1. Explain how nursing practice has changed over time and how this evolution has changed the scope of practice and the approach to treating the individual.

Over time, extensive changes have been experienced in nursing practice. The changes in nursing have introduced diversity in nursing practice. The profession has become accommodative to people of all genders. Unlike before when women were qualified for nursing by their adaptation to domestic roles, the profession attracts men and women with equal qualifications. There are standards that every nurse has to fulfill. Therefore, over time nursing has become a critical profession in the medical field as it offers critical support to the healthcare system. Training for nurses is in line with current needs making the practice up-to-date to deal with healthcare problems in society. Nurses are trained on how to handle their duties and responsibilities professionally to guarantee customers quality medical care (Masters, 2018).

Patient care is an exceptionally significant responsibility for all medical professionals. To ensure proper care for patients, nurses are trained in line with current technology. They are expected to understand current technology to ensure they handle individual cases accordingly. Equally, they are trained on ethical standards that ensure they undertake the nursing responsibilities conscientiously while ensuring the safety of the patients (Masters, 2018).

2. Compare and contrast the differentiated practice competencies between an associate and baccalaureate education in nursing. Explain how scope of practice changes between an associate and baccalaureate nurse.

Competency in nursing could be defined by one’s level of training in the form of associate and baccalaureate education. In the most basic differentiation of the nurse’s skills level, a baccalaureate-level nurse would be considered a professional nurse while the associate nurse is a technical nurse. An associate degree is for training clinical skills among others, while baccalaureate education is about education, research in nursing, management, and clinical skills training. An associate nurse may learn the clinical skills in a few days of training. For baccalaureate, research is paramount as it helps in the prevention of diseases, promotion of community health, and implementation of best practices that would ensure proper patient outcomes. On the other hand, an associate nurse focuses on developing and nurturing clinical skills which would help in handling a patient. Associate nurses learn to develop relationships with patients to ensure they handle the health problem in a professional and satisfactory manner. Associate nurses are responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of certain medical conditions (Tracy et al., 2018).

3. Identify a patient care situation and describe how nursing care, or approaches to decision‐making, differ between the BSN‐prepared nurse and the ADN nurse.

In a case where a patient turns to a healthcare facility, the BSN-prepared nurse and the ADN nurse are likely to behave differently. If the patient has a rare condition, the response by the two parties is different. A BSN-prepared would undertake a procedure to understand what could be the issue with the patient. The nurse would analyze the situation based on the effects that it would have on the people in the surroundings. The BSN nurse would launch research on the situation to ensure the appropriate procedure. The treatment process would take time. On the other hand, the ADN nurse would take the patient as critical as personal responsibility. They would focus on treating the patient by applying various clinical skills. The ADN nurse is likely to deliver their services faster while following the recommended procedures. As such, the ADN nurse is likely to be more interactive with the patients. The ADN nurse would not have to consult to deal with the situation (Tracy et al., 2018).

4. Discuss the significance of applying evidence‐based practice to nursing care and explain how the academic preparation of the RN‐BSN nurse supports its application.

The application of evidence-based practice is to ensure patients get the best outcome that may reduce the demand for healthcare resources. The nurse cannot undertake a treatment procedure until they are guaranteed that there would be better outcomes. Evidence-based practice minimizes errors by ensuring all steps are undertaken professionally (Tracy et al., 2018). Also, it reduces misdiagnosis by focusing on the right procedures and implementing them accordingly.

RN-BSN Nurses are exposed to the right procedures to ensure the effectiveness of evidence-based practice. Academic preparation entails understanding the ethical standards that govern how nurses handle patients. Through academic training, nurses gain skills that would be significant to guide the patients. Education is vital because it serves as the platform for influential decisions by comparing the theoretical details to the case at hand. The nurse is trained on clinical procedures to ensure that they investigate certain condition professionally. Unless they have the appropriate preparation, nurses cannot offer the appropriate treatment (Chitty & Black, 2011).

5. Discuss how nurses today communicate and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and how this supports safer and more effective patient outcomes.

Under the responsibility of a collaborator, management, and coordination of a patient’s medical care, teamwork becomes vital. All the medical services are integrated meaning one would require support from the rest of the medical professionals. Teams are headed by individuals who are central in defining communication procedures and protocols in the healthcare facility. Nurses may discuss a situation with the other professionals in a bid to find the solution. Through the collaboration, nurses communicate accordingly with the rest of the team to deal with the situation. Recently, the patient’s data has been a centralized way of maintaining patient’s electronic data. Therefore, nurses are likely to interact with the rest of the team in an organization. They exchange information with others through consultations and recording. As a result, of electronic records, nurses interact with the rest of the team as they consult on a critical matter that would guarantee excellence in handling patients (Chitty & Black, 2011). Nurses submit the correct information about their patients to ensure the seamless attendance of patients. Errors are minimized with all patients being treated depending on the severity of the condition.

References

Chitty, K. K., & Black, B. P. (2011). Professional nursing: concepts & challenges.

Masters, K. (2018). Role development in professional nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Tracy, M. F., & O’Grady, E. T. (2018). Hamric & Hanson’s Advanced Practice Nursing-E-Book: An Integrative Approach. Elsevier Health Sciences.