NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

Walden University NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community-Step-By-Step Guide

This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Walden University NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.

How to Research and Prepare for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Walden University NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.

After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.

How to Write the Introduction for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

The introduction for the Walden University NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.

How to Write the Body for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

After the introduction, move into the main part of the NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.

Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.

How to Write the Conclusion for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.

How to Format the References List for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.

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Sample Answer for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

Throughout my career in the Orlando, Florida area, I have noticed several needs, challenges, and issues within healthcare. One of those issues I have noticed frequently is adherence to dialysis schedules. In the perioperative area, we regularly have dialysis patients who require surgeries or procedures. When interviewing these patients during the preoperative phase, I have noticed several of these patients do not adhere to a dialysis schedule. They miss dialysis frequently, for a variety of reasons. Missing a dialysis appointment can have several adverse effects. The patients may experience dyspnea, pulmonary edema, and stress on their cardiovascular system from missing sessions (Alikari et al., 2019). Skipping dialysis sessions can also lead to increased mortality rates (Alikari et al., 2019). Therefore, it is extremely important for the patient to adhere to their dialysis schedules. This is a worrisome trend that could benefit from a practice change or intervention.

I appreciate your post and thoughtful points. Nurses should have a voice in politics because we are in the trenches and since we are firsthand witnesses have the best voice to not only policies that will affect nursing and healthcare but also to patient care. Haidrani (2017) interviewed a nurse practitioner who has been involved in policy making changes and she reports that it not only has increased the vision of nurses but has expanded her view as well. True initially when entering into this foreign world of politics it may seem difficult but there is no better way to learn than to get into the thick of it. Nurses have a duty to advocate for patients and nurses (and healthcare) alike.

Another issue I have noticed recently within my own organization is the elopement of involuntary psychiatric hold patients. As a charge nurse, I attend a daily safety meeting that includes all the departments of the hospital. Recently, there have been several instances of psychiatric patients with sitters who have eloped and have not been returned. This is a huge safety issue. The psychiatric patient who is under an involuntary hold is placed on this hold because they have been assessed as a threat to themselves or others. To keep the patient from harming themselves or others, they are watched 24/7 by a patient sitter. To have several episodes of these patients eloping and not being returned is troublesome. If these patients elope, there is an increased risk of an adverse safety event happening.

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Practice Changes and Interventions

To decrease the number of involuntary psychiatric hold patient elopements, the implementation of a “behavioral response team (BRT)” may be beneficial. Bravo (2017) describe the focus of the team, which is “to respond, de-escalate disruptive behaviors, educate less experienced nursing units and increase safety.” These teams could intervene in an escalating patient behavior situation and perhaps diffuse the situation, thus preventing patient elopement. Implementation of these teams could increase the safety of both the patients and the staff in these situations.

Alignment with AACN Essentials

Addressing these issues within my organization and community, along with implementing practice changes is a major role of the DNP-prepared nurse. The practice changes outlined in this blog post align with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)’s DNP Essentials. The implementation of a nurse-led educational program for dialysis patient aligns with DNP Essential VII, which is Clinical Prevention and Population Health for Improving the Nation’s Health (AACN, 2006). This essential focuses on “health promotion and risk reduction” for populations (AACN, 2006). By assessing the needs of dialysis patients, the DNP-prepared nurse can implement ways to reduce the risk of missing dialysis sessions and the adverse outcomes that can be a result. The implementation of BRT in a hospital algins with the DNP Essential II, which is Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Improvement and Systems Thinking (AACN, 2006). This essential states DNP-prepared nurses must be able to “focus on the needs of a panel of patients, a target population” and “conceptualize new care delivery models” (AACN, 2006). By implementing a BRT as a standard of practice with involuntary psychiatric holds, this is creating a new delivery of care for this target population. DNP-prepared nurses are expected to assess the needs of an organization or population and implement new ways to achieve quality care.

