Describe how your nursing practice and ethical decision-making skills have furthered the quality and safety of patient care.” 

Describe how your nursing practice and ethical decision-making skills have furthered the quality and safety of patient care.” 

As discussed in the article, they mentioned getting back to the basics of nursing care. They encouraged the nurse to be more involved with their patient and their families. Working in a locked mental health facility, this can be somewhat tricky. Because my work is a long-term care facility, we get to know our patients pretty well. But it is a different kind of relationship. We don’t share any personal information with our patients. Telling our patients personal information could put our safety and our family’s safety at risk. So, at times it can be difficult finding ways to relate to some patients. We are encouraged by our supervisors to spend as much time out on the unit with the patients as possible. Depending on the unit I am working on, I may not feel safe sitting out there. If this is the case, the nurse and patient interactions may be done in a conference room with additional staff and cameras for safety. This is not always the kind of environment that encourages the patient to be open and forthcoming with personal information. Our involvement with our patient’s families is relatively minimal. The interactions are done mostly over the phone or through emails. Some families participate in quarterly progress reviews, and they are invited to attend these. We need to have a signed release to share any information with families, and unfortunately, when patients are struggling with mental health symptoms, they tend not to want their families involved. With this being the case, we as nurses become their support system, and we are the ones who are encouraging them to progress in treatment.  NURS 3100 3101: Issues and Trends in Nursing 

The nurse plays a significant role in the coordination of a multidisciplinary team at my work. I am in charge of coordinating the patient’s medical care and referring the patient to their physician when they have medical conditions or concerns. I also refer a patient to be seen by his psychiatrist if the patient may be struggling with symptoms. Nursing takes care of all of the patient’s basic needs. So, the patients frequently seek you out, and you are the one person they may trust. I am happy to see that there is a push to get back to the basic care of nursing because the patients are the ones who suffer when it is not.  

Fitzpatrick, M. A. (2015). The essence of nursing: It’s time to put basic nursing care back in the spotlight. American Nurse Today, 10(5). Retrieved from http://www.americannursetoday.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Essence-Supplement_page-2.pdf