Evaluation Essay on Nursing

As the semester progressed my views and opinions on the topics, we learned in class have changed. Learning about different topics by discussing, reading articles, and writing made me have an open mind and remodel my perspective on the topics. An example of the topics discussed includes professionalism, critical thinking, communication, culture, values, ethics, and the nurse’s role in healthcare. These topics have influenced my way of thinking during this semester which allowed me to change my understanding of the profession.

A profession can be defined as work that requires advanced education and has an organization and a code of ethics (Black, 2020). Through discussion, I learned that a profession and an occupation are different. An occupation is an individual’s work in a trade, profession, or business. Professions often can be developed from occupations that incorporate specialized education and have acceptance and recognition from the public (Black, 2020). Throughout the semester learned how important professionalism is in the nursing profession. Professionalism is when a nurse provides high-quality care while having professional attitudes, behaviors, appearance, confidence, and evidence-based knowledge (AACN, 2008). There are three key attributes of professionalism that consist of developing a framework to understand nursing, obtaining professional values, and mastering the standards of practice. I was interested in learning about the nursing standards of practice. The standards of professional nursing practice are the expected behaviors or standards of how a professional nurse should practice (ANA, 2018). The standards that I enjoyed learning about included communication, collaboration, and ethics.

Ethics teaches us whether our actions are right or wrong and is often used in our everyday lives. In nursing ethics plays an important role in how we can face many ethical issues such as making decisions about how much information to share with patients, how to professionally interact with colleagues, and assisting families with end-of-life care decisions. During the semester I learned about what the code of ethics is for the first time. I learned that the code of ethics for nurses is “a guide for nurses to use in ethical analysis and decision making” (ANA, 2015). In class, we discussed the nine provisions of the code of ethics. The provision that interested me the most is provision two. The second provision, states that the nurse is committed to the individual, family, group, or community. This means that the nurse is dedicated to their patient and their healthcare needs. The nurse must allow the patient to take part in planning care and have an honest discussion about treatment options and the patient’s ability to manage their care at home (ANA, 2015).

The nursing profession and the roles of the nurse have changed significantly over time. One of the most important skills the nurse must have is critical thinking. Critical thinking is the process of analyzing and evaluating information gathered from experience, observations, or communication with others. In nursing critical thinking can improve patient outcomes. Nurses who use critical thinking are committed to the process of consistent evaluation, improvement, and efficiency (Black, 2020). One example of how you can strengthen your critical thinking skills is by continuing education or lifelong learning. During our discussion, I learned about the nursing process. The nursing process is a method of critical thinking that mainly focuses on resolving patient issues. It is a framework that allows the student or nurse to give quality care and increase the satisfaction of the patients. There are five different phases of the nursing process which include assessment, analysis, and identification of the problem, planning, implementing care, and evaluation. When a nurse utilizes the nursing process, they start the process of becoming an effective nurse. Becoming an effective nurse involves critical thinking skills, understanding of the nursing process, and establishing exceptional critical judgment. Critical judgment is made up of informed decisions and opinions that are based on experience and empirical knowledge. It is established slowly as the nurse gains deeper knowledge and hands-on clinical experiences. A nurse who has fully developed critical judgment is aware of what to look for, can form conclusions about what various symptoms mean, and knows what to do to help the patients (Black, 2020). In this course, I learned about how important critical thinking is in the profession, the characteristics needed to be a strong critical thinker, and how critical judgment can improve patient outcomes.

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Nurses interact with many different people every day no matter what their role or setting is. Some essential skills a nurse should have are communication and collaboration. Communication skills are oftentimes called interpersonal skills (Black, 2020). I learned that successful interactions could determine the level of comfort and trust between the nurse and the patient. “The development of self-awareness, nonjudgmental acceptance of others, communication skills, and collaboration skills are all essential components of effective interpersonal skills in nursing” (Black, 2020). Hildegard Peplau focused on the relationships between the patient and the nurse. She suggested that an individual’s use of communication skills and personality to help others is the “therapeutic use of self” (Black, 2020). I found this topic to be intriguing. While reading this chapter I learned that there are three phases of the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship and the benefits it can have on the patient outcome. The three phases are the orientation or introduction phase, the working phase, and the termination phase. During the phases, the nurse gets to know the patient, develops trust, addresses the tasks needed for care, and ends the relationship in a therapeutic way (Black, 2020). The nurse can accomplish these goals by actively listening and using other communication techniques. It is important for the nurse to establish a relationship with the patient or the patient’s family before the nursing process begins. Obtaining certain skills might help nurses to increase communication, conflict resolution, and individual performance. (Codier, 2017).

Through communication and collaboration, the nurse can be an educator for the patient. The class discussion has altered my thoughts and views of patient education. I initially thought that it was the doctor’s responsibility to teach the patients about their illness or condition and how to care for themselves at home. After reading the articles I realized that the nurse plays a major role in educating the patient and their families. Some obstacles that can hinder patient education are language and culture barriers, literacy barriers, learning styles, and physiological or emotional issues (Beagley, 2011). Nurses can use certain tools and resources to help overcome the challenges they may face. Skills they can use include being conscious of cultural competencies, having literacy education while receiving nursing education, being aware of both verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors, and providing each patient with education in a way that meets their individual needs.

In the nursing profession, there are four fundamental patterns of knowing. They are determined according to their meaning and are empirics, esthetics, personal knowledge, and ethics (Carper, 1978). Understanding the patterns is a vital part of the learning and teaching of nursing. I define knowledge as the basic understanding a person has before learning about a certain topic or area of study. The patterns of knowing that I found to be interesting include empirics, ethical knowing, and personal knowledge. The science of nursing, which is also known as empirics involves concepts, theories, principles, and research. It can include knowledge that is gained from nursing and knowledge from other fields such as psychology, biology, and sociology (Zander, 2007). In class, I learned that an example of empirical knowing is evidence-based practice. Ethical knowing is an individual’s judgment about what should be done at that specific moment, what is right, and what is a responsible decision. It often involves clarifying opposing values and exploring alternative solutions. The nurse’s knowledge of morals and ethics goes more in-depth than just simply being familiar with the norms or ethical codes of the profession. Nurse's actions are planned and implemented to fulfill the goals and provide high-quality care (Carper, 1978). Personal knowledge requires a nurse to know themselves to properly engage with others. It involves planned or instinctive interactions that focus on a shift or change in a relationship that cultivates a new connectedness (Zander, 2007). In class, I learned about some of the reasons why there are patterns of knowing in nursing. The patterns of nursing can improve nursing practice, assist with the expression of nursing knowledge, and recognize the importance of learning that occurs outside of academic settings.

Throughout the semester the many topics and skills that have been discussed caused me to have a different outlook on the nursing profession. When reading the articles and discussing them with my peers, my thoughts and views have progressively changed. In certain topics, my opinions have drastically changed, while others have been strengthened. Participating in this class each week has challenged my way of thinking and has taught me how to act and think like a skillful nurse.