Capstone Week 10

Reflection Journal week 1

New practice approaches

I must say, this is my very first time I am so overwhelmed plus a terrifying anxiety with this class. I felt like there was a mountain sitting on my chest, but I am so happy that am Preceptor is willing to work with the change proposal regarding Covid 19. My proposal will be based on handwashing to prevent covid 19. Hand washing is an important practice for minimizing the spread of covid-19 in healthcare facilities. Practicing hand washing at regular intervals helps to eliminate germs from hands. Healthcare providers must wash their hands after coughing/sneezing, after using the toilet, after handling a patient, and before handling a patient. Hand hygiene is a simple and effective way to prevent the spread of covid-19 infections (CDC, 2021).

The new approaches outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlight that healthcare providers should use an alcohol-based hand rub or wash their hands with soap and water. This practice is necessary for healthcare providers before touching a patient, performing aseptic procedures, or handling invasive medical devices (CDC, 2021). It is also essential for health professionals to wash their hands before moving from a soiled body site to a clean body site when treating a patient. After touching a patient and interact with the immediate environment, nurses and physicians must wash their hands thoroughly. Hand washing is also necessary after contact with body fluids or contaminated surfaces and immediately after removing the gloves.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that health facilities ensure that all healthcare personnel wash their hands with soap and running water when their hands are soiled. The facilities should provide the supplies necessary for adherence to hand hygiene, and they should be accessible areas where patient care takes place. According to the World Health Organization guidelines, health workers should practice hand hygiene using alcohol-based hand rub containing 60-80% alcohol or using soap, water, and disposable towels (WHO, 2021).

Interprofessional collaboration

Interprofessional collaboration refers to a practice of approaching patient care from a team-based perspective. It happens when two or more professionals work collaboratively to attain common objectives and are used to solve various issues and complex problems. Implementation of interprofessional collaboration and working together and respecting other people in the health facility, various fields can operate together more effectively to enhance patient outcomes like social worker, physical therapy, and staff member in various department. Hand washing is the first-line defense to prevent covid-19 in health care facilities. Regular handwashing is one of the efficient techniques to remove germs, avoid contracting illnesses, and preventing spreading germs to other individuals. Regular hand washing is one of the key behaviors that was promoted during the covid-19 pandemic (Hollis et al., 2021). Through collaboration among all health practitioners in the health facility, hand washing can help ensure all professionals' well-being and control the spread of the virus from one professional to another. An individual can get Covid-19 virus if they touch their eyes, nose, or mouth without washing their hands, contact contaminated surface or objects, prepare, or eat food without washing hands, and cough or sneeze into their hands and then contact another person physically. Therefore, an individual needs to ensure they wash their hands regularly.

Washing hands is an easy process. Clean hands can prevent the spread of the covid-19 virus from one person to another and throughout the entire health facility. Proper hand washing using soap and water is a major contributor to the prevention of covid-19 because it helps deactivate and remove the tiny virus from a person's hands. Hand washing is an effective method that was used to reduce and prevent the spread of covid-19 (Hollis et al., 2021). Good hygiene is the key to preventing its spread. Thorough hand washing coupled with other essential behaviors will be key to preventing the pandemic. Until everyone in the globe is vaccinated, preventing covid-19 from one person to another will help reduce the impact of the virus on people’s livelihood, health, and lives.

Health Care Delivery and Clinical Systems

I was successful meet with my preceptor, I was able to develop my PICOT Question Paper, and I was able to critically evaluate evidence‐based research and other appropriate resources to inform the development of my change in capstone Change Project Objectives.

Covid-19 can be spread through various ways by touching eyes, nose, or mouth without washing hands, contacting contaminated surfaces or objects, preparing, or eating food without washing hands, coughing or sneezing into their hands, and then contacting another person physically. If a covid-19 patient sneezes or coughs, they release infected fluid, which falls on nearby surfaces, and another individual can catch the virus by touching the contaminated surface (World Health Organization, 2020). Therefore, hand washing is the primary method of preventing the spread of covid-19. Health care delivery and clinical systems have a role in hand washing to prevent the spread of the virus. First, healthcare delivery and clinical systems should ensure that functional hand washing stations are easily accessible in their health facilities. Functional hand washing stations should be positioned at all points of care. These stations must be accessible in the facility’s entry and exit points and other public areas. Health care delivery and clinical systems are required to establish or strengthen hand washing improvement strategies. They should offer fresher education on hand washing to health care practitioners. They should procure sufficient amounts of quality hand washing supplies. All health care practitioners must adhere to hand washing rules to ensure patient safety.