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publications/DNPEssentials.pdf

Bravo, J. (2017). The behavioral response team: building a safer hospital. Journal of Healthcare Protection Management, 33(1), 113-117. Retrieved from the Walden

https://nursingassignmentgurus.com/nurs-8200-blog-the-dnp-prepared-nurse-and-their-community/
Vaccine and immunization legislation.
Nutritional assistance programs for school youths.
Diabetes education for elderly outpatients in a community health clinic.
Reducing the number of re-admits of patients who have had outpatient procedures.
Reducing the number of patient falls on a medical/surgical hospital floor.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
These represent a few community and organizational needs, challenges, and issues that may require and merit the advocacy, skill set, and knowledge of the DNP-prepared nurse. In your role as a DNP-prepared nurse, you may find yourself the champion and advocate for improved health outcomes both at a local and individual patient level to one of a national or global and population-based level. The DNP-prepared nurse is well poised to address and advocate changes not only in a healthcare setting but in a community context to promote positive social change and positive health-based outcomes.
For this Discussion, reflect on those needs, challenges, and issues that may be most important for your community or organization. Why do these needs, challenges, and issues merit the attention of a DNP-prepared nurse?
To prepare:
• Review the Learning Resources for this week and consider those local issues/topics that are most important for your community or organization. Find articles about your community or organization that reflect the need for intervention by a doctorally prepared nurse.
• Reflect on why these local issues/topics merit addressing from your perspective as a DNP-prepared nurse.
• Reflect on your role as the DNP-prepared nurse to address these local issues/topics and consider what type of practice changes or interventions you might recommend to bring about needed change for your community or organization.

https://nursingassignmentgurus.com/nurs-8200-blog-the-dnp-prepared-nurse-and-their-community/
By Day 3 of Week 7
Post a response to your Blog in which you describe at least two of the most important needs/challenges/issues in your community or organization. Why are these needs/challenges/issues important? Be specific. Then, recommend at least two practice changes or interventions you would suggest to address these needs/challenges/issues in your community or organization. Be sure to align your role as the DNP-prepared nurse to the competencies identified in the AACN Essentials.
By Day 5 of Week 7
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses and respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days by suggesting additional strategies your colleague could implement to bring about needed change in their community.
TIFFANY

Sample Answer 2 for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

Needs, Challenges, and Issues within Community

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Practice Changes and Interventions

To assist with dialysis patient’s adherence to their dialysis schedules, the DNP-prepared nurse could suggest implementing an educational program. This approach was suggested by Alikari et al. (2019). During their study, they found patients greatly benefitted from educational programs (Alikari et al., 2019). These nurse-led educational programs focused on the patient being a “partner” in their health care, as opposed to just being told what to do (Alikari et al., 2019). I believe implementing such a program with the dialysis patients at my organization would be extremely beneficial.
To decrease the number of involuntary psychiatric hold patient elopements, the implementation of a “behavioral response team (BRT)” may be beneficial. Bravo (2017) describe the focus of the team, which is “to respond, de-escalate disruptive behaviors, educate less experienced nursing units and increase safety.” These teams could intervene in an escalating patient behavior situation and perhaps diffuse the situation, thus preventing patient elopement. Implementation of these teams could increase the safety of both the patients and the staff in these situations.

Alignment with AACN Essentials

References

Alikari, V., Tsironi, M., Matziou, V., Tzavella, F., Stathoulis, J., Babatsikou, F., Fradelos, E., & Zyga, S. (2019). The impact of education on knowledge, adherence and quality of life among patients on haemodialysis. Quality of Life Research, 28(1), 73-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-018-1989-y
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publications/DNPEssentials.pdf
Bravo, J. (2017). The behavioral response team: building a safer hospital. Journal of Healthcare Protection Management, 33(1), 113-117. Retrieved from the Walden University Library databases.

Sample Answer 3 for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

This is insightful Tiffany, there are different problems faced by healthcare institutions in different communities. These problems/challenges are always unique depending on the methods of treatments and types of complications that are under consideration (Alikari et al., 2019). Adherence to dialysis schedules often become a challenge for most healthcare institutions. Given the long distance that patients have to travel to get dialysis, some people may miss the stated deadlines required (Liu et al., 2021). Missing a dialysis appointment can have several adverse effects. The patients may experience dyspnea, pulmonary edema, and stress on their cardiovascular system from missing sessions (Tohme et al., 2017). One of the best approach to manage the increasing cases of missed dialysis is to create reminders for the patients; this is possible through the use of the modern technologies that can be installed in the Smartphones. From the research studies, missed dialysis often interfere with the quality treatment outcomes. Most of the patients who miss dialysis often experience further complications in the process of treatment.

