Introduction
The American Nurses Association (ANA) has provided various guidelines on the performance of the nursing staff. The professional standards of nursing practice require that the nurses perform to the best of their best depending on the policies and regulations of the nursing association. The professional standards are specific rules which provide the most competent nursing care and environment. In addition, these rules are expected to be followed strictly by the medics while performing their duties. As a nurse, therefore, one is required to conduct his or her duties by the law in a manner that is prudent to other situations. Hence, for the provision of such quality services, registered nursing staff must ensure that they abide by their guidelines. This paper, therefore, explores the contents of professional standards in the nursing practice and how they contribute to the development of skills and knowledge required for nursing administration. The various benefits of implementing the standards in the regular operations of nursing services by a practitioner.
Professional Standards of Nursing Practice
The professional standards of the nursing procedure according to the ANA have three key components. These components include; standards of care on diagnosis, evaluation, and intervention; standards based on the identification of the key functions in offering care and quality services; and, the professional standards guiding the care protocols for a given population of clients. Due to the rapid changes in the nursing profession, the nursing staff is required to offer a more visionary service that encompasses transformative health care.
In addition, the professional standards in nursing offer expectations from the nurses to conduct themselves more professionally and offer the best quality services to their clients (American Nurse Association, 2015). The nurses should design and implement their plans as well as evaluate their performance based on the set standards of the ANA. The standards also allow nurses to develop their leadership skills in a more sounding environment and improve on their competencies.
The guidelines set in the key requirements of the nursing profession enable them to continually conduct research and innovation to develop more evidence of health care for their clients. The standards allow the specific improvements of nurses to be tested and evaluated based on individual capability. As a nurse, therefore, I have continued to gain more from the understanding of the set standards and the provisions of the nursing profession which has enabled me to reduce the frequent conflicts and unhealthy practices in line with conducting my duties. In addition, I have been able to serve my clients diligently over some time through enhanced improvements in observation of the professional standards as expected in the American Nurses Association.
For proper medical care, an individual staff is expected to have the knowledge and deep understanding of the key requirements of these set policies and requirements of medical practices. I have therefore continued to carry out research and improve on my knowledge of these nursing requirements as part of the policies to improve nursing practices. Due to changes in technology, there is a need to integrate these policies and guidelines into the current health systems. I have therefore implemented the professional standards in my daily activities to improve my performance and ensure continuity in service delivery.
Development of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes
When the professional standards of nursing practices are implemented in our regular activities, there is an improvement in our skills, knowledge, and attitudes. The development of knowledge arises when a nurse continues to utilize the policies outlined in the American Nurses Association. The professional standards assist an individual, to develop knowledge of the key changes in the medical field, the technological changes, and the client-medic relationship.
In addition, one can develop knowledge of the changing medical environments and the current market needs and trends. Therefore, I have gained knowledge from observing and implementing the policies outlined in the professional standards of nursing practices. Besides, I have gained skills in medical and other areas which require experience and use of the nursing techniques in the hospital and health care environment. The skills of patient management and the community around me have improved my relationship with most of the patients and the facility environment.
The skills from the professional standards assist a nursing officer to develop and integrate methods and techniques for conducting activities without engaging in unhealthy and illegal practices. These skills also allow an individual to continue growing range of abilities and the various techniques of handling the emergence of regular challenges in the clinical environment (Rasheed, 2019). Being a medical partner, I have transcended the various levels of the nursing field and this has been boosted by the knowledge and skills I have gained from the professional standards and policies of the nursing profession.
I have improved my skills of collaboration and leadership which has enabled me to apply them within and outside the healthcare profession. The demands of health care require the integration of various skills and knowledge and allowing for changes and flexibility within the organization. These skills, therefore, have enabled me to improve my competencies and working relations with my colleagues and my management leadership which has enabled us to improve our productivity. In addition, the understanding of the professional standards has made me improve my attitude toward the basic requirements in the nursing profession.
