NURS9028 Supplementary Assessment Nurse Practitioner Assignment Sample

Introduction: Advanced Nurse Practitioner Role In Primary Healthcare

Scope of Practice [SOP] is delineated as those activities performed by health care practitioners holding specific professions. The scope of nursing practice adheres to diverse roles, responsibilities, and functions performed by registered nurses in educating and treating patients. These practices are underpinned by values that lead to guide ways in which effective nursing care could be provided (Aiken et al, 2021). The current essay will be based on describing the scope of practices in the context of a practice nurse, advanced nursing role will be explained along with the description of relevant factors. The case study will be used for undertaking the explanation and the case will be based on a specific diagnosis; Shingles. Furthermore, digital health technologies for delivering care, barriers in providing care, four domains and standards of Nurse Practitioner Standards and 7 competencies of NPC framework in the episode of care will be analysed. Moreover, a critical discussion of the advanced practice role and Point of Difference in the role of NP with literature will be done.

Main Body

Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice In Primary Healthcare

Nurse Practitioner [NP] proves to be essential advocates in healthcare; they have the clinical expertise and educational background that enables them to provide quality care. NPs are at the forefront of dealing with patients and delivering varied services. Their core motive is to provide support to the patients along with analysing their unique needs to align with the personal experience of service users (DePriest et al, 2020). The health services provided by NP are based on the unique requirement of patients that aligns with their physical, emotional, psychological, social and mental needs (Donelan et al, 2020). I am working in the role of practice nurse at a GP Clinic in a Primary Health Centre. In my role, I have always ensured that I focus on evaluating the needs and requirements of patients. Each service user struggles with different diagnoses that lead to unique needs and consequently, nurse-patient communication is required to be implemented that supports in understanding the complications and issues of service users and accordingly, actions could be taken. My role engages in assuring effective delivery within healthcare services; nurses are accountable for looking upon day-to-day tasks and requirements of service users. Monitoring and further assistance have been ensured by NP that enhance patient outcomes.

Primary healthcare enables supporting individual care needs; it focuses on undertaking health promotion, disease prevention, rehabilitation, prevention and palliative care. The principles within primary healthcare are comprised of equal distribution of healthcare, autonomy, confidence, empowerment, beneficence and justice (Drenth‐van Maanen et al, 2020). As a practice nurse, I have focused on following all of these principles; I have never discriminated against patients based on their background. Furthermore, their autonomy and dignity have been maintained with respect. No disclosure of personal information was done and of interest decision for the patient was taken. This is my accountability to do justice to the service user and therefore, I emphasised empowering them by involving them in decision-making.

As an Advanced Registered Practice Nurse [APRN] my role within primary care, my role is to provide healthcare services to varied individuals by evaluating their unique needs. APRNs treats and diagnose illness along with advising on public health issues (Ellenbogen et al, 2020). Thus, I am liable to perform these duties. Practice nurse plays a vital role in providing healthcare access to the public specifically for underserved populations who come from rural areas (Fraze et al. 2020). My role is to use my expertise and knowledge to develop holistic plans for patients and focus on disease prevention. The scope of practice comprised providing direct patient care, assisting and monitoring patient conditions, adjusting treatment procedures and making necessary changes. My speciality is to provide quality care and assistance for undertaking disease prevention. However, the scope of practice in the nursing field is just not limited to certain tasks or functions. It is considered as the combination of knowledge, skills and judgement that leads to empowering nurses to perform care practices.

My client population aligns with families and individuals need support in disease management. The inclusion criteria involve those patients who need assistance related to viral infection, diabetes care, dementia care and after-surgical procedure care. I look upon them to assist on a day-to-day basis. The exclusion criteria involve those patients who need to undergo a surgical procedure. I provide support to individuals aged between 12-60 years of age I am specialised in providing care services to girls and women. The vulnerable population involves individuals who are at a higher risk of diabetes and dementia in both indigenous and non-indigenous communities.