References

Alikari, V., Tsironi, M., Matziou, V., Tzavella, F., Stathoulis, J., Babatsikou, F., Fradelos, E., & Zyga, S. (2019). The impact of education on knowledge, adherence and quality of life among patients on haemodialysis. Quality of Life Research, 28(1), 73-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-018-1989-y
Liu, M. W. C., Syukri, M., Abdullah, A., & Chien, L. Y. (2021). Missing In-Center Hemodialysis Sessions among Patients with End Stage Renal Disease in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17), 9215. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/17/9215
Tohme, F., Mor, M. K., Pena-Polanco, J., Green, J. A., Fine, M. J., Palevsky, P. M., & Weisbord, S. D. (2017). Predictors and outcomes of non-adherence in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis. International urology and nephrology, 49(8), 1471-1479. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11255-017-1600-4

Sample Answer 4 for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

Reducing the number of re-admits of patients who have had outpatient procedures.
Working in the transitional care unit hospital, I have witnessed numerous of re-admissions from outpatient procedures and inpatient. Re-admit issues are patients not adhering to discharge plans, medication adherence, and not showing up to follow-up appointments. Lack of not adhering to discharge plans patients sometimes develop an infection at the procedure sites, which causes longer recovery time for patients. Also, not adhering to medication regimens could lead to adverse drug events. Hospital re-admit is associated with adverse patient outcomes and results in high financial costs. Due to the increased cases of hospital re-admit for both inpatient and outpatient procedures, Medicare and Medicaid Services have penalties hospitals/providers for their 30-days re-admit rates based on reimbursement fees.
Some intervention that could help reduce re-admit of patients and aligning the AACN Essentials of DNP are:
Essential II: Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Improvement and Systems Thinking – DNP-prepared nurses could help reduce re-admit of patients by employ principles of business, finance, economics, and health policy to develop and implement effective plans for practice-level and system-wide practice initiatives that will improve the quality-of-care delivery. Analyze the cost-effectiveness of practice initiatives accounting for risk and improvement of health care outcomes (AACN, 2006). An example of essential II, DNP-prepared nurses could implement a transitional care process adhering to Medicare and Medicaid concerns about re-admit and hospital/provider penalties cost. Transitional care processes are designed to prevent re-admit by conducting teach-back methods (checking comprehension of information learned). The patient or caregiver demonstrates what they have learned in their plan of care information to the nurse. Another intervention is the implementation of a discharge checklist- this is where nurses go over with patients before discharging a patient’s living situation, need for prosthetic items, need for home health, availability of a caregiver, transportation needs to go to follow-up appointments. Also, medication reconciliation before discharge- this is where medications are reviewed before discharge to ensure that all medication changes (new medication, dose change on previously prescribed medication, and elimination of medication) are accurate in patient’s medical records (Pugh et al., 2021). These interventions could help reduce the cost of re-admit issues in outpatient procedures and inpatient.
Essential VI: Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and Population Health Outcomes Employ effective communication and collaborative skills to develop and implement practice models, peer review, practice guidelines, health policy, and standards of care (AACN, 2006). An example of essential VI is where DNP- prepared nurses collaborate with other team members to help prevent patients re-admit. Some interventions include communicating medical plans in front of patients during physician team rounds. Discussions are held in the patient rooms and engaging patients regarding discharge treatment plans involving physician teams, nurses, and other team members. Another intervention is collaborating with staff routinely to assess patients for rehabilitation services during discharge planning to PT/OT at home, PT/OT outpatient, inpatient rehabilitation, or SNF (Pugh et al., 2021).
Reducing the number of patient falls on a medical/surgical hospital floor.
Other issues that I have witnessed in the hospital are high fall incidence in the med surg floors. Patient falls and re-admit are two of the biggest Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services list of non-reimbursable events in the hospital. Patient falls on the hospital floors are problematic safety concerns that can be prevented with the correct intervention protocol. Falling can range from minor bruises and abrasions to more severe results such as fractures, lacerations, head injuries, and even death. Some patients are not even aware of being identified as fall risk patients while in the hospital (Cuttler et al., 2017). Fall risk identification should be placed on patients’ communication board in the room, place a yellow wristband on patients, and place a fall risk sign on the outside door of patients to help prevent falls on the hospital floor. Also, making sure on staff shift, patients bed exit alarm are turned on.
Some intervention that could help reduce patient falls in hospital floor and aligning the AACN Essentials of DNP are:
Essential IV: Information Systems/Technology and Patient Care Technology for the Improvement and Transformation of Health Care. Design, select, use, and evaluate programs that evaluate and monitor outcomes of care, care systems, and quality improvement, including consumer use of health care information systems (AACN, 2006). Using essential IV to prevent patient falls in the hospital setting is critical. DNP-prepared nurses could implement fall risk interventions such as using the bed exit alarm alerting nurses when a patient attempts to get out of bed. While the bed exit alarm is integrated into the patient’s bed, staff can ensure the patients belonging are at arm’s reach. Also, using the patient’s electronic health records (EHR) to document fall risk intervention conducted on staff shift. Implementing bed alarms on, offering toileting, and remaining with the patient when they are out of bed can help reduce falls in the hospital setting
Essential VI: Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and Population Health Outcomes. DNP-prepared nurses could collaborate with staff and patients on the importance of adhering to fall intervention in the hospital. Some interventions to help prevent falls in the hospital are having in place a fall safety agreement. This agreement included the patient being educated on fall risk prevention strategies and acknowledging that falling can cause serious injuries. Also, conducting an in-service staff safety huddle during shift change. In safety huddles, the staff are instructed to ensure all patients receive the fall prevention education, fall risk health assessment, and documented and a signed patient fall safety agreement upon admission or transfer to the unit. Also, collaborating with staff to ensure high-risk fall patients are provided with nonskid socks, gait belts, and yellow wrist bands are all safety interventions to reduce patient fall risk on the hospital floor (Bargmann & Brundrett, 2020).

