NRS 430 Contemporary Nursing Practice Assignment

NRS 430 Contemporary Nursing Practice Assignment

Nursing practice involve wide range of health care activities. This paper seeks advance various key areas of contemporary nursing practice. In particular, the paper will discuss the evolution of nursing practice overtime, comparison and contrast of the differentiated practice competencies between an associate and baccalaureate education in nursing, identify a patient care situation that portrays how nursing care differs between the BSN prepared nurse and the ADN nurse, discussion of the essence of applying evidence-based practice to nursing and how RNBSN supports its application, and illustration of interdisciplinary team collaboration and communication among nurses and how it supports patient outcomes.

There are so many sources that entail the life of Florence Nightingale. This version makes me envision Florence as a very inspiring accolade. Florence Nightingale refused to be married when she was 17 years old as she chose to answer her calling despite her parents being against enrolling as a nursing student at the Lutheran Hospital in Germany. Nightingale faced a cholera outbreak in an unsanitary environment when she returned from school to London and worked at Middlesex hospital. She worked hard to improve the environment’s sanitation, significantly decreasing the number of deaths. All the hard work eventually affected Nightingale’s health. The Crimean War happened between the British and Russian Empires, and many soldiers were admitted into military hospitals. There were not enough female nurses stationed at Crimea hospitals. England then was angry due to the neglect of the soldiers who had fallen ill and injured and lacked medical care due to insufficient caregivers leading to dreadful unsanitary, and inhumane conditions. Nightingale then was called to her calling despite barely recovering from her illness. She assembled a team of nurses and sailed them to Crimea. Nightingale and her nurses warned of the conditions they were about to face but were still unprepared for what they witnessed upon their arrival.

Evolution of Nursing Practice

Nursing practice has gradually changed overtime. According to Ranard, (2015), nursing was initiated when it did not require formal medical training but it was based on the gender and eagerness for the job. At that time, women would learn medical skills from their mothers or other women in nursing. Women were regarded as caretakers and nursing was perceived as extension of their job as care takers. Nurses used to deal with minor ailments and help patients who were unable to perform activities of daily living. However, the nursing profession started changing after the creation of council of nurses in different countries which brought the rules, standards, and regulations which turned the nursing into a profession (Ranard, 2015).

Today, nursing profession has drastically changed and is characterized by extensive training programs, more responsibilities, better hospitals, focus on patient care, and more diversified staff. Moreover, the current nurses are more about leading change, promoting teamwork and consistency, prioritizing, and organizing, which have in turn changed the scope of practice and approach to treat an individual by increasing efficiency in health care, saved lives, and led to generations of devoted medical professionals.  Essentially, the current nurses act as bridge that binds team of health care professionals and other disciplines together.

Compare and Contrast the Differentiated Practice Competencies between an Associate and Baccalaureate Education in Nursing

Nurses with Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) both practice as registered nurses. However, their competencies in practice vary significantly depending the variation in nursing education. The education of ADN takes a period of three years and it’s mostly technical. Moreover, it focuses on the clinical skills intended to enhance patient health status. The ADN scope of practice is usually task oriented and nurses are held responsible for their actions. ADNs are expected to have the ability of evaluating, planning, and executing proper patient care from the time patient visits to the triage until admission or discharge.

On the other hand, BSN connotes a four-year program that involves various nursing issues such as nursing roles, critical thinking, patient care, supervision, management, and community