Discussion-Nursing Core Competencies

Posted: January 1st, 2023

Discussion-Nursing Core Competencies

Core competencies are integral in nursing practice. Apart from helping to maintain the social status and value of nursing as a profession, they ensure the effective delivery of high-quality care. Nursing competencies embrace behavioral attitudes and expertise in advanced nursing skills. Behavioral attitudes are such as accountability, being skillful, willingness to serve, judgment, responsibility, and efficiency among others. Expert nursing skills include; collaboration, innovation, adjustment to stress, communication, research, and management among others. This paper discusses communication and EBP as the two major core competencies that the author considered most important to future nursing practice. To nurture very competent nurses, nursing education emphasizes on core competencies, imparting learners with skills for critical thinking, and incorporates evidence-based and problem-based learning in the nursing curriculum. Discussion-Nursing Core Competencies

Communication

Although there exists some inter-relation among all the competencies, I am certain that EBP (evidence-based practice) and communication are the most significant to my future practice. Effective communication among healthcare providers is imperative in delivering patient-centric care (AACN, n.d). Nurses do communicate daily when providing routine nursing care with different people such as; colleague nurses, physicians, occupational, physical and respiratory therapists, families, patients, and unlicensed healthcare providers.

The mode of communication is highly dependent on the party in communication since the choice of words varies significantly. When communicating with a family or patient, it is imperative to ensure that they comprehend the shared information and to desist from using medical jargon, as it is poorly understood among people outside the medical field (Massachusetts Department of Higher Education Nursing Initiative, 2016). Instead, using clear, simple language with short and well-structured sentences promotes comprehension and improves a patient’s health literacy.

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Evidence-Based Practice

The American healthcare system is undergoing significant changes that require the delivery of nursing care to be based on the best scientific evidence that guarantees quality care, patient safety, and good outcomes (Massachusetts Department of Higher Education Nursing Initiative, 2016). Using evidence and research in practice necessitates that nurses can articulate and accept evidence, yet occasionally, nurses usually rely on intuitive and traditional processes to justify interventions. There are also incidences when nursing interventions can be framed through previously obtained knowledge in formal education and experience in practice hence, without a specific rationale, there will always exist variations in practice.

Since healthcare delivery changes from time to time, it is inarguable that EBP will be very essential in my future nursing practice. Using the most recent scientific evidence to guide decision-making will improve patient health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and nurses’ morale. However, one of the biggest barriers to using evidence-based practice in nursing practice is inadequate time (Harding, 2014).  However, establishing approaches to improve EBP in routine clinical practice will impact positively on patient safety and healthcare quality. Failure to use the best and most recent scientific evidence to guide decision making in routine care can potentially result in errors and patient harm. Discussion-Nursing Core Competencies

Conclusion

Nursing core competencies are integral to the nursing profession since they help to maintain the social status and value of nursing as a profession and ensure effectiveness in the provision of high-quality care. EBP and communication are the most significant to my future practice.  The former is imperative for healthcare providers to deliver patient-centric care while EBP promotes the use of the most recent scientific evidence to guide decision-making to improve patient health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and nurses’ morale.

References

AACN (n.d). Essentials of Baccalaureate Education. Available at http://www.aacnnursing.org/Education-Resources/AACN-Essentials

Harding, K. E., Porter, J., Horne-Thompson, A., Donley, E., & Taylor, N. F. (2014). Not enough time or a low priority? Barriers to evidence-based practice for allied health clinicians. The Journal of Continuing Education In The Health Professions, 34(4), 224-231.

Massachusetts Department of Higher Education Nursing Initiative (2016). Massachusetts Nurse of the Future Nursing Core Competencies©. Available at http://www.mass.edu/nahi/documents/NOFRNCompetencies_updated_March2016.pdf

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Discussion-Nursing Core Competencies