Study guide Study Guide based on content from Davis Advantage, Basic nursing- thinking, doing, and caring (3rd ed.).docx

**Theoretical Foundation in Nursing Practice - Comprehensive Exam Study Guide based on content from Davis Advantage, Basic nursing: thinking, doing, and caring (3rd ed.)** **Major Concepts** 1. **What is the Nursing Profession?** - **Definition: Nursing involves protection, promotion, and...

**Theoretical Foundation in Nursing Practice - Comprehensive Exam Study Guide based on content from Davis Advantage, Basic nursing: thinking, doing, and caring (3rd ed.)** **Major Concepts** 1. **What is the Nursing Profession?** - **Definition: Nursing involves protection, promotion, and optimization of health, prevention of illness and injury, and alleviation of suffering through diagnosis and treatment of human responses.** - **Holistic Care: Focuses on caring for the whole person, including physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs.** - **Ethical Standards: Nurses are guided by ethical principles including respect for human dignity, patient autonomy, and confidentiality.** 2. **Contemporary Nursing Practice** - **Evidence-Based Practice: Nurses integrate the best available research with clinical expertise and patient preferences in decision-making.** - **Technology Integration: Includes use of Electronic Health Records (EHR), telehealth services, and health informatics to improve patient outcomes.** - **Specialization: The profession is expanding into areas such as pediatric, oncology, and geriatric care.** - **Interprofessional Collaboration: Nurses work in teams with other healthcare professionals to provide comprehensive care.** 3. **Health, Wellness, and Safety Considerations** - **Wellness: Nurses assist patients in achieving wellness through lifestyle modifications, such as proper nutrition, physical activity, and stress management.** - **Patient Safety: Nurses prioritize patient safety by preventing medical errors, infections, and falls, particularly through protocols like hand hygiene and safety checks.** **Content Outline** 1. **Nursing History** - **Historical Evolution of Nursing: Nursing has transformed from a role that was primarily based on religious duty and caretaking to a well-respected and evidence-based profession. Early nursing often focused on obedience and servitude, particularly to doctors and clergy. Nurses today are recognized as skilled professionals with specialized knowledge in many areas of health care.** - **Florence Nightingale\'s Influence: Florence Nightingale is one of the most influential figures in nursing history. She advocated for improved hygiene and sanitary conditions, which significantly reduced mortality rates during the Crimean War. Her work laid the foundation for modern nursing education and the use of research and statistics to improve healthcare.** - **Other Key Figures:** - **Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross.** - **Dorothea Dix: Advocate for the mentally ill, who reformed the care and treatment of psychiatric patients.** - **Mary Eliza Mahoney: The first African-American professional nurse, who fought for diversity and equality in the nursing profession.** 2. **Professional Attributes** - **Compassion and Empathy: Compassion is at the core of nursing care, as it drives the ability to understand and relate to the emotional and physical challenges patients face. Empathy helps nurses to connect with patients on a deeper level, enhancing patient-centered care.** - **Accountability: Nurses are responsible for their actions and decisions, which directly impact patient care. Accountability includes adhering to evidence-based practices, following hospital protocols, and maintaining patient confidentiality.** - **Communication Skills: Clear and effective communication is essential in nursing, whether interacting with patients, families, or healthcare teams. Poor communication can lead to errors in care or misunderstandings regarding treatment plans.** - **Ethical Practice: Nurses must practice with integrity, upholding ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. These principles guide decision-making in complex clinical situations, ensuring patient rights and well-being are prioritized.** - **Commitment to Lifelong Learning: Healthcare is constantly evolving with new technologies, medications, and treatments. Nurses are committed to continuous education and staying current with the latest advancements to provide optimal care.** 3. **Roles and Responsibilities** - **Caregiver: Nurses provide direct care, performing tasks such as administering medications, monitoring vital signs, and assisting with activities of daily living.** - **Patient Advocate: Nurses act as advocates by ensuring that patient preferences and values are respected in decision-making. They help patients navigate the healthcare system and understand their treatment options.** - **Educator: Nurses teach patients about managing their health conditions, providing education on topics like diet, exercise, medication adherence, and disease prevention. They also educate families and communities about public health issues.** - **Collaborator: Nurses work in interdisciplinary teams, collaborating with physicians, pharmacists, physical therapists, and other professionals to develop and implement patient care plans.** - **Leader and Manager: Nurses take on leadership roles in healthcare settings, guiding teams, improving processes, and ensuring safe and efficient care delivery.** - **Researcher: Nurses contribute to research by applying evidence-based practices and conducting studies to improve patient outcomes.** - **Ensuring Patient Safety: Nurses must implement safety protocols to prevent adverse events such as falls, infections, and medication errors, which are critical to providing high-quality care.** 4. **HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)** - **Patient Privacy and Confidentiality: HIPAA protects sensitive patient information from being disclosed without consent. Nurses must ensure patient records are kept confidential and share information only with authorized personnel.** - **Patient Rights: Under HIPAA, patients have the right to access their medical records, request corrections, and know who has accessed their information.** - **Education on HIPAA: Nurses must educate patients about their rights regarding their medical information and help them understand the importance of confidentiality in their healthcare.** - **Interprofessional Collaboration and HIPAA: When collaborating with other healthcare professionals, nurses must ensure that all shared patient information complies with HIPAA regulations.** 5. **Delegation and Supervision** - **Delegation Principles: Nurses must understand the scope of practice for each team member (e.g., Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs)) when delegating tasks to ensure they are performed appropriately.** - **Retaining Responsibility: Although tasks can be delegated, the nurse retains ultimate responsibility for the patient's care and outcomes.