NSG 4068 Week 5 Project – The Nurse as Advocate
The nursing role has continued to evolve over the years, and the scope of practice has also expanded over time. Primary care has continued to be offered in a manner that is effective and that minimizes health inequalities in the community. Registered nurses now have an opportunity to offer their services in more advanced and autonomous roles. The healthcare setting has continued to demand more advanced practice nurses, and this has been informed by the collaborative and integrative initiatives being championed aimed at offering quality and effective care to patients. In the US healthcare industry, there are about 3 million registered nurses. Unlike doctors who usually specialize in one area, nurses coordinate the care of all aspects of a patient’s overall health.
Advanced Nursing Practice (ANP) and Advanced Practice Nurse (APN).
Advanced Nurse Practitioners are highly experienced and educated members of the care team whose responsibilities include examining, assessing, diagnosing, treating, and prescribing medications to patients’ healthcare needs or referring the patient to an appropriate specialist if needed. Advanced practice nurses, on the other hand, are the most highly trained of all the registered nurses. They hold either a master’s degree or a doctorate in nursing. APNs usually perform roles that were previously reserved for doctors. They can, therefore, diagnose, order, and interpret lab tests, give anesthesia, and prescribe medications to patients. APNs comprise several specialist fields. To become an APN, students must ensure that they obtain an advanced degree from a certified nursing program. The next step involves passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. For APNs, there are four areas of specialization, which include Nurse Practitioner (NP), Certified Nurse Anesthetist (CNM), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), and Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) (Brykczynski, 2018). Although each APN performs their specific roles, their duties tend to overlap in some areas.
Family nurse practitioner (FNP)
All over the world, nurses have gained more autonomy over the period, and the roles they practice have gradually branched out to various types of specialties. Family nurse practitioners (FNPs) are one of the specialized roles. The advanced role that I am aspiring to practice is family nurse practitioner. In my role, I will be playing a crucial role in serving both individuals and families for longer periods of time. I believe this is a great role and a great specialization opportunity, as it will give me an opportunity to continue developing long-term relationships with my patients. FNPs usually collaborate with the rest of the healthcare providers in order to provide family-focused care. Some of the healthcare services provided by the FNPs include direct care, disease promotion counseling services, and health promotion (Schober, 2018).
As an FNP, it is possible for one to serve as an administrator and a policymaker. This choice of me practicing as a family nurse practitioner is inspired by the compassion I have for my community to achieve better health standards status. This role will accord me the opportunity to handle the chronic health problems and complex health challenges that my people are going through, such as diabetes and cardiac health issues. Most of these health issues are associated with lifestyles, and hence, they can be prevented if proper patient education and prevention measures are provided to the population. It is important to note that working with a population for longer improves the impact and helps in modifying health behaviors and patterns.
NSG 4068 Week 5 Project – The Nurse as Advocate
Personal Nursing Philosophy
The personal philosophy of nursing care is founded on the individual patient. In the current healthcare setting, individuals need to be at the center of the care planning process. This makes them actively involved in their own care. As an FNP, I will ensure that my patients’ wishes and preferences needs are met, and any healthcare packages are never made without involving them directly. As an FNP, I would need to practice holistic healthcare, which basically means focusing on the whole individual and not just their physical health but also their social, intellectual, sexual, spiritual, mental, and emotional health needs and preferences. As an FNP, I will need to improve my personal competencies, such as effective communication, interpersonal skills, and teamwork, as this will help me facilitate my philosophy of better healthcare for all (Schober, 2018). I have a great concern and empathy towards my patients, and this will be my biggest drive towards providing quality healthcare and ensuring my patients receive the best medical attention required for them to fully recover and better manage their conditions.
Regulatory and Legal Requirements
To practice in the state of New Jersey, one has to have the relevant education certifications from recognized nursing programs. After completing nurse practitioner education, one needs to obtain national board certification from either of the two boards that offer nurse practitioner credentials in the US, and they include the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Each of the applicants for certification, however, must submit proof of a current New Jersey registered professional nurse license in good standing, a complete application form, original official transcripts, and proof of passing the highest level of the national Advanced Practice Nurse Examination in FNP (Njconsumeraffairs.gov, 2022). After this step, one has to get certification from the New Jersey Board of Nursing, and then a license is offered to practice as a Family Nurse Practitioner.
