Nursing Practice Chapter 1

Chapter 1

• Nursing practice has become more independent in the last 50 years due to increased education, particularly advanced practice roles like Nurse Practitioners (NPs). This has led to greater autonomy and a stronger focus on evidence-based practice.
• Nursing's historical development has emphasized patient advocacy, holistic care, and ethical conduct. This has led to nurses being recognized as essential members of the healthcare team.
• Distinct pathways for entering and progressing in professional nursing include CNA, LPN, ADN, BSN, ASN, and NP roles. Each has specific educational requirements and scopes of practice.

Other Chapters (General Information)

• Holistic nursing considers the whole person (emotional, mental, spiritual, social, and physical) in care.
• The four major concepts of nursing theory are person, environment, health, and nursing.
• The six components of the chain of infection are infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host.
• Infection can occur by various means such as vehicle, direct, indirect, and vector transmission and droplet or airborne transmission.
• Factors that increase infection risk include compromised immune systems, invasive procedures, and open wounds.
• Healthcare personnel and health agencies play a vital role in infection control via hand hygiene, PPE, patient isolation, and standard/transmission-based precautions.
• Self-care is important for caregivers to avoid infection. Proper hand hygiene, PPE use, and proper disinfection of equipment and surfaces are key elements of infection control.
• Methods for decreasing infection transmission to patients include effective hand hygiene, PPE use, and precautions.
• Medical asepsis (clean technique) is used to control microorganisms in all patient care, while surgical asepsis (sterile technique) is used to eliminate microorganisms in surgical procedures.
• Cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization are appropriate for different situations depending on the level of contamination and surfaces involved.
• Important components of the body's normal resistance to infection include physical barriers, innate immune cells, complement system, and the adaptive immune system.
• Factors affecting safety include preventing falls, proper body mechanics, and environmental interventions.
• Common healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) include MRSA, C. diff, CAUTI, CLABSI, and ventilator-associated pneumonia.
• Consequences of infection include sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia, and dehydration.
• Ways to increase protection against infection include good hand hygiene and consistent use of PPE.
• Age and cultural considerations influence the prevention of disease transmission.
• Important components of normal mobility include physical barriers, innate & adaptive immune system components.

Explore the evolution of nursing practice over the last 50 years with a focus on advanced roles such as Nurse Practitioners. This quiz covers historical developments, the significance of holistic care, and the pathways into professional nursing. Test your knowledge and understanding of key concepts and practices in modern nursing.