Reference

American Association of College of Nursing. (2006). The esstenial of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publications/DNPEssentials.pdf
Bargmann, A. L., & Brundrett, S. M. (2020). Implementation of a Multicomponent Fall Prevention Program: Contracting With Patients for Fall Safety. Oxford University Press, 185(2), 28-34. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usz411
Cuttler, S. J., Barr-Walker, J., & Cuttler, L. (2017). Reducing medical-surgical inpatient falls and injuries with videos, icons and alarms. BMJ open quality, 6(2), e000119. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2017-000119

Pugh, J., Penney, L., Noel, P., Neller, S., Mader, M., Finley, E. P., Lanham, H. J., & Leykum, L. (2021). Evidence based processes to prevent readmissions: more is better, a ten-site observational study. BMC Health Serv Res, 29(89). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06193-x

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Sample Answer 5 for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

This is insightful, cases of re-admissions are common in the healthcare systems. Re-admission often occurs as a result of the further complications causes by healthcare acquired infections, fall, and wrong prescription of different medications (Bargmann & Brundrett, 2020). Re-admissions are always conducted to ensure that patients are given quality medication and treatment processes for effective outcomes. Re-admit issues may also result from patients not adhering to discharge plans, medication adherence, and not showing up to follow-up appointments. There are different interventions that can be undertaken to reduce the cases of re-admissions. Some of the measures that can be undertaken include reducing the cases of medication errors, reducing the cases of healthcare acquired infections through enhance of quality healthcare delivery services (Cuttler et al., 2017). Integration of technology in the provision of healthcare services is also necessary in ensuring that discharge and readmission processes are undertaken within the set procedures (Liu et al., 2018). Finally, there is the need for training of healthcare professionals to ensure that all the procedures are undertaken within the set standards.