Health care facilities need to make handwashing a vital quality monitoring factor. Complying with hand washing standards needs to be a core element of each health facility's covid-19 prevention regimen and identify risk areas and prioritize finding solutions to these risks. Health care facilities should provide education and information to the public on hand washing during the epidemic. Various sources can be used to educate on the importance of hand washing and the right-hand washing techniques. Compliance of the general public with hand washing is one of the most cost-effective techniques of preventing the spread of covid-19 (Bazaid et al., 2020). Effective covid-19 infection control and preventive actions, especially hand washing, must be implemented to ensure that health care facilities do not become hubs of covid-19 spread and reduce healthcare-related infections. Health care professionals must be trained and provided with the resources needed to implement good hand washing practices to respond to the epidemic and maintain essential services.

Ethical considerations in health care

Ethical considerations in health care are essential provisions that effectively guide the action taken by any healthcare professional in regard to assisting the patient. The hand washing training to curb the spread of Covid-19 in healthcare facilities would immensely require adherence to the staff's good moral and appropriate conduct. The main objective of the capstone project is to ensure the spread of Covid-19 is minimized through hand washing candidly. However, teaching the staff effectively will require utmost understanding following the established code of ethics. For instance, the first provision of the code of ethics dictates that a nurse would always act with compassion and respect coupled with the inherent dignity of each individual. Therefore, ethical consideration would play a fundamental role in ensuring the objective of the capstone project is realized.

Based on the professional practice of healthcare provision, I have learned that I have different areas of strengths and weaknesses. The professional practice of nursing requires commitment and dedication when implementing healthcare interventions that can help address patients' challenges (Clements et al., 2016). My strength has been evident in staying committed and being consistent in what I do in the healthcare facility. My collaboration with my preceptor has allowed me to realize my potential while working on my project proposal, especially how to handle the staff. There are some areas in which I had little understanding of how to work out. For instance, implementing issues related to my professional practice was one area that I could not achieve without collaborating with my preceptor. I was also committed to ensuring I avail myself when performing a professional practice. Secondly, my consistency and effective time management also allowed me to achieve my objective as far as understanding handwashing healthcare intervention was concerned. My positive working relationship with my preceptor has been my major strength in this professional practice.

However, I also realized some weaknesses, which, when I focus on addressing, I can become a good professional practitioner in a healthcare facility in the future. First, I often became nervous about what I was doing, especially when implementing the professional practice. The moment I tried implementing a professional practice, I could find myself feeling nervous. This weakness makes me feel unable to implement my duties. I also realized poor time management as a second weakness that I need to address. However, seeking assistance from my preceptor will help me to overcome the challenge of nervousness. In summary, I have learned and understood the need of helping to implement healthcare interventions in healthcare facilities.

Reflection Journal week 5

Practices of Culturally Sensitive Care

With covid-19 transmission spreading through direct, indirect, or close contact with an infected individual through nose or mouth secretions, washing hands with running water and soap is vital. Hand washing at regular intervals is necessary while preparing food, before eating, when taking care of a patient, and after sneezing or coughing to curb the spread of the virus. Regular hand washing is an essential part of covid-19 prevention (Pogrebna & Kharlamov, 2020). After touching common surfaces such as shopping counters, hand washing can help keep an individual safe from the virus and those around them. Culturally sensitive care is the ability of a health care professional to be appropriately responsive to circumstances, feelings, or attitudes of a patient who they have a different cultural, religious, national, or racial heritage. It involves considering individual psychological, cultural, and social patient’s needs. I can encourage individuals to observe hand washing practices to prevent covid-19 regardless of their origin. Culturally sensitive care aims to reduce health disparities provide optimal medical care to patients without paying attention to the patient's cultural or religious beliefs, gender, race, and ethnicity.