Transformational Leadership
According to Gabel (2013), the current healthcare metamorphic nature in the United States is imperative for managers to employ transformational nurse leaders as this encourages adaptation to change. The transformation leadership style allows recognition of areas that require change. Transformational leaders inspire followers by creating a sense of commitment. Adopting the qualities displayed by transformational leaders’ nurse managers have great confidence in engaging in developmental healthcare policies, continued technological advancement, and nurses’ mentorship. Some of the roles that transformational leaders have in a healthcare setting include promoting teamwork among staff, promoting self-esteem, working towards motivating staff to function at a high level of performance, and empowering nursing staff to become involved in the development and implementation of policy procedures. As demonstrated by Gabel (2013), as a transformational leader, being trustworthy greatly inspires others and helps them process an optimistic, positive, and encouraging outlook. Transformational leaders usually possess self-confidence, self-direction, and the absence of internal conflict.
As an APN, I will apply the transformational leadership style as it will give me an opportunity to motivate my colleagues and find the most effective ways of achieving the set goals. This style is excellent in conflict resolution mechanisms, and therefore, I will be able to solve work-related conflicts and find a lasting solution without necessarily creating divisions among the employees. The transformational leadership style will help me to better mobilize my colleagues to work as a team in order to achieve all the set goals and to achieve this, I will be an example.
Policy and Trends
There are significant changes being experienced in the nursing field. The current trends in the field are aimed at improving healthcare delivery and enhancing patients’ outcomes. The trends are in technological use, and they have facilitated the mobility of nursing equipment as well as facilitating increased self-care among nurses for them to become more effective. New technological advancements are entering the market every now and then, and this has helped in minimizing administration time, improving accuracy as well and improving patient experience and satisfaction. Nowadays, nurses are supposed to understand comoute technology like using laptop carts inorder to document and obtain patient information and look up treatment options when necessary (Sensmeier, 2018). Likewise, intuitive workstations on wheels have become popular in the recent past. This has given nurses an easy time when gathering patient data. It is imperative to note that the seamless gathering of patient data creates a better workflow for nurses. The level of care received by patients improves when nurses spend less time trying to track information about patients. This trend of having a hospital cart that can move with them is here to stay, especially through the COVID-19 pandemic.
NSG 4068 Week 5 Project – The Nurse as Advocate
Conclusion
The healthcare setting has continued to demand more advanced practice nurses, and this has been informed by the collaborative and integrative initiatives being championed aimed at offering quality and effective care to patients. All over the world, nurses have gained more autonomy over the period, and the roles they practice have gradually branched out to various types of specialties. Family nurse practitioners (FNPs) are one of the specialized roles that deal with family health. As a FNP, having effective leadership skills is very important as I engage with my patients. One style that plays out well in my role as an FNP is the transformational leadership style, as it will give me an opportunity to motivate my colleagues and find the most effective ways of achieving the set goals and objectives. This style is excellent in conflict resolution mechanisms, and therefore, I will be able to solve work-related conflicts and be unable to find a lasting solution without necessarily creating divisions among the employees.
References
Sensmeier, J. (2018). Transforming nursing practice through technology and informatics. The Journal of Excellence in Nursing Leadership, 42(11), 20-23.
Gabel, S. (2013). Transformational leadership and healthcare. Medical Science Educator, 23(1), 55-60.
Woo, B. F. Y., Lee, J. X. Y., & San Tam, W. W. (2018). The impact of the advanced practice nursing role on quality of care, clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, and cost in the emergency and critical care settings: a systematic review. Human resources for health, 15(1), 1-22.
MacLellan, L., Levett‐Jones, T., & Higgins, I. (2017). Nurse practitioner role transition: A concept analysis. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 27(7), 389-397.
Brykczynski, K. A. (2018). Role development of the advanced practice nurse. Advanced Practice Nursing: An Integrative Approach. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier Saunders, 109-139.
Schober, M. (2018). Global emergence of nurse practitioner/advanced practice nursing roles. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 30(4), 182-184.
Njconsumeraffairs.gov. (2022). New Jersey of Consumer Affairs https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/nur/Pages/APN-Certification.aspx.
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Question 
Describe what you believe to be the drivers for each of the individuals.
What factors led them to become advocates? Discuss the challenges that each of them identified in their writings.
Analyze these drivers and challenges and compare them with your own experience to date as an advocate. In what ways do you believe that you can expand your advocacy skills within the next five years?