide and maintain safe and clinically competent nursing practice. The
practice standards serve as an evaluation tool for the nurses to ensure clinical proficiency and
safety as well.
On a concluding note, I would like to mention both the aspects, evidence based
practice and practice standards are crucial aspects of provide care and continuing clinical
practice for nurses. As an aspiring nurse myself, I understand the imperative requirement for
the nursing professionals to adhere to both of the components while continuing clinical
practice. I hope to be implementing these concepts adequately and accurately in my future
clinical practice, to ensure safe and effective care delivery.