I can engage in various practices to ensure culturally sensitive care. The first practice is to avoid assumptions. As a nurse, I should not make assumptions about cultures they are not conversant with. Making assumptions can lead to a lack of rapport and trust between a practitioner and patient hence lowering treatment acceptance. I have learned that I need to be eager to learn from patients about their cultures. The second practice is educating patients on healthy practices. I should give every patient informed consent for medical practices regardless of their cultural background. Educating patients empowers and helps them have more control over their health (Yeh et al., 2018). For example, I can explain why hand washing is important to prevent the spread of covid-19. A practitioner plays an important role in explaining why a procedure is required. The third practice is overcoming language barriers. Language barriers can pose a major challenge to providing culturally sensitive care.

I have discovered that as a nurse, I have to ensure that patients know how and why medical practices are important and how they can apply them in their health. I have learned that I must engage with my patients regardless of their backgrounds to ensure that I offer quality care. I have learned that I can use patient education and culturally sensitive care to improve health outcomes. One of my strengths is that I am willing to learn from my patients to provide them with quality care. One of my weaknesses is that I get emotionally attached to my patient, which can hinder quality care. I achieved course competency by educating a diabetic patient on observing her behaviors to improve her health outcomes.

Ensuring the integrity of human dignity in the care of all patients

Due to the increasing rates of people infected with the Coronavirus, the World Health Organization insists on the need for people to consider hand washing practices. I support health experts in emphasizing that hand washing practices are the best and simplest to curb the spread of the deadly virus. Therefore, health care institutions need to create awareness and identify the various benefits of hand washing practices (Poole et al., 2020). In this way, it enables them to ensure that the integrity of human dignity gets offered to all patients. By offering them the required integrity, patients tend to feel considered and valued. The journal identifies the various ways to promote human dignity, including observing confidentiality, providing the patients' needs, and involving patients in decision-making. However, there are some personal strengths and weaknesses that I encountered during my professional practice. One of my strengths is that I offered professional assistance to the patients. On the other hand, my weakness is the communicating and observing the different cultures of patients. From my personal experience, I engaged in promote hand washing practices in my professional practice to encourage optimal outcomes such as the reduced spread of Covid-19. Healthcare professionals and clinical nurses need to engage in an interprofessional collaboration whereby they insist on adopting hand washing practices as the best way of disease prevention. Ideally, I conclude that hand washing practices are the best ways of curbing the spread of Covid-19 since it is simple and easily available. Through an interprofessional collaboration, a healthcare institution can manage to convince patients and health workers that handwashing is one of the fundamental cornerstones of promoting the spread of the virus.

From a personal point of view, healthcare institutions need to adopt new healthcare and clinical systems that support handwashing practices in fighting the virus. One of the best healthcare practices that I would recommend is cleaning hands as a priority before getting any services from the hospital. On the other hand, it would be better for healthcare institutions to introduce antimicrobial hand washing products and antiseptic hand products that fight germs (Moore et al., 2021). They can also decide to place sanitizers in every central location to avoid spreading the deadly virus. Most importantly, healthcare institutions need to create water points at different locations to promote handwashing practices. By considering the above strategies, I believe that healthcare institutions stand in a great position of curbing the spread of the virus since the practices promote hand hygiene. However, there are certain ethical issues that they need to consider, such as carefulness, responsibility, and respect to the patients and other health workers. The various aspects need to be considered while promoting awareness about the hand washing practices.

Reflection Journal week 7

Population health concerns

The change proposal topic of Hand washing Training to Curb the Spread of Covid 19 in health care facilities has allowed me to learn and discover many things about population health concerns. I have realized that many people are concerned about the significance of hand washing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Haque, 2020). One of the population health concerns I have discovered is the use of technologies to enforce hand washing among healthcare professionals and the general public. The use of technology in healthcare facilities as an intervention in promoting hand washing has significantly contributed to a positive response among many individuals. As a population health concern, hand washing helps prevent illness and the spread of COVID-19 among other infectious diseases to people. Germs from unwashed hands can easily be transferred to other surfaces that people interact with. Touching such surfaces without knowing contributes to the spread of COVID-19