References

Bargmann, A. L., & Brundrett, S. M. (2020). Implementation of a Multicomponent Fall Prevention Program: Contracting With Patients for Fall Safety. Oxford University Press, 185(2), 28-34. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usz411
Cuttler, S. J., Barr-Walker, J., & Cuttler, L. (2017). Reducing medical-surgical inpatient falls and injuries with videos, icons and alarms. BMJ open quality, 6(2), e000119. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2017-000119
Liu, V., Lei, X., Prescott, H. C., Kipnis, P., Iwashyna, T. J., & Escobar, G. J. (2018). Hospital readmission and healthcare utilization following sepsis in community settings. Journal of hospital medicine, 9(8), 502-507. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jhm.2197

Sample Answer 6 for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

Some intervention that could help reduce re-admit of patients and aligning the AACN Essentials of DNP are:
Essential II: Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Improvement and Systems Thinking – DNP-prepared nurses could help reduce re-admit of patients by employ principles of business, finance, economics, and health policy to develop and implement effective plans for practice-level and system-wide practice initiatives that will improve the quality-of-care delivery. Analyze the cost-effectiveness of practice initiatives accounting for risk and improvement of health care outcomes (AACN, 2006). An example of essential II, DNP-prepared nurses could implement a transitional care process adhering to Medicare and Medicaid concerns about re-admit and hospital/provider penalties cost. Transitional care processes are designed to prevent re-admit by conducting teach-back methods (checking comprehension of information learned). The patient or caregiver demonstrates what they have learned in their plan of care information to the nurse. Another intervention is the implementation of a discharge checklist- this is where nurses go over with patients before discharging a patient’s living situation, need for prosthetic items, need for home health, availability of a caregiver, transportation needs to go to follow-up appointments. Also, medication reconciliation before discharge- this is where medications are reviewed before discharge to ensure that all medication changes (new medication, dose change on previously prescribed medication, and elimination of medication) are accurate in patient’s medical records (Pugh et al., 2021). These interventions could help reduce the cost of re-admit issues in outpatient procedures and inpatient.

Essential VI: Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and Population Health Outcomes Employ effective communication and collaborative skills to develop and implement practice models, peer review, practice guidelines, health policy, and standards of care (AACN, 2006). An example of essential VI is where DNP- prepared nurses collaborate with other team members to help prevent patients re-admit. Some interventions include communicating medical plans in front of patients during physician team rounds. Discussions are held in the patient rooms and engaging patients regarding discharge treatment plans involving physician teams, nurses, and other team members. Another intervention is collaborating with staff routinely to assess patients for rehabilitation services during discharge planning to PT/OT at home, PT/OT outpatient, inpatient rehabilitation, or SNF (Pugh et al., 2021).
Reducing the number of patient falls on a medical/surgical hospital floor.

Other issues that I have witnessed in the hospital are high fall incidence in the med surg floors. Patient falls and re-admit are two of the biggest Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services list of non-reimbursable events in the hospital. Patient falls on the hospital floors are problematic safety concerns that can be prevented with the correct intervention protocol. Falling can range from minor bruises and abrasions to more severe results such as fractures, lacerations, head injuries, and even death. Some patients are not even aware of being identified as fall risk patients while in the hospital (Cuttler et al., 2017). Fall risk identification should be placed on patients’ communication board in the room, place a yellow wristband on patients, and place a fall risk sign on the outside door of patients to help prevent falls on the hospital floor. Also, making sure on staff shift, patients bed exit alarm are turned on.
Some intervention that could help reduce patient falls in hospital floor and aligning the AACN Essentials of DNP are:
Essential IV: Information Systems/Technology and Patient Care Technology for the Improvement and Transformation of Health Care. Design, select, use, and evaluate programs that evaluate and monitor outcomes of care, care systems, and quality improvement, including consumer use of health care information systems (AACN, 2006). Using essential IV to prevent patient falls in the hospital setting is critical. DNP-prepared nurses could implement fall risk interventions such as using the bed exit alarm alerting nurses when a patient attempts to get out of bed. While the bed exit alarm is integrated into the patient’s bed, staff can ensure the patients belonging are at arm’s reach. Also, using the patient’s electronic health records (EHR) to document fall risk intervention conducted on staff shift. Implementing bed alarms on, offering toileting, and remaining with the patient when they are out of bed can help reduce falls in the hospital setting

