The Importance Of Nursing Competencies In Nursing

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Recommended: Advantages and disadvantages of patient centered care

Within the healthcare system, nurses form the largest professional group and have been recognised as the most trusted profession by the public (GALLUP). Thus, it is our duty as future nurses to acknowledge that being safe is not only vital for the health and wellbeing of patients, but for the nurses themselves. Today, I will be discussing how the safety of nurses is not only vital to their patients but to themselves as well. Hence, I have chosen to discuss four nursing competencies stated in the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council document that I believe are instrumental in engaging in safe practices that not only benefit the patient, but the nurse professional as well. In addition to this I will discuss this topic in relation to the patient experience, the nurse and the health outcomes, with specific emphasis on why this topic is particularly important to the patient, as outlined by my chosen question.

Going to hospital as a patient can be quite daunting. Thus, it is the expectation that medical personnel, including nurses, will endeavour to ensure the patient has a safe and comfortable stay whilst receiving safe quality care. Hence patient centred care (PCC) defined by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) model as “the recognition of the patient as the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinate care, based on respect for patients’ preferences, values and needs” (QSEN 2005, as cited in Hinds, 2013) is fundamentally vital to ensuring the patient experiences a safe stay in hospital. What must be remembered is that not only should nurses aim to be safe for the patients but for themselves as well. The safety of nurses from workplace-induced injuries and illnesses is extrem...

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...fe care (2.6) through being extra cautious and understanding the ramifications of blood borne illnesses our patients will be safer. With the addition of using health care resources effectively to improve the quality of their care through understanding that their unsafe care is not only detrimental to themselves but to the patients they oblige, (3.5 and 7.8), the type of care that patients receive should be of the highest quality.

Overall, the health outcomes of patients solely relies on the treatment they receive from nurses. If the care provided is unsafe, patients, as according to the statistics I stated earlier, could be faced with illnesses they did not originally possess before their stay at hospital. And if that is not significant enough, although it should be, nurses are putting themselves at risk too. Patient safety begins with the safety of nurses.

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