As a nurse practitioner, I am aware of the fact my role is going to be influenced by varied socio-economic, geographical and political factors. This can lead to develop significant impact towards healthcare services. The socioeconomic factors are concerned with health disparities and cultural competence (Hughes et al, 2022). Findings have shown that, factors such as lack of education, poverty and limited access towards health care result in increasing health differences. I need to focus on this area and the future and in my practice, I will ensure that no discrimination has been done with the patients. Furthermore, NPs need to be culturally responsible for providing significant care to patients, I need to be aware of these factors as I will provide care services to both indigenous and non-indigenous communities. I will ensure respect towards each culture while maintaining dignity. The geographical factors consist of infrastructure and transportation issues; this can lead to an impact on the ability to access healthcare (Hughes et al, 2022). Also, rural-urban disparities increase the challenges for people to achieve effective healthcare. Therefore, I will develop a focus on this area so that equal healthcare services can be ensured for every individual. The political factors are aligned with changing health policies and patient advocacy. I will perform my practices by the set policies and further, Patient advocacy involves advocating about policies that lead to promote health enquiry, patient-centred care and access to care.

Case Study Application and Culturally Responsive Care

Mrs Jane [Using a pseudonym for managing patient confidentiality] was suffering from shingles and due to this she was struggling with itching and pain sensation and she belongs to the Indigenous community. During the episode of care, I have focused on providing major support to Mrs jane. Culturally responsive care refers to consistent and quality healthcare services that are based on assuring respect for patients. In accordance with this concept, there is a need to show respect and dignity towards each individual and it is important to understand to assure respect and dignity to patients without judging them based on their background and I have done the same. Mrs Jane has no one in her family and she needed emotional support; I have assisted her and further employed nurse-patient communication to create emotional support for the patient. I believe in promoting diversity while providing care to patients and no discrimination has been undertaken which results in developing emotional support for Mrs Jane.

My organisation, Primary Health Centre has partnered with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals and communities to analyse the issues faced by this community. I have come to know that fact that there is an increasing rate of health disparity among the Indigenous community which is leading to develop negative impact on the health of Indigenous communities. Culturally responsive healthcare is essential to enhance the satisfaction rate of patients and further contributes to creating a positive impact on their health outcomes (Hughes et al, 2022). I have focused on respecting the traditions of Mrs Jane and I have maintained transparency with them. I will use this learning in future as well so that I can assure significant support to all communities and no discrimination will be undertaken. Further, my core motive is to enhance the overall health of people rather than judging them based on their caste and background.

Digital Health Technologies and Barriers in Care Delivery

Digital technologies in healthcare have been proven essential as have enhanced the quality of services which led to results in enhancing overall health outcomes of the patient. The vital signs can be monitored via technology and accordingly, the disease can be identified (Kandrack et al, 2021). Nurses can conveniently and effectively focus on delivering on-the-spot care to patients which is highly important in managing the diagnosis. Indigenous and non-indigenous both the community has right to get equal healthcare access. The Polymerase chain reaction [PCR] digital technique is used for suspecting varicella and herpes zoster in the patient (Ljungbeck et al, 2021). It helped in the detection of VZV DNA that increases skin lesions. By using this advancement, I was able to detect the diagnosis and afterwards care plan was made via using cloud-based care plans. Further, I have used My Health Record System to analyse the past medical history of Mrs Jane so that I can become able to know about the allergies.

Digital technologies are composed of benefits and challenges; it has eased the task however, at the time they possessed with risk of providing wrong information. There might be a possibility that due to technological glitches and wrong information, My Health Record provides wrong information related to Mrs Jane. Furthermore, there is a threat related to cloud-based care plans; there might be a possibility that the system gets disrupted and all the information within care plans gets erased (Mileski et al, 2020). Thus, complete dependency on technology creates a huge threat and therefore, as a nurse practitioner, I will never show complete dependency on technology. Further, I will continue to use advanced technology for both Indigenous & non-indigenous populations, I would promote My Health Record awareness in people so they can actively use this platform and undergo regular check-ups to maintain effective health and well-being.

