The Current Nursing Culture
Transcript of The Current Nursing Culture
Running head: THE CURRENT NURSING CULTURE 1
The Current Nursing Culture
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The Current Nursing Culture
Culture refers to the characteristics of a particular group and shared patterns of
interaction, behavior, cognitive constructs, and interactions. Nursing culture constitutes patterns
of actions followed by nurses and provides a standard adhered to while providing care. Nursing
practice has changed over time, forming a new culture determined by the changing needs of the
patient and the community as a whole. The shaping of the nursing culture is influenced by all
healthcare stakeholders.
The current nursing culture is characterized by a focus on the patient and delivering
patient-centered care, care coordination or interprofessional collaboration, evidence-based care,
incorporation of technology in care delivery, health promotion, and the need for participation of
patients in their care. The current nursing culture is founded on the need for patient-centered
care, which involves understanding a patient as a unique human needs and tailoring health
services towards those needs. Patient-centered represents a shift from traditional, diseased-
focused, paternalistic, and provider-driven approaches towards an approach that integrates the
needs, perceptions, and experiences of the patient at every stage of care delivery. Evidence links
patient-centered care to increased adherence to treatment, improved quality of care, and better
care ratings due to increased patient satisfaction (Fix, VanDeusen Lukas, Bolton, Hill, Mueller,
LaVela, & Bokhour, 2018). Patient-centered care has created the need for cultural competence
among the nurses to facilitate individualized care delivery.
Interprofessional collaboration, characterized by effective communication, has become a
major aspect of the current nursing practice. The need to deliver quality and safe care to patients
has necessitated effective communication and care coordination. Interprofessional collaboration
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is characterized by coordination, cooperation, shared decision-making, and partnerships (Morley
& Cashell, 2017). Collaborative practice has been linked to shared knowledge and increased
experience due to the sharing of information resulting in enhanced decision-making. Effective
communication is the driving factor as it facilitates the interactions between health care
professionals. Nursing practice is now characterized by teams as nurses work with physicians to
plan care for patients. Inter-professional collaboration has been most evident in providing care to
patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes.
The current nursing is characterized by evidence-based practice. EBP refers to the use of
the best available scientific evidence to make decisions and to provide efficient and effective
care (Li, Cao, & Zhu, 2019). EBP enhances the safety of care and improves patient outcomes.
Major interventions implemented in treatment by the nurse are based on evidence that points to
better outcomes with implementing the treatment option. EBP has made research significant in
nursing practice. The nurse is, therefore, at the forefront of research projects with the aim of
acquiring evidence on the most appropriate interventions that can generate better outcomes. The
shift towards value-based compensation has facilitated the need for EBP.
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The expansion of nursing roles is another aspect of the current nursing culture. The role
of nurses has expanded due to increased demand for health care services and the advancement in
technology. The number of states that support full practice authority for advanced nurses has
increased; hence the advanced nurses can act as primary care providers and are mandated to
prescribe medications autonomously and order diagnostic tests.
The adoption of information technology has expanded the role of nurses as nurses can
build a career in informatics. The use of technology has increased, especially in the sharing of
information among professionals and patients. The use of telehealth in remote monitoring of
patients also forms the culture of the current nursing practice. Nurses are currently able to
monitor the patients' vitals through technology, such as wearable devices that include wrist bands
and others. Nurses have also adopted the role of leaders at different levels, including at the
patient level. Current nursing is also characterized by health promotion. Nurses are putting effort
into disease prevention by creating awareness and educating communities on healthy behaviors
and health risks. Nurses currently focus on educating the patients, families, and the community
on the need to live healthily through proper nutrition and exercise to manage their health
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conditions by delaying complications, especially for individuals with chronic illnesses such as
diabetes.
Whether the Bar for Nursing Leadership is Set at the Individual Patient-Nurse
Relationship or the Community-Nurse Relationship
Leadership entails influencing the attitudes and behaviors of others in favor of
accomplishing a shared goal. Nursing leadership involves providing support and direction,
coordinating, motivating, effective communication, collaborating, and advocating for the
patients' needs. The Institute of Medicine emphasizes exercising leadership in interprofessional
teams and the healthcare systems. According to Al-Dossary (2017), the nursing profession and
practice entails a leader's role as the roles of nurses are leadership roles. The bar for nursing
leadership, however, is set at a community-nurse relationship. The nursing practice involves
making crucial decisions on the diagnosis and medication of patients. Every nurse has the
potential to be a leader, even without have an official leadership position. Nursing leadership
focuses on clinical leadership as nurses are expected to take responsibility for their actions;
hence, they play leaders daily. In the nursing literature, leadership phenomenon has always
reflected general leadership. The fundamental role of ensuring the safety of patients has created
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an interest in clinical leadership. Nurses act as leaders by advocating for the rights of patients.
