Prioritization in Nursing
Information literacy implies an individual’s ability to access, evaluate, recognize, and evaluate information in a manner that benefits them or society. A person who is information literate will effectively consume information to gain the most out of it. The skill becomes stronger when combined with resource utilization prowess. A literate person understands how best to make use of resources available for them. As a nurse, one must have access to accurate information to succeed. Since resources are ever scarce, then they must learn how to prioritize. From a nursing perspective, it is critical to analyze prioritization as a newly acquired concept in information literacy and resource utilization.
A considerable proportion of nursing practice entails what to execute first in a priority list. All nurses must learn this concept since there are many activities that they must do, but there exist those that are more important (Toronto, 2016). Taking care of patients’ needs calls for accurate interpretation of their needs as well as the utilization of available resources. Since hospitals may hardly be equipped to capacity, one must ensure that what is available is used maximum. For instance, it is common for hospitals to have an inadequate supply of medicine (Toronto, 2016). In this case, as a nurse, I must ensure that I provide the most affected patients with drugs first. Therefore, prioritization adheres to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in away.
The NCLEX-RN is an excellent source of nursing information relating to prioritization (Stephanie, 2016). Through this resource, I have learned the fundamental questions that I need to ask myself as a practitioner before going ahead to execute my professional duties to patients — some address how to deal with time as a resource. Here, one needs to secure more time for complicated situations before addressing the lesser ones. According to Stepanie, in her article, “The nurse should plan carefully to meet physiological needs first, followed by safety needs, love, and belonging needs, and so on” (Stephanie, 2016). The basis of this is Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.
The article continues to enlighten that prioritization is an inevitable part of the nursing job (Stephanie, 2016). The questions contained in the NCLEX-RX are perfect for helping candidates to distinguish emergencies that require quick nursing intervention. There should be order care that is step by step following the hierarchy of needs, which extends to apply to the allocation of available resources to facilitate the treatment process (Stephanie, 2016). For instance, patients involved in an accident require immediate intervention. Having a prioritization framework is useful in choosing the most appropriate answers to the test that a nurse is undertaking. The right decisions will result in desirable outcomes.
In summary, prioritization is a nursing concept that relies on the first possession of information, knowledge, and utilization of resources. Nurses will require this all the time during their practice. It is essential in guiding us to do what is needed first. Although all patients are in needy circumstances, there are those whose conditions are more serious. To this end, I will apply this knowledge to avoid unnecessary loss of lives while I am literate enough to tackle particular circumstances.