The provision of fundamental care proves to be an essential element in assuring the well-being and dignity of people (Brennan et al, 2021). As a nurse practitioner, it is crucial to evaluate the barriers and enablers that result in providing care (Smith, 2022). The barriers to providing fundamental care I have witnessed in the present case are entitled with workload, lack of training and lack of resources. There was an extreme workload due to the mismanagement of the team and I felt stressed at a certain point in time. However, I have focused on providing quality care to patients rather than focusing on my stress. Further, I have analysed that I need training to overcome with the burden and often there was a lack of resources in the setting which acted as a barrier to providing training to patients. On the other hand, enablers to providing fundamental care were that there were clear policies and guidelines given to me that helped me to work in the stressed situation (Park et al, 2020). Furthermore, collaboration and communication led to the development of an effective environment at the setting and I was able to make effective communication with the patient. Organizational culture was based on prioritising patient-centred care led to fostering a positive and supportive environment. My role can influence the provision of fundamental care at a policy and system level. This would be possible only when if I communicated about the barriers with the higher administration team. This led to significant support for me and further enabled me to maintain transparency in the setting. Thus, I will develop a significant focus on this area so that I can become able to enhance the satisfaction level of patients to greater note.

Nurse Practice Standards [NPS] is the educational requirement for NPs in Australia; it is composed of four domains and those are- clinical, education, research and leadership (NPS, 2023). I have applied all of these domains in order to enhance patient outcomes. The clinical standards related to dignity and confidentiality have been performed by me. I have used my education to develop emotional interaction with Mrs jane and accordingly nurse-patient communication was implied. Research led to the development of effectual insights which are important for understanding the consequences and issues within the case (NPS, 2023). Along with theoretical and practical learning, I have further used my own research as well to enhance patient outcomes. Leadership is a vital domain in NPS as this helps in navigating and consistent evaluation within healthcare (Wheeler et al, 2022). I have used this ability to cooperate with staff and patients which supported me in performing my role effectively. I have followed standards as well and I have assessed Mrs Jane by analysing and using their diagnostic capabilities and further their past health records were checked. The care plan was made by engaging her and her diet was changed, implementation of therapeutic intervention was done by using nurse-patient communication (NPS, 2023). I have supported the health system as well by monitoring and evaluating documents based on Mrs Jane's determined goals further plans were made.

The Nurse prescribing competencies [NPC] involve the prescription of schedule 2-3 medicine accordingly I have prescribed the required medicines [Acyclovir and Paracetamol] to Mrs Jane. The seven competencies were followed by examining the holistic requirement of patients by following safe prescribing procedures (NPC, 2023). I have checked the medical history of Mrs Jane so that I can become able to know about her past history and allergies. However, there was no allergy witnessed and I have accordingly prescribed the safe medication by looking forward to weakening the immune system of the patient. I will continue to use this framework in future as well for undertaking safe prescribing practices.

As an Advanced nurse practitioner, I am committed to providing high-quality care to patients including patient-centred care that adheres to evidence-based practices. I will focus on reducing health disparities by performing fair practices towards patients. ANPs are addressing global health concerns by addressing the workforce shortage specifically in rural areas (Delgado et al, 2021). They perform expanded roles such as prescription of medicines and treating diagnoses that led to an increase the access to healthcare services (Yang et al, 2021). Holistic patient-centred care can be assured to users by prioritising their needs to a greater extent (Demenech et al, 2020). This led to the development of significant support for the patient. However, on a contrary note ANPs face extreme workload burdens as well and they have to work in stressful situations. There is a need to focus on arranging training programmes that are essential for increasing the efficacy of ANPs (Drenth‐van Maanen et al, 2020). My role would enable me in terms of empowering patients, I will reduce the health disparities that exist based on different backgrounds, ages and any other factors. My core motive is to enhance patient outcomes by providing them with quality services. The limited access to healthcare services creates major issues for communities and in future I will collaborate with Multidisciplinary teams to ensure quality healthcare services in rural areas as well.

Conclusion

Conclusively; I can say that it is highly important to perform ethical practices while providing care services to patients. A nurse practitioner needs to follow mandatory principles as this assures that ethical practices have been undertaken. The essay has reflected upon my own role as a nurse practitioner in providing care to a woman who belongs to an Indigenous community. I have delivered culturally responsive healthcare services which led to the development of effective interaction between me and my patients. Henceforth, I can say that it is highly important to develop trust in service user by prioritising their unique needs. This helps in enhancing the interaction between patient and caregiver and further enhances patient outcomes.