They also act as leaders through effective communication in their interaction with patients,
families, and other health care providers. They also act as leaders in evidence-based practice.
Leadership at an individual patient-nurse relationship is, however, not recognized despite the
impact it has on patient outcomes, including patient satisfaction.
An example of how the bar for nurse leadership is set at the community-nurse
relationship and not the individual patient-nurse relationship is the recognized efforts of nurse
theorists whose efforts impacted community levels. Measures of improvement in health care are
not based on the outcomes in an individual patient but on the community as a whole. Another
example is how health outcomes are measured across populations.
Definition of Nursing Leadership in Relation to Health Policy and the Community from the
Review of DNP Essentials and the 2011 Institute of Medicine Future of Nursing Report
Essential II of the DNP programs focuses on organizational and system leadership for
improving quality and system thinking. The graduates are equipped with expertise in assessing
organizational issues, identifying any issues in the systems, and facilitating practice delivery
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changes. They are also prepared to assume leadership roles at various levels, including informal
leadership in clinical settings and formal leadership at executive levels. The DNP essentials
recognize leadership as the ability to conceptualize new care delivery models based on
contemporary nursing science (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2006). The models
should be feasible within the existing cultural, political, economic, and organizational
perspectives. Nursing leadership entails possessing knowledge and skills that are consistent with
health care and nursing goals aiming at eliminating health disparities, promoting the safety of
patients, and excelling in practice. The essential outline of leadership is the ability to assess the
impact of health procedures and policies in meeting the intended populations' needs. The role of
leaders in nursing is, therefore, aligning policies and strategies with health goals. The focus
should not only be on individual patients at clinical facilities but the whole population.
Leadership in relation to community focuses on health disparities and improving outcomes while
meeting the needs of the community members.
The Future of Nursing report by the Institute of Medicine states that nurses should play
key roles of team members and leaders for a better-integrated and reformed health system that is
patient-centered. The report highlights that nurses provide a steadfast commitment to improved
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safety and quality, patient care, and better outcomes. The report recognized the need for
education to enable the nurses to deliver effective care, engage with other health care
professionals, and assume leadership roles in redesigning the health care system. Such statements
show that the nurse has a role as a leader to redesign health care systems through policies and
other changes that they find appropriate. Their commitment to patient-centered care, equitable,
high-quality, and safe care covers the community as a target group in improving health care. The
report recognizes the capacity of nurses to transform health care through policies when granted
favorable working conditions and opportunities. The recommendation of the report includes
granting nurses full practice authority, high levels of education, the chance to be full partners
with physicians, and the provision of necessary resources. Nurses are recognized and partners
and assets in reforming the health care industry through partnerships (American Hospital
Association, 2020).
The recommendations of the report focus on the intersection of the health needs of
diverse communities and the actions of the nurses. The recommendations reflect the nurse's
potential to bridge the gap between access and coverage of health care by partnering with
different health care professionals. The report views the nurse as change agents in the health care
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industry. Their potential is not limited to any strategies or the clinical level. The report addresses
some of the areas that act as barriers. They are presented as innovators in areas including policy
change and in addressing the health needs of communities. According to Udod and Wagner
(2018), the nurse is change agents, although the process is faced with various challenges and
complexities due to the evolving health care environment. The IOM report addresses a major
challenge by recommending education to equip nurses with the necessary skills and knowledge
to address the challenges and expand their scope to widen the impact of their roles as leaders.
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References
Al-Dossary, R. N. (2017). Leadership in nursing. Contemporary Leadership Challenges, 251.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006). The Essentials of Doctoral Education for
Advanced Nursing Practice.
American Hospital Association. (2020). Future of Nursing IOM Report.
Fix, G. M., Vandeusen Lukas, C., Bolton, R. E., Hill, J. N., Mueller, N., Lavela, S. L., &
Bokhour, B. G. (2018). Patient-centered care is a Way of Doing Things: How Healthcare
Employees Conceptualize Patient‐ Centred Care. Health Expectations, 21(1), 300-307.
Li, S., Cao, M., & Zhu, X. (2019). Evidence-Based Practice: Knowledge, Attitudes,
Implementation, Facilitators, and Barriers Among Community Nurses—Systematic
Review. Medicine, 98(39).
Morley, L., & Cashell, A. (2017). Collaboration in Health Care. Journal of Medical Imaging and
Radiation Sciences, 48(2), 207-216.
Udod, S., & Wagner, J. (2018). Common Change Theories and Application to Different Nursing
Situations. Leadership and Influencing Change in Nursing.