Essential VI: Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and Population Health Outcomes. DNP-prepared nurses could collaborate with staff and patients on the importance of adhering to fall intervention in the hospital. Some interventions to help prevent falls in the hospital are having in place a fall safety agreement. This agreement included the patient being educated on fall risk prevention strategies and acknowledging that falling can cause serious injuries. Also, conducting an in-service staff safety huddle during shift change. In safety huddles, the staff are instructed to ensure all patients receive the fall prevention education, fall risk health assessment, and documented and a signed patient fall safety agreement upon admission or transfer to the unit. Also, collaborating with staff to ensure high-risk fall patients are provided with nonskid socks, gait belts, and yellow wrist bands are all safety interventions to reduce patient fall risk on the hospital floor (Bargmann & Brundrett, 2020).

Reference

Sample Answer 7 for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

The two challenges I have noticed in my organization are similar issues, which are lack of communication with family or support partners as well as lack of communication with our patients. These challenges have been around for a long time, and although great strides have been made in correcting the problems we have not completely corrected the issues. My role as a DNP graduate nurse is to ensure continued research to improve patient outcomes (Falkenberg-Olson, 2019).

Family-centered Care

Family-centered care is a necessary part of nursing practice that requires establishing a connection with all parties involved in patient care. The emotional support that families provide is essential to patient care, so much so that a mass amount of research has been provided focusing on improving family-centered care (Akram et al., 2021).
Intervention
The interventions I suggest both require time. For our families, I think it is important to dedicate a set time during the shift to reach out to those family care partners interested in being contacted. The set time will be agreed upon by a designated family member and will be passed on as part of the handoff.

Patient-centered Care

Achieving the optimal outcome for the patient is the goal of every healthcare worker involved in the patient’s care. To achieve this, it is crucial to design a care plan centered around the patient. There are a number of theories that can help positively influence patient outcome. Patient-centered care allows the patient control of a situation that can be chaotic. The sudden change in a person’s health can be terrifying and can make the patient feel helpless. Patient-centered care gives the patient control of the fight by organizing the care around the individual. This is done by partnering with patients and their families, identifying the patient’s needs and preferences regarding care. Therefore, there has to be communication to establish this connection(Ortiz, 2021).

Intervention

The intervention here will be the same, the devotion of time. It is important to spin time with the patient. Ortiz’s (2021) article pointed out the amount of time nurses spent with their patients. The article suggested that nurses spend more time on the computer (technology) that it becomes easy for them to forget about communicating with the patient. After this finding, nurses were required to spend five minutes with each patient at the beginning of the shift. During this time, they would sit and talk with their patients, making sure to establish eye contact, listen to any questions they may have, and answer the questions completely. This would be the intervention I would suggest for this practice problem.

Conclusion

Communication is key in getting to know the needs of the patients and producing a positive outcome. You have to communicate with all parties involved to make sure everyone is on the same page related to the patient’s care. Time must be allotted for communication with both the patient and the care partners to reach optimal results.

References

Akram, R., Huda, M., Dao’od, A., Basel, A. & Mohammad, A. (2021). Enhancing family-centered care in the ICU during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing Management, 52, (8), 34-38. DOI: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000758684.16364.F6
Falkenberg-Olson, A. C. (2019). Research translation and the evolving PhD and DNP practice roles: A collaborative call for nurse practitioners. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 31(8), 447–453. https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000266

Ortiz, M. (2021). Best Practices in Patient-Centered Care: Nursing Theory Reflections.Nursing Science Quarterly, 34, (3), 322-327. DOI 10.1177/08943184211010432.

