Becoming a Nurse Scientist

Integrating Specific Duties with Beliefs in Graduate Nursing Studies

As one proceeds in their nursing studies to the graduate level, their position in society and the profession expands. The Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) conceptual framework identifies three essential areas in which the nursing sector focuses on development processes. These include developing the nurse’s position as a detective, scientist, and management in the healthcare setting. In this sense, the study focuses on how graduate nursing students integrate specific duties with their beliefs to guide their behaviors while providing health care to society. In particular, it discusses some of the models under each part of the framework and the practice of how to achieve the goals and expectations of the nurses after completion of the course, through assessment of their practice. The aim is to find out if the conceptual framework contributes to the effectiveness of the nurses in contributing to better health care in the society while playing their roles as specified in the MSN course, and under the expectations of their profession.

The Role of a Nurse as a Detective

The first role of a nurse under the MSN frameworks is being a detective. The expectation includes the ability of the individual in the profession to develop sound judgment. Also, it is to be able to determine the outcomes of small changes in the body of a being, hence preventing adversities based on their clinical imagination and the knowledge of nursing science. One of the models under this division is the ability of the nurse to pay attention to the professional standards, legal requirements and ethical considerations in practice (Kthometz1, 2016). The second one includes encouraging teamwork and collaboration so as to be able to detect even the subtle changes in the patients to be able to provide the best care to the patients.

In the first model, therefore, there is the need for the nurses to follow the regulations and standards that guide their practice (Kthometz1, 2016). Just as detectives conduct investigations on a case and try to connect the evidence with the facts, they have to follow the due procedures in law to be able to present relevant evidence for further action through the provisions of their regulations (Johnson, 2013). The nurses too have to be cautious while handling patients while putting in mind the importance of adhering to their professional standards as well the guidance of law in how they treat their patients. The aim of setting up the guidelines under which a professional nurse can be capable is to guide their behavior and avoid conflict of interest or commitment of mistakes which can lead to endangering of the patient (Johnson, 2013). As a result, the physicians commit themselves to providing the best care to a patient under any circumstances which increase the relationship and interaction between the profession and the patients who represent the community.

The second role of a nurse as a detective is to advance the teamwork and collaboration between the professionals themselves and also with the community through the patients. The purpose is to acquire as much information as possible so that the nurses can be able to provide the best care possible to the situation (Kthometz1, 2016). In this regard, conditions such as an epidemic breakout need information from the society as well as their collaboration with the nursing profession so that they can be able to develop appropriate initiatives in the affected area to develop drug administration and management of the situation. Lastly, sharing the information among the professionals also helps to provide valuable information about a procedure or drug administration to patients who reduce the medical errors that can result in the death of the patients. Therefore, the level of commitment and following procedures in the healthcare among the nurses will improve the quality of patient care which is the essential objective of the profession.

The Nurse as a Scientist

The master\u2019s program also focuses on the nurse as a scientist. In this regard, the profession aims at the individual in the nursing program to utilize translational science as a way to have an influence on the decisions in the healthcare industry. Also, it is to be able to write a prescription and implement best practices a well as be able to contribute to research through broad dissemination of finding (Kthometz1, 2016)s. One of the elements in the conceptual framework regarding this role is to utilize evidence-based research to advance the findings which can contribute to future research and improvements in the caregiving environment (Doucet, 2014). Most individuals who study the program tend to envision their careers as staff nurses only. However, many career opportunities come up in the professions including being a scientist, and a community worker among others. The graduate program, therefore, enhances a person in the relevant field to be able to acquire the relevant skills and knowledge which can help them come up with qualitative and quantitate research findings which can help find solutions to new problems in the healthcare industry (Doucet, 2014). Through daily observation routines on the medical institutions, they can be able to identify some of the challenges which they can conduct research on to find the relationship between various variables as a basis to forward findings and recommendations towards solving the problem based on the evidence gathered in the work environment.

