Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation Essay

Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation Essay

Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation Essay

Nurses are patient advocates who focus on enhancing care outcomes based on the quality of services that they offer. The critical advocacy role that nurses play implores them to be involved in designing and implementing programs to help patients and health populations attain quality care outcomes (RWJF, 2018) Nurses make meaningful contributions and lead in designing innovative healthcare programs that can help improve the overall care delivered to patients with diverse conditions like urinary tract infections in long-term care facilities (Milstead & Short, 2019). The purpose of this paper is to provide an interview transcript of my perspective on how nurses can get involved in designing and implementing a program aimed at addressing the issue of urinary tract infections (UTI) in skilled nursing facilities or settings.

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Tell us about a healthcare program, within your practice. What are the costs and projected outcomes of this program?

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most prevalent healthcare associated conditions (HACs) in long-term care facilities and among their residents. As such, the program that I would like to discuss is the issue of UTI management in long-term care facilities. Several studies have shown that while many understand the prevalence of the UTIs among residents of these facilities, a weak area has been the treatment protocols (Latour et al., 2022). The problem of ineffective treatment arises from inadequate diagnosis. As such, optimal management of UTIs for residents of these facilities needs providers to have knowledge of the unique characteristics of the infection setting and critical analysis of each case of possible urinary infection in the residents. It is important for providers to different patients with UTI and those who are asymptomatic before prescribing any antibiotic medications. Therefore, this program focuses on enhancing the knowledge about UTI management and treatment interventions within our practice.

The cost of this program will be relatively low for the facility as it will focus on enhancing nurses’ knowledge on different aspect of UTI; especially differentiating asymptomatic cases and not prescribing antibiotics. The overall cost will be about $30,000 to offer training and necessary diagnostic cultures. The projected outcomes of this program include enhancing nurses’ knowledge about optimal management of UTI through evidence-based practice approaches, and a reduction in the overall prevalence of cases in the facility. The program also hopes to reduce the overall cost of treating UTIs in the facility as well as for patients.

Who is your target population?

The target population for this program are residents of skilled nursing care facilities that get infected by UTIs and are not diagnosed effectively before the administration of right medications. Through the program, these patients will get optimal management of their cases and episodes while also enabling the providers to understand effective interventions to address the issue.

What is the role of the nurse in providing input for the design of this healthcare program? Can you provide examples?

Nurses play a critical role in providing input for designing healthcare initiatives. As patient care providers, they encounter patients who present with different symptoms and assess them before any other healthcare provider. Therefore, nurses have information and data about different trends affecting or influencing any disease and situation that patients endure or experience. Effective designing of this program requires identification of interventions and the approaches that nurses will use to integrate them for better patient outcomes.

Nurses will offer evidence-based practice suggestions and approaches to integrate into the program to attain its efficacy for the selected population (Laureate Education, 2018). The nurse will also work collaboratively with the management to develop a plan of implementation and optimal evaluation to ascertain the effectiveness of the proposed approaches like increased observation and reassessment of cases when symptoms are not explicit or there is unclear diagnosis. The nurse will ensure that the design is friendly to providers and patients in the facility. The intent of the program is to ensure that providers make effective diagnosis of UTIs and limit the use of antibiotics in cases where there is unclear diagnosis of patients. Therefore, the nurses’ input is critical.

What is your role as an advocate for your target population for this healthcare program? Do you have input into design decisions? How else do you impact design?

My role as an advocate for the target population based on this healthcare program is to ensure that they benefit and are not harmed by any intervention by providers in the facility. A majority of patients in skilled nursing care facilities have weakened immunity due to age and some because of chronic conditions that they have and are interested in good health. Therefore, my role is to ensure that the prescribed medication is necessary and will help treat them and not to harm them because of unclear diagnosis.

Nurses have unique chance to reduce adverse medical events, especially the “never events” like urinary tract infections (Milstead & Short, 2019). Therefore, interacting with patients most of the time means that a nurse is better positioned to have input into design decisions to make the program meet its goals and objectives. I have input into the design of this program since I will be one of its implementers as care provider in the facility. I will also ensure that it complies with regulatory and quality as well as professional practice standards.

What is the role of the nurse in healthcare program implementation? How does this role vary between design and implementation of healthcare programs? Can you provide examples?