About my professional practice, I have discovered that health professionalism requires commitment and dedication. I have also learned from my professional practice that strictly following health guidelines to prevent COVID-19 is critical as it helps prevent the spread of the virus among my fellow healthcare professionals. In exercising my duties as a healthcare professional, I have also discovered my strength. I am a self-driven healthcare professional who is always at the forefront of doing the right thing at the right time for the right purpose. This is one of the strengths that any healthcare professional needs to help achieve a common goal (Gopee & Galloway 2017). Additionally, I have always been ready to listen to patient concerns, and this practice has made many patients consider my services always. The only weakness I have realized is wanting to do everything at once. This often makes me get tired. However, I plan to address this challenge. Concerning an additional resource that can influence optimal outcomes, more advanced hand washing technologies will be vital.

The role of technology in improving health care outcomes

The pandemic depicted the importance and need to have enhanced technology in the health care environment. When most healthcare providers needed to reduce infection through wearing protective heath equipment, technology was needed. Not only was the technology important during the health care provision, but before any care would be provided. Cities like Wuhan, where there were a lot of cases, had many patients suffering from the coronavirus. The government utilized technology to spray the town and even ensure that people maintained a healthy environment and lifestyle (Mokhov et al., 2020). The demand for hand washing was high, and the reduction of human contact was important.

The health care providers needed to be creative to ensure that hand hygiene is prioritized for the patients and other people in need of health services. The ability to utilize the technology without touching any areas of soap makes it even easier to reduce the spread of illnesses. New technologies such as motion sensor soap and sanitizer dispensers were introduced. They ensured efficient management of the spread of the illness through undertaking reliable care (Mokhov et al., 2020). The hand washing and use of sanitizer would allow the patients to have sufficient protection from germs and prevent any hospital infections.

The robots and telecommunication devices also made it easier to provide services in the health care environment. The robots could be controlled manually or automatically with the help of all. It would be reliable and effective to promote sufficient care in managing illnesses that are performed as an essential role in mitigating COVID-19 (Thilagaraj et al., 2021). The use of remote care through robotics and other technologies prevents any new infections. It reduces the pressure of patient care providers having to be in multiple places at the same time. It also reduces the issue of burnout as most health care providers can also use robotics to administer care still.

Nursing as professional practice is quite demanding and requires the input of all the involved stakeholders. It needs the individuals to be directly engaged in terms of sharing information and ideas. The personal strengths and weaknesses I identified about myself are that I prefer working alone more than interacting with people. This factor may result in anxiety if I have to work in teams and possess coordination (Thilagaraj et al., 2021). A strength that I realized I have is that I am a good team leader. My leadership skills have helped me coordinate with multiple people in different activities. The introduction of electronic systems in the health care environment would allow for better results to be achieved.

Health policy

The world health organization declared the covid-19 pandemic a global health emergency because it is highly transmittable. The transmission of the virus involves the passing of the virus from one person to another. It can be transmitted through the respiratory system when individuals inhale small airborne particles and droplets that infected persons exhale as they sing, cough, breath, sneeze or talk (Guner et al., 2020. The virus can also be transmitted by touching infected surfaces and then touching the mouth, nose, or eyes before one wash their hands. The spread of the virus can be prevented through regular hand washing with soap and running water, wearing masks while in public spaces, cleaning common surfaces regularly, and avoiding close contact with infected persons. Hand washing is one of the essential steps that an individual can take to avoid contracting covid-19 through regular hand washing with soap and running water helps remove germs from the body. Hand washing helps curb the spread of covid-19 since people touch their mouth, noses, and eyes without even realizing, the virus can get into the food that people eat, and the virus can be transferred to surfaces such as railings and tabletops.

Teaching the staff in a health care facility about hand washing is essential in curbing the spread of the virus. Promoting handwashing at all levels of care is crucial. There have been continuous campaigns to encourage hand washing among health care workers (Alzyood et al., 2020). Hand washing is a simple action that can reduce healthcare-associated infections and ensure patient safety. No patient should catch the virus when receiving treatment in a health facility. All staff should be trained to ensure that there are enough and accessible hand washing points where the patient and health practitioners can wash their hands. Health administrators should ensure that the hand washing points are placed in all points of care and ensure that all staff understands the need for hand washing. Health facilities should ensure that they establish or strengthen hand washing improvement techniques. Health administrators should ensure that the health workers receive refresher training on hand washing.

