Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal

Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal

Introduction

The health care industry continues to grow, and new opportunities are being developed in this sector. More research is being done and some innovations have been developed and this has helped to improve the provision of healthcare to many people. Nurses have been at the forefront when it comes to the provision of healthcare related services to people such as diagnosing, creating awareness on certain diseases and attending to patients that have been admitted to various health centers. The healthcare sector has also experienced a number of challenges which have affected service delivery to people looking for these services. Nurses just like other healthcare personnel have also been affected by these challenges which have limited their abilities to work effectively. This paper will focus on discussing the emerging trends in the healthcare sector such as new practice approaches, Intraprofessional collaboration, ethical issues, health policies and disparities as well as the role of technology in improving healthcare.

New Practice Approaches

With continued research and innovations in the healthcare sector, new practice approaches are being developed or have already been developed in order to improve the provision of healthcare to patients. In the nursing sector, there are new practice approaches some of which I have good knowledge of how they work. Some of the new approaches include developing patient-centered and community-based healthcare, use of Electronic Health Records and the use of evidence-based practice. Patient-centered healthcare has helped to transform how patients are treated. Community-based healthcare helps to identify the needs of in the community and patient-centered helps to provide personalized healthcare to every patient (Franz & Murphy, 2017).

Another new practice approach used by nurses is evidence-based practice. With the evolution of healthcare provision continuing, evidence-based approach has been identified by nurses and other healthcare personnel as the standard way of providing care to patients. It involves provision of patient-centered healthcare by use of health research, clinical expertise and the general knowledge of a nurse in order to get a correct diagnosis and treatment formula for the patient. Evidence-based practice does not involve nurses alone but also the patient themselves. In my experience, I believe that patients have big role to play when receiving medication. It is therefore important to educate patients on every process of treatment they undergo through for them to understand their condition and also provide more information that will be useful in curing their conditions. The use of evidence-based practice creates an opportunity for nurses to do more research on patientcare (Lehane et. al, 2019).   These new practice approaches have also come with a number of challenges. Personally, I feel that the use of evidence-based practice is time consuming and cannot be used effectively on patients that need urgent medical care.

Intraprofessional collaboration

There is an increasing need for collaboration among various members of the healthcare sector and other related professions in order to improve the provision of healthcare. Nurses collaborate with other healthcare personnel to ensure that there is provision of standardized healthcare to patients. Intraprofessional collaboration involves many nurses working together as a team where they put their skills together in order to solve a certain challenge in the healthcare sector. This is done by talking to each other and discussing various issues affecting them, sharing ideas and perspectives on how certain conditions should be handled, delivering on their responsibilities and helping one another with the aim of providing the best possible care to their patients.

Collaboration is an important aspect for the nurses since are different categories of nurses. In my experience, I have observed that the relationship among nurses in a healthcare facility is one that determines the quality of healthcare provided. Nurses who work together are likely to create a conducive environment that will ensure all the services that should be provided to patients are delivered as required and every nurse is playing their role as they are required to. Effective communication is one of the major aspects of intraprofessional collaboration. Existence of proper communication channels within a healthcare facility will enable nurses to interact quickly and share challenges and perspectives that are related to the provision of healthcare.

Additionally, consultation is also widely used by nurses as a means of collaboration. Junior nurses can consult senior nurses for advice on a particular issue that they do not understand well. Nursing and provision of healthcare is a learning process, and each day, nurses get new challenges that they do not know how to deal with. By consulting with other colleagues who have extensive knowledge on the same, the nurses get an opportunity to learn more about the challenge. Another area of collaboration is when nurses are researching a specific topic. Sharing of ideas when doing research helps to create an approach that is conclusive and trusted by several nurses compared to a study that has been done by a single nurse.

Healthcare Delivery and Clinical Systems

Healthcare delivery and clinical systems were designed to make the healthcare related services more efficient when it comes to their delivery. Healthcare delivery systems are the means used by healthcare organizations to provide efficient and affordable care to the people they serve. The delivery systems aid the healthcare organizations to cut operational costs as well as maintain standards in their practice. It is important for healthcare providers to choose a delivery system that is easily achievable and has minimal operational challenges. This will help in reducing uncertainties on their operational structure as well as maintaining a good relationship with their patients. Clinical systems are part of the Health Information Systems (HIS) that are used to capture, store and interpret clinical information which is useful in the healthcare delivery system. These systems mostly store clinical data from patients and make it available when required. The use of clinical systems has helped to improve the healthcare delivery system since patient information is stored safely and cannot be accessed by unwarranted parties.

