Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation- Mental Health

Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation- Mental Health

Health Program

My healthcare program is mental health in the ICU. Mental health in the ICU is a critical aspect of health that affects the welfare of not only patients but also patients’ relatives, healthcare providers, and the community at large. Irrespective of its vitality, mental health is, at times, overlooked and may lead to the existing gap in the completeness of holistic care (Canavera & Elliott, 2020). The costs of this program revolve around staff remuneration, purchasing a specialized machine for patient monitoring, conducting staff training, and other mental health resources, including facilitation of counseling sessions. The projected outcomes include a reduction of ICU-related mental health complications, improved patient and family satisfaction in terms of mental health, alleviating family and patient concerns and worries concerning their illness, and, finally, facilitating smooth transitions to the post-ICU care setting.

Target Population

The primary beneficiaries of this program are the patients in the ICU, particularly those at high risk of developing mental health problems. However, the families of the patient and the community are also affected and will benefit from the program. For instance, individuals admitted to the ICU due to various reasons, including accidents, disease processes, and others, may be experiencing difficulties in their mental health. Implementing this program will improve psychological and mental health, which will create optimum mental health for the recuperation process. Secondly, the ICU is associated with life-threatening conditions, and therefore, families may fear losing their loved ones. Also, there is an increased possibility of having a permanent physical disability post-ICU, which affects the productivity of the patient. This may affect the social roles of the patient. Further, the reduction of ICU-related mental health complications that may prolong the periods in the unit will help reduce the costs attributed to the long ICU stays, which may result in diversion of the financial resources to other projects in the community. Lastly, the promotion of mental health among the members of the community prevents other complications, such as pathological grieving, which alters the normal functioning of the members of the community and reduces other associated conditions that can emanate from altered mental. Proper mental health care promotes acceptance and helps both the patient and the family to adapt smoothly to the new coping mechanisms associated with the post-ICU.

Nurses’ Role in Program Design

Nurses spend most of their time with patients during their hospitalization process. They respond to patients’ concerns about their illness, identify the deficits of care, and respond to the concerns of the relatives. Nurses are, in most cases, the link between the patient and other health care providers. For this reason, nurses are in an ideal position to conduct a comprehensive patient assessment from their daily interactions with the patient (Flaubert et al., 2021). Consequently, this justifies the need for nurses to be involved in program design due to their extensive knowledge of patients’ needs. Their input towards design helps them come up with a holistic perspective regarding the program. They not only focus on medical management but also on other factors, such as patient self-management strategies and available community resources. From their comprehensive patient assessment, they can propose the best materials for education, determine the best structures of the group, as well as determine how to integrate the technology in monitoring (Flaubert et al., 2021).

Nurses’ Advocacy Role for the Target Population

The nurse is the primary advocate for patients. Apart from the initial assessment done during the admission of the patient, nurses conduct a comprehensive daily assessment of the patient and this helps them identify the mental health needs of their patients. They raise awareness about the mental health needs of their patients to the healthcare team and other stakeholders in the ICU. In addition, they collaborate with the other members to ensure that the program design integrates mental health considerations in their care protocols, contribute to staff training initiatives, and take part in developing policies governing the ICU.

Nurses’ Role in Program Implementation

The scope of nurses defines them as leaders, organizers, educators, team players, and researchers. This helps them to implement the program according to the established plan in coordination with efforts from other disciplines. For instance, nurses exercise their role as educators by providing ongoing education to the participants and themselves. The role of nurses in implementation also requires the utilization of their research skills to pilot-test the program and collect feedback. This improves the efficacy of the program, where they identify the strengths and weaknesses of the program implementation and provide possible evidence-based solutions to the program implementation weaknesses (Ten Ham-Baloyi, 2022). By considering nurses’ input in the program implementation, the success and achievement of the goals and objectives of the program will be the ultimate reward, providing both client and professional satisfaction.

The role of nurses in implementation focuses on ensuring smooth program execution, taking actions conceptualized in the program design, and obtaining real-world feedback about the program. This is contrary to their role in design, which focuses on setting objectives and conceptualizing the program.

Members of the Healthcare Team Needed to Implement the Program

To achieve the holistic and comprehensiveness of a program, there is a need for coordinated multidisciplinary collaboration. For this program, the key players include nurses, physicians, dieticians, social workers, and pharmacists. For example, dieticians can provide nutritional guidance, physicians and pharmacists can provide pharmacological management, and social workers can connect patients to community resources and another support system (Karuga et al., 2023). These are the key stakeholders in this program, but all input from other disciplines that can help in the betterment of our program is applauded.

References

Canavera, K. E., & Elliott, D. A. (2020). Mental health care during and after the ICU. Chest, 158(5), 1835–1836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2020.06.028

Flaubert, J. L., Menestrel, S. L., Williams, D. R., & Wakefield, M. K. (2021). The role of nurses in improving health care access and quality. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573910/

Karuga, R., Dieleman, M., Mbindyo, P., Ozano, K., Wairiuko, J., Broerse, J. E. W., & Kok, M. (2023). Community participation in the health system: Analyzing the implementation of community health committee policies in Kenya. Primary Health Care Research & Development, 24. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1463423623000208

Ten Ham-Baloyi, W. (2022). Nurses’ roles in changing practice through implementing best practices: A systematic review. Health SA Gesondheid, 27(3). https://doi.org/10.4102/

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Review the Resources and reflect on your thinking regarding the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.
Select a healthcare program within your practice and consider the design and implementation of this program.
Reflect on advocacy efforts and the role of the nurse in healthcare program design and implementation.
The Assignment: (2–4 pages)

Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation- Mental Health

In a 2- to 4-page paper, create an interview transcript of your responses to the following interview questions:

Tell us about a healthcare program, within your practice. What are the costs and projected outcomes of this program?
Who is your target population?
What is the role of the nurse in providing input for the design of this healthcare program? Can you provide examples?
What is your role as an advocate for your target population for this healthcare program? Do you have input into design decisions? How else do you impact design?
What is the role of the nurse in healthcare program implementation? How does this role vary between the design and implementation of healthcare programs? Can you provide examples?
Who are the members of a healthcare team that you believe are most needed to implement a program? Can you explain why?