** - **Clear Communication: Successful delegation requires clear, concise instructions and expectations, followed by supervision to ensure tasks are completed correctly.** - **Scope of Practice: Nurses must delegate tasks within the team member\'s scope of practice, ensuring the tasks align with their level of education and training.** - **Follow-Up: Nurses must regularly check on the progress and quality of delegated tasks and provide feedback as needed.** 6. **Information Technology in Nursing** - **Electronic Health Records (EHR): EHRs have revolutionized how nurses document patient information, making it easier to share data across healthcare teams and improve patient care coordination.** - **Telehealth: Technology allows nurses to provide care remotely, particularly for patients in rural areas or those with mobility issues. Telehealth has become increasingly important in managing chronic conditions and reducing hospital visits.** - **Health Informatics: Nurses use informatics to analyze data and improve decision-making in patient care, such as tracking infection rates or evaluating the effectiveness of treatment protocols.** - **Mobile Health Applications: Nurses encourage patients to use apps to monitor their health (e.g., blood pressure, glucose levels), promoting patient engagement and self-management.** 7. **Introduction to the Nursing Process** - **Assessment: Nurses collect comprehensive data about a patient's health status, including physical, emotional, social, and cultural factors. This is the foundation of individualized care planning.** - **Diagnosis: Based on the assessment, nurses identify health problems that can be managed with nursing interventions (e.g., risk for infection, impaired mobility).** - **Planning: Nurses create a care plan with specific, measurable goals aimed at improving or maintaining the patient's health. This includes selecting evidence-based nursing interventions.** - **Implementation: The care plan is put into action through nursing interventions, which may involve direct care, education, or collaboration with other healthcare providers.** - **Evaluation: Nurses continuously evaluate patient progress toward the goals and adjust the care plan as necessary to achieve desired outcomes.** - **Critical Thinking and Clinical Judgment: Nurses use critical thinking to analyze patient data and apply clinical judgment to make sound decisions in dynamic clinical environments.** 8. **Introduction to Therapeutic Communication** - **Verbal and Nonverbal Communication: Nurses use both verbal communication (spoken and written words) and nonverbal cues (facial expressions, gestures) to understand patients' needs and convey empathy.** - **Influencing Factors: Factors such as culture, language barriers, health literacy, emotional state, and the care environment affect how well communication occurs between the nurse and the patient.** - **Active Listening: Nurses use active listening skills to fully engage with the patient, reflecting on what the patient says, asking clarifying questions, and showing empathy through body language.** - **Therapeutic Communication Techniques: Includes open-ended questions, reflecting, summarizing, and offering information to help patients express their concerns and understand their health conditions.** 9. **What is Health? What is Wellness?** - **Health: Defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease.** - **Wellness: Involves an active process of self-awareness and decision-making aimed at achieving optimal health. It includes balancing physical, mental, and emotional aspects of life.** - **Self-Concept and Health: A person's view of themselves can significantly influence their health. For example, individuals with positive self-concept may engage in healthier behaviors and be more resilient in the face of illness.** - **Impact of Bias and Stereotypes: Nurses must be aware of their own biases to avoid stereotyping patients based on gender, race, sexuality, or other factors, as this can affect the quality of care and patient outcomes.** 10. **Caring for Vulnerable Groups** - **Populations Served: Vulnerable groups include children, the elderly, the homeless, those with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and minority populations. These groups may have limited access to healthcare, face stigma, or encounter barriers to receiving equitable care.** - **Reducing Health Disparities: Nurses play a critical role in addressing health disparities by advocating for vulnerable populations, providing culturally competent care, and working to eliminate barriers to healthcare access.** - **Special Considerations: Nurses should be aware of the unique health risks and needs of vulnerable populations and tailor care plans accordingly.** 11. **Health Promotion Across Populations** - **Client Education: Nurses provide education to empower patients to take control of their health, focusing on areas such as nutrition, exercise, smoking cessation, and preventive screenings.** - **Cultural Competency: Nurses must recognize and respect cultural beliefs and practices, especially when they may influence healthcare decisions, such as the use of traditional remedies or alternative treatments.** - **Tailored Interventions: Vulnerable populations may require more targeted health promotion efforts, such as immunization campaigns for children in underserved areas or nutrition programs for elderly patients.** 12. **Three Levels of Prevention** - **Primary Prevention: Actions to prevent the onset of disease (e.g., vaccinations, promoting healthy eating habits, public health education).** - **Secondary Prevention: Involves early detection and prompt intervention to control disease progression (e.g., routine screenings, mammograms, and Pap smears).** - **Tertiary Prevention: Focuses on reducing the impact of established diseases through rehabilitation and ongoing management (e.g., physical therapy for stroke survivors, medication management for diabetes).** 13. **Safety Considerations** - **Patient Safety Protocols: Nurses follow protocols to prevent falls, medication errors, and infections. This includes double-checking medication orders, using proper hand hygiene, and identifying high-risk patients for falls.** - **Home Safety: Nurses educate patients and caregivers about home safety measures, such as removing tripping hazards, installing grab bars for the elderly, and ensuring proper lighting.** - **Disaster Preparedness: Nurses must be prepared for emergencies by being familiar with disaster plans, participating in drills, and understanding their role in providing care during natural disasters, pandemics, or other emergencies.** 14. **Healthy People 2030** - **Initiative Goals: Healthy People 2030 is a national initiative focused on improving the health and well-being of all Americans by setting measurable objectives in areas such as chronic disease prevention, reducing healthcare disparities, and promoting health equity.** - **Key Focus Areas: Includes addressing mental health, substance abuse, maternal and child health, and improving access to preventive services like cancer screenings and immunizations.**