NRS 2012: Introduction to Professional Nursing Lecture 1

NRS 2012: Introduction to Professional Nursing Sarah E. Newton, PhD, RN (Dr. Newton)  Focus of NRS 2012 This course is designed to provide students with important foundational knowledge related to professional nursing/nursing practice. This course teaches yo...

NRS 2012: Introduction to Professional Nursing Sarah E. Newton, PhD, RN (Dr. Newton)  Focus of NRS 2012 This course is designed to provide students with important foundational knowledge related to professional nursing/nursing practice. This course teaches you how to THINK like a nurse. The course assignments include: - One APA reference list assignment - One scholarly paper - One oral presentation - Two cumulative exams (mid-term and final)  *Must Know* Nursing is an independent, autonomous, scientific healthcare discipline. Nurses practice nursing; nurses do NOT practice medicine. Nurses are NOT medical professionals.  Registered Nurses … …are healthcare professionals. …are the largest (in numbers) healthcare profession. …are members of the inter-professional team. …have their own schools/colleges/education, licensure requirements, scope and standards of practice, etc. …with doctoral level nursing education are the faculty who teach nursing courses (BSN thru PhD) …the goal of nursing is to facilitate positive patient outcomes.  Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (ANA, 2021) presents the framework for, and context of, professional nursing practice, and the expectations of professional nurses. The ANA Scope and Standards apply to all registered nurses; generalist and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), e.g. NP, CRNA, CNM, and CNS. The ANA Scope and Standards will be used to guide this course/your thinking about professional nursing.  Definition of Nursing (ANA, 2021) Nursing integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alleviation of suffering through compassionate presence. Nursing is the diagnosis and treatment of human responses and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations in recognition of the connection of all humanity.  Professional Nursing  Phenomenon of concern = Human health  Focus = diagnosis and treatment of human responses (it is not disease, pathological processes, medical diagnoses)  The focus of care is holistic, and care may be directed towards individuals, families, groups, communities, and/or populations.  Scope of Nursing Practice Nursing occurs whenever and wherever there is a need for nursing knowledge, wisdom, caring, leadership, practice, or education. Nursing occurs in any environment where there is a healthcare consumer in need of care, information, or advocacy. Nursing does not just occur in the hospital setting.  Goal of Nursing The goal of nursing is to facilitate the attainment of positive patient outcomes in keeping with nursing’s social contract with an obligation to society. The depth and breadth in which a registered nurse engages in the total scope of nursing practice is dependent on their formal nursing education, experience, role, and population served.  The ANA Standards The ANA Standards serve as evidence of the standard of nursing care. Meaning, the level of care expected from all RNs with all patients! Standards of Practice (Standards 1-6): describe a competent level of nursing care as demonstrated by nursing’s critical thinking framework, the Nursing Process. Standards of Professional Performance (Standards 7-17): describe a competent level of behavior in the professional role.  The Art and Science of Nursing Nursing is a learned profession built on a core body of knowledge that reflects its dual components of art and science. The art of nursing is based on caring and respect for human dignity. The nurse must possess competence, professional maturity, interpersonal sensitivity, a moral foundation that supports caring actions, and an environment that is conducive to caring.  The Science of Nursing The science of nursing is consistent with and shares the characteristics of other scientific disciplines: Distinct body of knowledge Distinct schools/colleges Baccalaureate is the entry level Doctoral education is the terminal degree and is discipline specific  The Science of Nursing, cont. Nursing practice is based on nursing knowledge that is scientifically/empirically based. Nursing research is conducted to generate knowledge, e.g. knowledge needed by nurses to guide nursing practice, and as the means to evaluate the nursing care given and nursing’s impact on patient health/health outcomes.  Qualitative and Quantitative Nurses use both qualitative (subjective) and quantitative (objective) evidence to guide nursing practice. Thus, nursing research uses both deductive and/or inductive methods. The evidence, or the rationale for nursing actions, must also be consistent with nursing’s philosophy of care (holistic, patient-centered, and outcome focused).  Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) The four recognized APRN roles are: Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Nurse Midwife (CNM) Nurse Practitioner (NP) Currently, NA needs a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, whereas CNS, CNM, and NP need a minimum of a Master’s degree. However, this is changing, and soon all APRNs may need a DNP to become certified to practice.  Non-APRN master’s prepared nurses There are other registered nurses who have MSN or DNP degrees, but are not APRNs. Their graduate nursing education is not in one of the four recognized APRN roles. Some examples of non-APRNs are: Nursing Education Forensic Nursing