Today, more clinical systems are being developed to address the rising challenges in the clinical sector. There are more opportunities in this sector since there is availability of advanced technology which can also be used to upgrade the provision of healthcare. As per my experience, I believe that there are aspects that make a healthcare delivery system more successful. The delivery system should ensure that patient information is easily available and can be shared with other parties that may need to use it to the benefit of the patient. The system should also ensure that there is accountability especially on the provision of patient care and utilization of the healthcare resources. The system should also give an allowance to patients and their family members to access useful information such as treatment costs and booking appointments so that they can be able to receive medical attention without delays.

Ethical Considerations in Healthcare

Nurses usually interact with patients and other healthcare providers as they practice. During this interaction, there are ethical considerations that should be applied in order to uphold the image of nurses in the healthcare sector. Ethics is about the type of interaction that occurs between a nurse and a patient or any other party in a healthcare system (Peter, 2018). Ethics is mainly about the morality of a person and therefore, the general behavior of a healthcare practitioner is what defines their ethics. Unlike other professions, nurses deal with patients some of whom have serious medical conditions that affect their judgement. This therefore means that there are certain ethical considerations that nurses should possess so as to ensure there is a smooth interaction between them and the patients. Ethical issues are challenges that affect healthcare practitioners in terms of their ethics. These issues arise due to legal restrictions and behavioral practices which seem to derail the provision of services to patients.

Safeguarding patient information is one of the common ethical issues faced by healthcare providers. Patients always share confidential information with healthcare providers such as nurses and doctors. This information is personal and it should be protected from getting into the hands of people who are not authorized to view it. There are also regulations that define how patient information should be collected, stored and used in a healthcare setting. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Another ethical issue is the end-to-life issues on patients with terminal illnesses. In these scenario, a nurse has to make a choice on obeying the requests made by the family or the patient to end their lives or follow the code of conduct of nursing practice.  As nurse, it is important to be prepared to face such a scenario. Self-reflection is a useful tool for a nurse as it will enable them to reflect on the choices that they have made before and assess their impact, this will help them to make informed decisions especially on ethical issues.

Population Health Concerns

Population health concerns are unique health-related challenges that affect people across the world. Different communities across the world have their own health concerns that are affecting them in different ways. The health concerns are brought about by certain cultural practices and personal behaviors among people living a certain community. Some cultural practices encourage behaviors that may create health challenges among the people observing the culture. Health conditions such as obesity are brought about by the culture of eating foods that contain a lot of fats and not doing enough exercises. Nowadays, obesity is one of the common health concerns in many societies. This condition leaves the body vulnerable to conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Healthcare personnel especially nurses have a role to play in educating the general public on the importance of eating healthy foods and maintaining weight that does not pose health risks to them. Regular exercising can help to shed off some fat from the body which in turn will help to reduce body weight.

Another common health concern is the rise in cases of chronic diseases. These are diseases that affect people for a longer period of time and are not easily cured. Most of the chronic diseases can only be treated partially and cannot be cured fully. Diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and the various types of cancer are some of the common chronic ailments. These diseases are have become a concern to people since they are costly to treat or manage. When it comes to the social determinants of health, these chronic diseases affect more those who come from a lower social class where they can’t afford to pay for proper treatment for such diseases.

The Role of Technology in Improving Healthcare Outcomes

The rapid growth in technology has helped to revolutionize the healthcare sector over the years. The use of technology such as the Hospital Information Systems has helped to make services offered in healthcare facilities more efficient and easily accessible by the patients who need them. Technology has helped to improve communication among nurses and other healthcare personnel. It is now easier to share information more quickly among the healthcare practitioners and this has made it easier to provide care to more patients who need it. Effective communication leads to more collaboration among nurses and therefore creating teamwork which is essential for effective delivery of services to the people.

Evidence-based and patient-centered care is now possible by using the available technology. Nurses can interact with patients quickly, especially on areas such as booking appointments, monitoring patients’ conditions even when they have been discharged from hospital and prescribing drugs to them. Since patients’ information can be easily stored electronically, it is easier to retrieve and use it to provide evidence-based care to them. Evidence-based practice is always about using the available resources to diagnose and treat patients as per the available information.