As a nurse, I have discovered that patients' needs must be met to enhance patient outcomes and enhance patient safety. I have learned that I have to ensure that I follow the guidelines provided by my administrator to ensure patient safety. I have learned that even though I am a qualified nurse, I still have to attend training sessions to enhance my knowledge and be updated with the latest information. One of my strengths is that I am eager and ready to learn whenever a chance arises. As a nurse, I ensure that I gain the most from the training programs. One of my greatest weaknesses is that I attempt to complete many tasks at once. I gained a course competency by applying the twenty-second handwashing rule.

Reflection Journal week 10

Leadership and economic models

Health disparities

Leadership is essential in every field, but especially in healthcare. Leadership and the hospital's guiding economic model determine the route a care delivery management takes. In other words, an economic model is a strategy that helps you achieve your financial goals and objectives. The healthcare organization's leadership and economic model are inseparable and influence the organization's core values. Genuine and understanding leadership is what keeps the facility afloat in today's fast-paced marketplace (Barilla, Shah, and Rawson, 2019). Health care providers in the US are largely market-driven; thus, their policies are constrained by those models. As Barilla, Shah, and Rawson stated, creating value in improving health can only be achieved by implementing policies in line with the current times and connecting with where people are today. The capstone project will be implemented based on the current policies and the urgent need for new trends. A pandemic like COVID-19 has compelled health facilities to allocate resources in a pandemic-focused manner (Ibn-Mohammed et al., 2021). For instance, healthcare facilities have been spending a lot of money on hand washing training to curb the spread of Covid 19 in the facilities. It's not uncommon for people to get infected while in healthcare facilities. As a result, there is a need for effective treatments and protective measures to curb the spread of the virus. This is because the virus can be transmitted through the respiratory system if a person comes into contact with droplets that an infected individual exhale as they talk, sneeze, breath, or cough (Sign, 2020). Therefore, healthcare facility leaders must ensure that all staff is trained and given all the required resources for handwashing. The leaders also need to ensure that there are many hand washing points in the facility and encourage everyone to take the activity more seriously. Leaders should also ensure that the training is not one-time since the staff needs refresher training on handwashing.

In the United States, health disparities are a prevalent occurrence. Many resources go toward healthcare, but enormous inequalities in health outcomes persist. Health insurance is one of the concerns that contribute to differences in health outcomes. It's important to remember that Medicare and Medicaid only cover a small section of the population. However, a significant portion of the population earns a middle-class wage, making out-of-pocket payments for medical expenses impractical. This results in health inequities exacerbated by socioeconomic factors that affect lifestyles (Edwards, Coddington, Erler & Kirkpatrick, 2018). Evidence-based approaches will be used to the spread of Covid 19 in healthcare facilities. The concern of health inequalities is a political issue that must be addressed and a professional issue that must be addressed at every facility (Mishra et al., 2021). Through professional-approved techniques, this study aims at preventing the spread of Covid 19 in healthcare facilities. Practices such as hand hygiene and the application of chlorohexidine are critical to achieving improved outcomes (Ruffin, Hawkins & Lee, 2017). Patient safety and lowering health disparities can be improved by using evidence-based methods.

In this project, I have had both strengths and weaknesses attributable to different objectives. For strengths, I have realized how effective it is to be a leader while deliberating on certain issues that came with the Covid-19. Besides, working the peer has been a success since the guidance shown to me was immense. Therefore, my strengths can be attributed to the collaboration that was implemented for all stakeholders. On the other hand, there have been weaknesses, especially when it came to getting information from in the facility's management. To learn about leadership and management, it is necessary to involve the stakeholders who have experience. However, getting that information was not easy, and that became a weakness for me.

References

Alzyood, M., Jackson, D., Aveyard, H., & Brooke, J. (2020). COVID‐19 reinforces the importance of handwashing. Journal of clinical nursing.