She is the co-founder and co-director of the Nurse Advocacy Forum at the College of New Rochelle. She currently serves as one of the focal points for the New York State Future of Nursing's Action Coalition in the Northern Metropolitan Region. Hunt is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and an ambassador for the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
In this book, she effectively provides a model for how various components, concepts, and properties of the nursing domain can be interconnected. Advocacy Forum, in addition to my past experiences and research, has helped me better understand the needs of the new nurse who is the impetus for this book. I have come to understand the importance of the foundations laid and experiences gained during nursing education, and the need for continued support and knowledge development during the transition to professional practice.
This is an exciting time in nursing and health care, and as a student and young nurse you need to keep abreast of the current and future state of nursing and health care. I would also like to thank the students, nurses, and faculty who have been a part of the New Rochelle College of Nursing Advocacy Forum, who have generously shared their knowledge, experiences, and time.
The Nurse Professional
Tips for Self-Care and Resiliency
According to Nairn et al. 2006), “The main purpose of developing a portfolio is to link understanding about clinical experiences and theoretical knowledge within a discipline” (p. 1510). It is essential that all healthcare professionals understand the importance of quality and safety, ways to improve patient outcomes and prevent adverse events. The 1999 report provoked a swift response from the health care industry and regulatory agencies, such as the Joint Commission and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Patient safety is what we focus on in the healthcare setting and there are all kinds of regulations that we all have to follow. Health care organizations develop policies and procedures that guide staff in providing care. The National Patient Safety Goals is another safety initiative of The Joint Commission developed in an effort to mitigate patient risks inherent in the healthcare arena.
Izumi claims "There are three interrelated but slightly different views about the cause of the quality problem in health care" (p. 261). There is an old saying, "If it wasn't documented, it wasn't done." The legality of documentation along with other legal issues will most likely be included in your curriculum and during your orientation you will be introduced to the documentation system of your healthcare organization. Do you think that QSEN has improved quality and safety in healthcare.
When providing healthcare, one must also be guided by legal, moral and ethical concepts. The following standards are used in determining the adequacy of information: a) the professional practice standard, (b) the reasonable person standard, (c) the subjective standard. If the healthcare team believes that ANH is not therapeutic or is causing harm to the patient, they may request permission to discontinue treatment.
When the hospital and the patient's family or healthcare agent do not agree, the ethics committee will be convened. Laws are developed to protect people from harm and it is very important to understand the legality of the health care and nursing profession. If the patient is having difficulty, your plan and intervention may be to notify the health care provider or administer a statistical treatment.
In addition, nurses must also report violations by other members of the healthcare team. According to Lavender et al. 2011), “NCLEX-RN licensure pass rate nationally dropped from 79.9%.
Tips for RN Licensure Success
On the other hand, if you take the exam in another country in a language other than English, you will face the same challenges. If you are licensed in one US state and want to work in another state, you will be able to apply for reciprocity, which means you do not need to take another licensing exam. If you are taking the US licensing exam, you will want to be familiar with Bloom's Taxonomy, as the questions are developed based on the higher order questions of this taxonomy.
You will also want to review the NLCEX test plan, which is available on the NCSBN website and is updated every 3 years. If you are a nursing student in another state, you will want to check your board of nursing's website for information about the licensure exam. You will have to leave the nest, test your wings and learn to fly alone.
And for the most part, you'll have a support system available to you, so be sure to let others know when you need support and guidance. During the external course, you will be guided by a nurse, and theoretical and clinical concepts are taught throughout the experience. Requirements vary by organization, so you'll need to do your homework and explore opportunities in your area.
Obviously, they will need an official transcript, so you will need to order this from your school. As a nursing student you have many opportunities to network and therefore it is important to build positive relationships with your fellow students, teachers and lecturers. Initially, you will submit your CV and cover letter, usually in electronic format.
The cover letter (see template) is crucial, as it represents your presentation and the first impression you will make on recruiters. If you're lucky, you'll be exposed to a simulation as a student, so this type of experience will suit you. When you are hired for a job, you will have to dress in a certain way.
Tips for Your Job Search
As a newly qualified baccalaureate nurse, you will be expected to demonstrate your knowledge of these concepts. Whether you graduated from a diploma program, associate degree program, or baccalaureate program, as a new nurse you will be. This is an exciting time during which you will be completely immersed in your new role.
As you move into your professional practice role, you will work with all types of groups. For example, every day you will work with a group of nurses and other members of the healthcare team. You will spend some time in the classroom, but most of the time in the clinical area will be spent with a preceptor to guide you through the process.
Duchscher (2008) described a transition process in which new graduates progress through the stages of doing – learning the role and performing tasks – understanding reasoning and knowing – “a-ha!”. This will help ground you and then you will be able to focus on the task at hand. Conversely, if you're on the night shift you'll want to eat a healthy dinner.
Adjusting to the night shift is also a challenge and as a new graduate there is a good chance that you will be working 12-hour night shifts. If you have a conflict with your teacher or one of the staff in your unit, you will need to address the conflict. You can decide at the beginning of the week how you will reward yourself when you achieve your goals.
When you start the orientation program, you will receive a list of contacts and their roles in the organization. The two biggest challenges you will face during the transition will be developing time management and organizational skills. You should learn this as a student; however, you will need to develop your organizational skills.
Tips for Your First Year of Transition
Furthermore, every organization is unique, so you may need to relearn some of the policies and procedures you were previously taught. This chapter will provide more detail on some of the important areas that inform and impact your role as a registered professional nurse. The findings of the assessment influence the care plan and therefore it is essential to have a competent nurse complete the assessment.
Assessing your patients, whether they are inpatient, outpatient, in a critical care or medical-surgical unit, is one of the most important things you will do as a nurse and you will continue to develop your assessment skills every day. Maslow's hierarchy of needs (see Figure 11.1) can be very useful in guiding your assessment and prioritization in relation to prioritizing your patients as a whole and considering the individual needs of the patient. If you look at the model, you will see that the most important needs are at the bottom of the triangle.
It is expected that nurses will obtain the competencies at the end of the introductory period. Many of the skills are learned and practiced during nursing school, so you will want to continue to build on the foundation laid there. If you work in a specialty such as oncology, you will need to take a course specifically focused on caring for the oncology patient and administering chemotherapeutic agents.
Medication administration is a major responsibility of the hospital-based nurse, and you will spend a good portion of your shift administering medications to your patients. The third principle is "effective communication" with patients, families, nurses, and other members of the interprofessional team. Teamwork and collaboration, one of the competencies of QSEN (Quality and Safety Education for Nurses), is essential in providing holistic care.
Every employee in a healthcare environment is essential to the success of the organization. A sample report provides a brief overview of the patient's chief complaint and provides details of the patient's progress and current status in addition to the care plan. While it is not possible to know all cultures, it is helpful to have a basic understanding of some of the predominant cultures in your geographic location (Hunt, 2012).