The nurse will play a critical role in the implementation of this program as she is expected to execute the interventions proposed to address UTIs in skilled nursing facility among the residents. As a nurse, I coordinate care by serving as the professional link between the physician and the health care team and the patient (Laureate Education, 2018). The roles in the program include getting trained on how to make observations, assessment, and make reports for physicians so that they can make informed care decisions. Therefore, the bulk of implementation of the program will be borne by nurses.

The implementation role differs from the design role as it means that one must now execute the changes and recommendations to ascertain their effectiveness and efficacy. The implementation involves coordination of care among the different professions while design focuses on suggesting the interventions that nurses will implement (Milstead & Short, 2019). For instance, in implementation, I will have to physically make observations as opposed to hypothesizing like in the design stage.

Who are the members of a healthcare team that you believe are most needed to implement a program? Can you explain why?

The implementation of any program to enhance care quality and improve patient safety requires a team comprising of different healthcare practitioners and professionals. In this case, the healthcare team will consist of different members to form an inter-professional and interdisciplinary team. The team members will comprise of physicians, skilled nursing staff, specialty physicians and social workers. The team will also have a mental health experts and nurses to offer critical counselling services to patients. These individuals will each play their roles in care delivery to improve overall patient outcomes.

Conclusion

Nurses are a critical component of effective care delivery. Their roles in designing and implementing different programs is well demonstrated because of being patient advocates with a focus on bettering healthcare outcomes. As providers, they are in unique and strategic positions to lead the design and implementation of programs to improve patient care and reduce hospital associated conditions like urinary tract infections in skilled nursing facility.

References

Latour, K., De Lepeleire, J., Catry, B., & Buntinx, F. (2022). Nursing home residents with

suspected urinary tract infections: a diagnostic accuracy study. BMC geriatrics, 22(1), 1-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-02866-2

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Design and Implementation [Video file]. Baltimore, MD:

Author.

Haaijman, J., Stobberingh, E. E., van Buul, L. W., Hertogh, C. M. P. M., & Horninge, H. (2018).

Urine cultures in a long-term care facility (LTCF): time for improvement. BMC geriatrics, 18(1), 1-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-018-0909-x

Milstead, J.A., & Short, N.M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.).

Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). (2018, February 23). Nurses Take on New and

Expanded Roles in Health Care. https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2015/01/nurses-take-on-new-and-expanded-roles-in-health-care.html

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A 2 -4n page Interview with references in
Assignment: Advocating for the Nursing Role in Program Design and Implementation
As their names imply, the honeyguide bird and the honey badger both share an affinity for honey. Honeyguide birds specialize in finding beehives but struggle to access the honey within. Honey badgers are well-equipped to raid beehives but cannot always find them. However, these two honey-loving species have learned to collaborate on an effective means to meet their objectives. The honeyguide bird guides honey badgers to newly discovered hives. Once the honey badger has ransacked the hive, the honey guide bird safely enters to enjoy the leftover honey.

Much like honeyguide birds and honey badgers, nurses and health professionals from other specialty areas can—and should—collaborate to design effective programs. Nurses bring specialties to the table that make them natural partners to professionals with different specialties. When nurses take the requisite leadership in becoming involved throughout the healthcare system, these partnerships can better design and deliver highly effective programs that meet objectives.

In this Assignment, you will practice this type of leadership by advocating for a healthcare program. Equally as important, you will advocate for a collaborative role of the nurse in the design and implementation of this program. To do this, assume you are preparing to be interviewed by a professional organization/publication regarding your thoughts on the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.

To Prepare:

Review the Resources and reflect on your thinking regarding the role of the nurse in the design and implementation of new healthcare programs.
Select a healthcare program within your practice and consider the design and implementation of this program.
Reflect on advocacy efforts and the role of the nurse in relation to healthcare program design and implementation.
The Assignment: (2–4 pages)

In a 2- to 4-page paper, create an interview transcript of your responses to the following interview questions:

Tell us about a healthcare program, within your practice. What are the costs and projected outcomes of this program?
Who is your target population?
What is the role of the nurse in providing input for the design of this healthcare program? Can you provide examples?
What is your role as an advocate for your target population for this healthcare program? Do you have input into design decisions? How else do you impact design?
What is the role of the nurse in healthcare program implementation? How does this role vary between design and implementation of healthcare programs? Can you provide examples?
Who are the members of a healthcare team that you believe are most needed to implement a program? Can you explain why?cluded about Urinary Tract Infections in Skilled Nursing Facilities