Discussion: Examining Nursing Specialties NURS 6003

Discussion: Examining Nursing Specialties NURS 6003

Healthcare is one of the rapidly changing and advancing sectors. As such the sector is driven towards the provision of quality services to its clients. The nursing profession is at the center of all the changes and implementations in healthcare institutions aimed at bettering the service quality to patients (Boehm et al, 2019: Kristensen et al, 2015). The responsibilities of nurses require them to continuously advance in terms of knowledge and skills developed (Price & Reichert, 2017). As a graduate nurse, a thorough thought process led me to enroll in an MSN program specializing in psychiatric nursing practice.

The choice to specialize in psychiatric nursing was challenging as there are several options, all aimed to better patient outcomes. My choice was motivated by an observation that I made over time as a nurse. There is a steady increase of mental health cases among both adults and children that took my attention. I am excited about helping patients with mental conditions and being a part of a team that works to eradicate or minimize mental health problems and their associated effects. Psychiatric nursing is a challenging field that requires dedication. I am ready to handle all the challenges involved. Besides, as an undergraduate, I spent most of my training sessions in the psychiatry unit because it felt more like what I wanted compared to other departments.

In the development of my professional career, I intend to join professional bodies and that will work to enable my application of psychological knowledge to better my practice. Specifically, I will join the American Psychiatric Association (APNA) because they play a role in the advancement of mental health nursing and practice (American Nurses Association, 2016). Joining this association will help me uphold and improve values such as integrity, transparency, and inclusivity among others that will help me to provide quality care for mental health patients. It may not be an easy journey to achieve my career goal, but I will put my effort into achieving the best.

It is critical for an organization’s performance to have effective nurse leaders and managers. Nurse leaders are frequently found on the clinical floor, where they supervise RNs and help with patient safety and advocacy (Post University, 2021). A nurse manager is frequently someone with decision-making authority and responsibility over large teams of nurses, who manages staff training, communicates with other managers, and employs evidence-based practice (Post University, 2021). Nurse managers and leaders must possess qualities such as patience, open-mindedness, compassion, and persuasiveness (Whitney, 2018). It would be difficult to be a strong leader or manager without a combination of these talents.

When I worked in postpartum, our nurse manager would review incident reports. The number of nurses reporting postpartum hemorrhages had increased, according to the nurse manager. So the nurse manager got together with the nurse leaders to figure out what could be done. The post-partum bleeding scale was chosen by the nurse manager. The nurse leaders were in charge of implementing and training the new scale, while the nurse manager reviewed the forms and incident reports to assess its effectiveness.

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By choosing the PMHNP as our specialty, we also need to consider the stigma of mental illness is worldly, a significant societal problem. The overall community is widely misinformed regarding this problem, and dread of the mentally ill rests prevailing. Moreover, the stigma directly influences people with mental disorders and the cherished ones who assist them, often incorporating their family members. Stigma, hatred, and bias toward personages with mental illness can be complicated, but they can drive to wreck no matter the extent and add to worsening signs and decreased probability of receiving treatment. Moreover, it negatively affects rehabilitation among people diagnosed with critical mental ailments.

One of the significant interests for people with mental health issues is obtaining mental health care specialists who have the acquaintance and abilities to render extensive attention, including precautionary tactics, primary mental health, psychotherapy, and medication management. Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) are tutored in the competencies that could aid reach the requirements of this community. Sadly, the psych NP function is defectively discovered, organizational obstacles have restricted the full range of practice, and, as a consequence, there is a curtailment of the specialty amongst advanced practice nurses.

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/stigma-in-healthcare-empowering-physicians-and-trainees-to-seek-help

https://mhanational.org/issues/2020/mental-health-america-access-care-data

Standards of Practice:

Nursing is a calling, not a profession. In the early years of my career, I recall having an intuitive urge to care for my family, and I have always felt sympathy for the sick and suffering. My bachelor’s degree in nursing has helped me understand my emotions and has given greater meaning and purpose to the care I provide to patients and their families. The nursing profession is extremely dynamic; we must keep moving forward with a well-planned strategy and persevere (Laureate Education, 2018). This has always been my guiding principle for progressing in my work. The first ten years of my career were a time of transition. I investigated various aspects of the nursing profession in search of the subspecialty that I am most interested in. Examining Nursing Specialties Discussion NURS 6003

Challenges. My career advancement journey has been long and interesting. It took me nearly a decade to figure out what field of study I wanted to pursue. I began my career in the Philippines, and I can say that the working conditions made my decision difficult. There was a staffing shortage, and the workload was enormous. Because of the poor working conditions, the nurse turnover rate was high. My career took a turn for the better when I became involved in nursing organizations. According to Echevarria (2018), professional organizations promote professional advancement and increase the interest of the members they serve. When I worked in the operating room, the surgical organization I was a part of provided me with numerous opportunities to learn and grow in that field. It was then that I realized how important it was to join nursing organizations in order to further my knowledge and skills. Cherry et al. (2019) backed up this claim by emphasizing how professional organizations help nurses practice by improving nursing values and encouraging self-regulation. According to the article, membership in an organization is an investment in professional development. My membership in professional organizations has indeed propelled my career to new heights, focusing on the field of specialty in which I am most interested. NURS 6003 Examining Nursing Specialties Discussion

Throughout my career, I had numerous opportunities to educate students and colleagues. I quickly realized that teaching and education were the areas of nursing in which I was most interested. This motivated me to work as a clinical instructor in a local nursing school, which was the pinnacle of my nursing education specialty. One organization that fully supports my field of interest in nursing education is the National League for Nursing (NLN). The National League for Nursing seeks to improve nursing education by focusing on professional development activities, research, certification, and networking (National League for Nursing, 2019). The second half of my career has been spent specializing in baccalaureate and graduate level teaching. NLN’s mission and vision completely support my personal goal of improving my teaching strategies. Currently, the organization has 40,000 individual members and 1,200 institutional members from various nursing programs across the country. This will allow me to network with colleagues in the field of nursing education. Individual membership opportunities are available on the NLN website for a very low fee. Membership benefits promote excellence in nursing education and provide opportunities for growth. I plan to join this organization in order to advance my specialty in nursing education.

References

Cherry, B., Caramanica, L, Everett, L. Q., Fennimore, L., & Elaine, S. (2019). Leveraging the power of board leadership in professional nursing organizations. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(11), 517-519.

Echevarria, I. M. (2018). Make connections by joining a professional nursing organization. Nursing, 48(12), 35–38.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Walden Journey to a Masters in Nursing: Standards of Practice [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

National League for Nursing. (2019). Nurse educator core competency. Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/professional-development-programs/competencies-for-nursing-education/nurse-educator-core-competency