Sample Answer for NURS 8200 Blog: The DNP-Prepared Nurse and Their Community

One organizational issue is that there have been staff shortages in all medical-surgical units lately. Staff shortage has gotten so bad that on New Year’s Day, only two nurses were present in each medical-surgical unit. The charge nurse and a fellow nurse cared for nine patients each. Our agency nurses are not renewing their contracts, and our registry nurses are not signing up to come to work. Nurses at a particular hospital center began quitting their jobs because leaders at the organization neglected to hire adequate nursing staff to care for their patient population (Smith, 2011). An older agency nurse at work who has worked in many different hospitals said that the workload at our facility is heavy compared to other places that she has worked and that staff would stay if the workload gets reduced or the number of patients that staff cares for gets reduced. According to our staffing plan on the unit, each nurse is to be assigned four patients, and the charge nurse is to be assigned two patients. The Department of Health Services (DHS) mandated (in 2005) that one nurse be assigned five patients in a medical-surgical ward (Gordon et al., 2008). The safety of patients is at risk when nurses get assigned too many patients because nurses will probably miss a significant issue with their patients when they cannot provide individualized care to their patients and rush the care they provide. Nurses’ licenses are also at risk if they make a significant mistake that could be fatal. McGillis-Hall, Doran, and Pink (2004) concluded that nurses make fewer medical errors when staffed safely (as cited in Duffield et al., 2011).

Another organizational issue is the burnout of nurses. Burnout differs significantly from stress because its signs and symptoms include being physically and emotionally exhausted and not being motivated to do anything. (Fedele, 2017). Nurses are getting burned out by the increased workload in the medical-surgical departments, and sometimes, they do not take a break to ensure they finish their work on time. Lauder (2001) wrote that sometimes caregivers are so busy caring for others that they neglect themselves. Many new nurses have pondered about ditching their jobs because of dissatisfaction with their profession, burnout from their daily assignments, and frequent work requests from hospital leaders (Flinkman et al., 2008).

DNP-prepared nurses have the training to understand issues that need to be solved and how the problems can be solved. “The existence of real or perceived problems is the impetus for the policy-formulation phase of policy-making” (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014, p.395). Utilizing the AACN DNP Essentials of Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and Population Health Outcomes (Essential Six) is a great way to find a solution to combat staff shortage and burnout of nurses. Essential Six underscores the importance of collaboration across healthcare fields to improve outcomes (AACN, 2006). Since medical-surgical nurses are leaving due to high workloads, then as a DNP-prepared nurse, collaborating with other members of staff in leadership in our organization is needed to look into how many nurses left before the changes of increased workload of nurses got implemented compared to how many nurses left after the increased workload of nurses got implemented to know if that is genuinely the cause why our organization cannot retain medical-surgical nurses which are also leading to staff burnout by them caring for more patients. Based on our findings, the first practice change is to reduce the workload of medical-surgical nurses that got implemented, probably making them quit or get burned out. The second practice change will be to collaborate with managers and charge nurses of medical-surgical units to mandate that all nurses take their break and not miss it, especially since they are unpaid for the break. All medical-surgical managers will educate all staff that they must take their break, and charge nurses will ensure that all staff comply and take their breaks.

References:

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publications/DNPEssentials.pdf

Burkhardt, M. A., & Nathaniel, A. K. (2014). Ethics & issues in contemporary nursing (4th ed.) Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Duffield, C., Diers, D., O’Brien-Pallas, L., Aisbett, C., Roche, M., King, M., & Aisbett, K. (2011). Nursing staffing, nursing workload, the work environment and patient outcomes. Applied Nursing Research: ANR, 24(4), 244-255. doi:10.1016/j.apnr.2009.12.004

Fedele, R. (2017). The rise of burnout: An emerging challenge facing nurses and midwives. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 25(5), 18-23.

Flinkman, M., Laine, M., Leino-Kilpi, H., Hasselhorn, H. -., & Salanterä, S. (2008). Explaining young registered finnish nurses’ intention to leave the profession: A questionnaire survey. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 45(5), 727-739. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2006.12.006

Gordon, S., Bretherton, T., Buchanan, J., & Ebrary, I. (2008). Safety in numbers: Nurse-to-patient ratios and the future of health care (1st ed.). Ithaca: ILR Press/Cornell University Press. doi:10.7591/j.ctt7z8mb

Lauder, W. (2001). The utility of self-care theory as a theoretical basis for self-neglect. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34(4), 545-551. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01784.x.

Smith, D. (2011). DC nurses strike for patient safety, fair contract. National Nurse, 107(2), 4. Retrieved from https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=104884371&site=eds-live&scope=site