Changes in Nursing Practice
The mid- to late 20th century was filled with amazing changes and events in professional nursing. Select one of these changes or events, describe it, and explain how that change or event has impacted the quality of nursing practice today.
During the late 20th century, nurses felt the need to introduce innovative organizations in their patterns of care as a result of the increased number of patients. During this time, the nurses started grouping the patients based on the criticality of their needs. Critically ill patients were put together to provide effective technology use in treating the patients. This move gave birth to the Intensive Care Unit (Adam, Osborne & Welch, 2017). It is important to note that the care of patients in the intensive care unit require more resources as compared to other patients. The Intensive care unit takes around 15%-20% of the total hospital budget.
The introduction of the intensive care unit has led to the investment of resources in giving care to where it is needed most. On the same note, there have been cost-effective quality improvement initiatives that have given rise to patient-centered care in present day nursing. In the past few decades, more attention has been drawn to the safety and quality of care in the intensive care unit (Adam et al., 2017). Quality improvement initiatives lead to reduce the cost associated with increased length of stay in the hospitals, and the cost incurred in managing Hospitals Acquired Infections. In the present day, nurses attached to the Critical Care Unit play an important role in reducing the risk of Hospital Acquired Infections through ensuring evidence-based practice, patient education, and educating the families of the patients. Nurses in this unit make sure that the patients have a clean and safe environment to promote the healing process.
References
Adam, S., Osborne, S., & Welch, J. (Eds.). (2017). Critical care nursing: science and practice. Oxford University Press.