Technology has made it easier to access such information since it can be stored online and transferred to the relevant healthcare personnel who will use it to provide evidence-based care. As a nurse, I believe technology is suitable for the healthcare sector since it has made most of the processes simple to perform. However, rapid change presents both technical and economic challenges. This is because new technology makes the existing one obsolete, and therefore a new fund will be required to acquire it. The healthcare personnel will also have to be trained on how it is used. This is time-consuming and increases the operating costs of a healthcare facility.

Health policy

A health policy plays a vital in the provision of healthcare. Healthcare policy involves actions, strategies, and decisions designed to accomplish common healthcare priorities within a community. Health policies help to create guidelines that can be used by healthcare practitioners on how they should implement certain practices that are related to the provision of healthcare services. Strategies help to establish standard procedures on how certain clinical practices should be carried out. This is important in guiding nurses when attending to patients or performing health-related tasks. Organizations that come up with these policies also provide materials which healthcare personnel can use to learn more about them. The healthcare policies act as action plans for the healthcare facilities. These institutions can use a healthcare policy to formulate their own action plan which will guide them on how to provide their services to the community they serve. The policies also provide regulatory structures that are used to safeguard both the healthcare personnel and their patients.

Leadership and Economic Models

To achieve a standard healthcare environment, strong leadership skills and proper economic models should be in place. Strong leadership is a critical factor in achieving the objectives of a healthcare facility. All the healthcare personnel, including nurses and other support staff, should be viewed as leaders and given the autonomy to operate freely so that they can perform their duties effectively. Most people view nurses as servants whose role is to obey and perform duties allocated to them. However, nurses are leaders in their own capacity, and they make significant decisions when it comes to patient care. An efficient economic model is a prerequisite for success in a healthcare facility. Every organization requires a certain threshold of funds to operate effectively and meet its objectives. Concepts such as cost, profit, debts, bills, demand, and supply are crucial when formulating an economic model. Gains are essential to secure the growth of a health organization. The application and supply for healthcare services also dictate the number of resources that should be deployed by the healthcare facility.

Health Disparities

Health disparities arise in a society as a result of differences in socioeconomic status, ethnicity, age, gender, and location. Some diseases are familiar with men than women, and also the financial condition of an individual determines whether they can afford healthcare services when sick. Health disparities can also be seen as health inequalities since they are brought about due to a lack of equity in certain areas. There is a number of ways through which these disparities can be addressed. Creating health centers that provide affordable healthcare to patients who do not have the financial strength to afford the services from existing facilities. There should be education on diseases that mostly affect either of the genders, and this will help to inform them on how they should handle such conditions.

Studying this course has been helpful to me, especially in determining the various aspects that affect a nurse during their practice. My strengths lie in my leadership and operational skills. I can easily collaborate with others when it comes to research or working together to achieve a specific goal. My weaknesses originate from handling ethical issues and adopting new technologies in the industry.  This course has made me discover the importance of leadership and use of new approaches in nursing such as evidence-based practice. More emphasis should be put on the role of technology in the healthcare sector as well as addressing the health disparities in society.

To wind-up, this discussion has outlined various factors that generally affect the practicing nurses. New approaches such as evidence-based care have revolutionized patient-care since patients can receive a centered care. Technology has been a critical factor in improving the efficiency of service delivery in the healthcare sector. Health policies are crucial in guiding healthcare personnel when it comes to the provision of services to people. As a nurse, understanding leadership and economic models are essential since it gives one the autonomy of providing services to patients. All these discussed factors help to guide a practicing nurse on which aspects are necessary to build their career.

References

Franz, B. A., & Murphy, J. W. (2017). The Patient-Centered Medical Home as a

Community-based Strategy. The Permanente Journal, 21, 17-002. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/17-002

Lehane E, Leahy-Warren P, O’Riordan C, et al. Evidence-based practice education for healthcare

professions: an expert viewBMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2019; 24:103-108.

Peter, E., (January 31, 2018) “Overview and Summary: Ethics in Healthcare: Nurses Respond”

OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 23, No. 1, Overview and Summary.