The second element of the scientist is to advance the knowledge of genetics and genomics to transform the quality of healthcare through improving the diagnosis, screening, prevention and finally treatment of various diseases. Having this information and contribution to the improvement of the practice will significantly improve the healthcare as a basic knowledge of the nurses (Kirk & Tonkin, 2009). Through advancing research in the area, the findings can help to show how best to integrate the knowledge and technologies to the nursing profession so as to improve their practice. Though it is beneficiary to the nurses, the end benefit also influences the quality of healthcare that the patients receive. Through the use of genomics and genetic technology as a way of detecting diseases, the nurses can be able to provide early intervention measure which can lead to better management of illness or prevention through treatment in the early stages (Kirk & Tonkin, 2009). As a result, the mortality rates, misdiagnosis, and other challenges can end.

The Nurse in a Managerial Position

The last aspect is the role of the nurse in the managerial position particularly to the environment of healing. The framework facilitates the individual at the master\u2019s level of education to have the capacity as a significant global player through acknowledging the different factors that influence the healing environment. Some of them include social, economic and political aspects (Kthometz1, 2016). The aim is to ensure the person plays an active role in contributing to the global wellness as an inter-professional member of the community through contributions to state policies on healthcare, and social justice for the health of human beings.

The first element of this model is to enhance the integration of informatics and technology into the management of medical records. The nurses interact with patient information every day and the fact that a number of them may handle the same information can cause a risk such as confusion or mixing patient information, which might lead to administering wrong drugs to a patient (Sensmeier, 2011). Most of the hospitals that have implemented the electronic medical records management systems indicate that there is the significant reduction of the cases. Further, the efficiency through quick retrieval processes from the database enhances the quality of service. However, as a nurse in the managing role, the program is significant in shaping the skills for risk assessment such as security issues. Also, it can help through providing strategies of how to help the nurses better manage the information through automation with the aim of improving quality care (Sensmeier, 2011). In this regard, challenges such as training in the new technology by the staff can significantly reduce cases of negligence in the hospital.

Another important aspect of the management role is to enhance the communication in the health care industry for all the stakeholders. Patients, care providers, government agencies regulating the provision of service by the medical centers, and the standards bodies have to have effective channels of communication which can significantly reduce the number of medical errors (Hodson, 2013). The program, therefore, is crucial in equipping the nurse manager on how to enhance communication between a medical facility and the patient, nurses and doctors, nurses and patients, and lastly between management and the nurses. Having an understanding of the effectiveness of these channels can significantly improve the healthcare provision and also eliminate or minimalize the errors which contribute to a significant number of deaths each year in the healthcare facilities (Hodson, 2013). Therefore, it is essential for the nurse manager to factor this type of skills.

References

Doucet, S. (2014). Becoming a Nurse Scientist: The Critical Role of Mentorship, Collaboration, and Foundational Experiences as a Graduate Student. Scholarly And Research Communication, 5(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.22230/src.2014v5n1a129

Hodson, M. (2013). Compassion, Caring and Communication: Skills for Nursing Practice Compassion, Caring and Communication: Skills for Nursing Practice. Nursing Management, 20(6), 11-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/nm2013.10.20.6.11.s15

Johnson, N. (2013). Eight Reasons Why You Can Call Yourself a Nurse Detective. Retrieved 30 June 2017, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Eight-Reasons-Why-You-Can-Call-Yourself-a-Nurse-Detective&id=7953083

Kirk, M., & Tonkin, E. (2009). Understanding the role of genetics and genomics in health 2: implications for practice. Nursing Times. Retrieved 30 June 2017, from https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/genetics/understanding-the-role-of-genetics-and-genomics-in-health-2-implications-for-practice/5008736.article

Kthometz1. (2016). Nursing Programs Conceptual Model. Cm.wgu.edu. Retrieved 30 June 2017, from https://cm.wgu.edu/t5/tkb/articleprintpage/tkb-id/nursing-handbook/article-id/22

Sensmeier, J. (2011). Transforming nursing practice through technology and informatics. Nursing Management (Springhouse), 42(11), 20-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.numa.0000406572.04085.e8