Integrations

Nursing Essentials

Majory Joseph

Westcoast University

Nursing Capstone 497

Professor D. Jaramillo

3/16/2022

Nursing Essentials

The nursing essentials identify the key competencies that graduate nurses should possess to effectively deliver high-quality care focusing on improvement of outcomes (American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), 2008). The various education programs, including graduate entry and baccalaureate education, should equip nurses with the skills to deliver the outcomes outlined in the nine essentials. Essential I requires graduates to integrate the knowledge learned from different subjects in nursing practice. For example, using the knowledge learned from performing arts, such as music, to administer holistic care (Sonke et al., 2015).

Essential II recognizes the need for system and organization leadership to deliver quality care and improve patient safety. For example, the leadership skills learned from this education program would be essential in developing effective relationships with other providers to facilitate care coordination (Joseph & Huber, 2015).

Essential III focuses on the integration of evidence-based practice in nursing care. For example, the baccalaureate program facilitates understanding of how to apply current evidence from research to make better clinical decisions and improve patient outcomes. Nurses need the skills to apply evidence-based findings in their practice to make better clinical judgments (Black et al., 2015).

Essential IV recognizes the need for graduate nurses to possess technical skills to apply patient care technology in their practice. For example, graduate nurses are encouraged to understand how to use computers and other information technology systems to collect and ethically use patient data. Digital literacy is the future of the nursing profession (Anderberg et al., 2019).

Essential V requires graduates to understand health policies and other regulatory policies that influence nursing practice. For example, the understanding of the state licensure allows nurses to understand their scope of practice. Understanding health policies allow nurses to effectively perform their advocacy role (Arabi et al., 2014).

Essential VI recognizes the importance of effective communication and collaboration of interdisciplinary healthcare professionals in improving patient outcomes. For example, interprofessional communication skills learned in baccalaureate education allow nurses to develop collegial relationships and trust among healthcare team members. Interprofessional communication skills are essential in developing and implementing collaborative patient care strategies (Busari et al., 2017).

Essential VII emphasizes clinical prevention and the promotion of the health of populations. For example, baccalaureate education allows students to develop the skills to assess patients' health beliefs and attitudes that affect their behaviors and their risk to health problems, which is important in the prevention of diseases as well as the promotion of health (Ferrer & Klein, 2015).

Essential VIII emphasizes the importance of professional values and professionalism in nursing practice. For example, baccalaureate education allows nurses to understand the professional values that help them to maintain ethical behavior, such as autonomy, integrity, social justice, and human dignity. Professional standards allow nurses to respect patient privacy and confidentiality and solve ethical dilemmas (Epstein & Turner, 2015).

Lastly, essential IX emphasizes the outcomes achieved by applying essentials I-VIII by integrating the skills and knowledge from each of the essentials. For example, the skills learned from the education program allow graduates to deliver comprehensive patient assessment and implement holistic care based on patient beliefs and attitudes. Effective communication allows nurses to develop patient-centered relationships and contribute to the improvement of patient outcomes (Molina-Mula & Gallo-Estrada, 2020).

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2008). The essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice. https://www.aacnnursing.org/portals/42/publications/baccessentials08.pdf

Anderberg, P., Björling, G., Stjernberg, L., & Bohman, D. (2019). Analyzing nursing students' relation to electronic health and technology as individuals and students and in their future career (the enursed study): Protocol for a longitudinal study. JMIR Research Protocols, 8(10), e14643. https://doi.org/10.2196/14643

Arabi, A., Rafii, F., Cheraghi, M. A., & Ghiyasvandian, S. (2014). Nurses' policy influence: A concept analysis. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 19(3), 315–322. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4061635/

Black, A. T., Balneaves, L. G., Garossino, C., Puyat, J. H., & Qian, H. (2015). Promoting evidence-based practice through a research training program for point-of-care clinicians. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 45(1), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000151

Busari, J. O., Moll, F. M., & Duits, A. J. (2017). Understanding the impact of interprofessional collaboration on the quality of care: a case report from a small-scale resource limited health care environment. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 10, 227–234. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S140042

Epstein, B., & Turner, M. (2015). The nursing code of ethics: Its value, its history. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(2), Manuscript 4. https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol20No02Man04

Ferrer, R., & Klein, W. M. (2015). Risk perceptions and health behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 5, 85–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.03.012

Joseph, M. L., & Huber, D. L. (2015). Clinical leadership development and education for nurses: prospects and opportunities. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 7, 55–64. https://doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S68071

Molina-Mula, J., & Gallo-Estrada, J. (2020). Impact of nurse-patient relationship on quality of care and patient autonomy in decision-making. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 835. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030835

Sonke, J., Pesata, V., Arce, L., Carytsas, F. P., Zemina, K., & Jokisch, C. (2015). The effects of arts-in-medicine programming on the medical-surgical work environment. Arts & Health, 7(1), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2014.966313