Adult Nursing Theories & Practice
Nursing is a profession in healthcare that mainly focuses on providing care to individuals, families, and communities. Nursing encompasses many specialties that work independently to fulfill a common aim that includes the attainment, maintenance, and recovery of optimal healthcare and quality among the populations from conception to the end of life. The field of knowledge that stems from various contributions of nursing scientists and other sources such as evidence-based practice and peer-reviewed journals provides the main basis of nursing.
Definitions of nursing and its meanings vary across many countries and situations. However, I believe nursing to be a professional field whose ideals are based on service to humanity as enshrined in its foundations and history. Core to nursing is the altruistic behaviors that a professional must exhibit to deliver and restore care to the community. In light of the above, therefore, I believe nursing is the employment of clinical judgment in the same way that other medical professionals do in a bid to improve, maintain or help recover/or cope with health shortfalls. It’s worth emphasizing that the main aim of the above approach is to ensure all human beings lead a healthy and quality life till death.
Nursing, therefore, entails one being in the front line in the delivery of quality healthcare. Nursing involves advocating for the patient’s interest because of incapacitation, thanks to their deprived state. It also involves the coordination of the delivery of care by physicians, practitioners, and social workers to ensure the nursing aims outlined earlier are met. Additionally, nursing involves educating patients on the right procedures and treatments that they need to get better. Furthermore, nursing involves the empowerment of patients and their loved ones through education on healthy practices, correct ways of taking medicine, first aid, and the use of medical equipment. Nursing cannot be complete without the provision of dignity to patients, especially those that are approaching their end of life, more importantly in making decisions on their course of life. They do the above through advocating for the use of pain relief medications and respect for their last wishes.
Personal values
The development of nursing and the discovery of new approaches to make the profession better is continuous. I have worked before as a medical secretary, and there are many comparisons that can be drawn between the two fields. One of the values that rank high in my former profession and that I bring to this course is patient confidentiality. In the position of a medical secretary, one has access to confidential records that detail the medical histories of various clients. Respect for clients’ confidentiality and their right to privacy is one of the most fundamental values I bring to this course.
Given that different patients come from different backgrounds, there is always the potential for conflict. One value that I learned as a medical secretary and that I bring to this course is patience. Patience is a necessary and crucial personal value in dealing with people from different backgrounds, especially as one is prone to irritation. Unionism and objectivity are also other values that I bring to this course. In the medical secretary field, one is prone to be exposed to situations that demand unity and objectivity as professionals. In such situations, there are few people hurt in the course of dispensing services, and professionals get to keep their reputations.