I have developed attitudes toward working with people and allowing for opportunities for self-expression and discussions in our facility. The attitude developed has also enabled me to grow my career since I have the desire to engage more in the clients’ challenges and ensure that they are solved within the shortest periods. In overall, the standards of nursing have assisted me to learn more about responsibility-taking and this has reduced the time wastages of time for allocating duties among ourselves. We have been devising means and plans of ensuring that the service delivery is improved and we can track our performances over the period of our service which assist us in achieving the goals and the visions of the health care system.
For effectiveness in the delivery of our health care, there is a need to implement these standards in our working environments. Therefore, as a nurse, I have been ensuring that I comply with the set standards of health care and ensuring that I have the proper requisites for efficient and effective delivery. The implementation of these professional standards has also enabled me to improve on decisions making skills and this has effectively reduced the time taken for issues to be solved in our working environment. We have been able to form an advisory committee which has assisted us in our relationship with our clients and this has built loyalty to the patients who have considered our services whenever there is a need.
Achievement of the Nurse Administrator Competencies
The professional standards promote the establishment of responsibilities that improve the competencies among the nursing staff. At each level of the nursing profession, the nurses are required to have strong leadership qualities which contribute to the general safety and care provided to the clients. The nurses can easily make decisions that make them be in a strategic position of influencing the direction in which the health care systems are governed. The professional standards are therefore an establishing factor for ensuring that there is continuity in medical administration and this promotes the development of routine policies for the hospital operations.
The nursing staff has therefore continued to implement most of the skills and requirements of professional standards as set out in the ANA to ensure that the services they provide are aligned to the current clients’ needs and desires. I have therefore gained an understanding of these standards by implementing the regulations in the health provision and this has improved my competencies in ensuring that the services I offer are in line with the desires of the overall human health. In addition, the professional standards have provided for integrity and ethical practices in the line of duty. I have continued to ensure that the health care provided is ethical and ensure that there is compliance in the regulatory industry.
The understanding of the professional standards as set out in the American Nurses Association (ANA) improves the effectiveness of leadership qualities in an organization. I have been able to embrace an opportunity led by my clients and the staff around and this has enhanced a strong collaboration within the various departments of healthcare. In addition, the knowledge about the health care delivery units and the general working environment has also improved the work amongst the various teams in the hospital and enhanced the collaboration of the key interlinked departments of the health provision.
The knowledge about health care assists in ensuring that there are healthy practices in the workplace and this eradicates the frequent client complaints which would therefore arise from negligence by the medics. As a medical practitioner, abiding by these regulations enable me to offer standard services which are professional and meet the key requirements of the general medical practices of the ANA. Currently, the competencies of the professional standards are recommended by various medical associations hence there are reduced bureaucratic practices in the healthcare systems.
Conclusion
The professional standards allow for the establishment of leadership competencies which have basic principles guiding the nursing administrators in providing a proper leadership role on their teams of management. Therefore, through understanding the professional standards and ensuring that they are integrated into the working environments, the nursing staff can afford the best services that are free from illegality and minimal challenges exist when these standards are strictly implemented in an organization. The basic guidelines of these standards also enable registered nurses to adopt the key policies and frameworks which facilitate their easy working relations with the staff to whom they delegate duties.
In addition, the skills and knowledge acquired from implementing these standards are essential for the continuity of health services provision in any health care environment. When a health unit intends to grow, there is a need to apply these professional standards in its operations to eliminate the problems which frequently evolve from non-compliance with the standards in the operational environment. As a nurse, I have gained from the application of these professional standards in my service delivery and this has assisted in reducing the key problems which usually arise from lack of compliance with these policies.
References
American Nurse Association, (2015). Nursing (3rd Edition). American Nurses Association.
Rasheed, A. (2019). Oxford Textbook of Palliative Nursing (5th revised edition). Saudi Medical Journal, Volume 40(9), pp. 904-964.