NRS 430 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing

I have used every good and bad experience I’ve had over the past 2 years of working as a beside nurse, as a learning experience. I see the good and bad situations as lessons, and I use those lessons to guide my daily patient care. I recently had to politely ask a nurse giving me report to slow down, because she was going so fast that I couldn’t even write down everything she was saying, and I wanted to catch everything she was saying. Sometimes those situations can feel awkward because I don’t want to seem rude, but it requires assertiveness to ask them to slow down or correct something that wasn’t done when it should have been done. Going forward, with nurses that give partial report to me, I will review the chart myself before receiving report from the previous nurse. Reviewing the patient’s chart will prepare me for what to expect from the patient, as well as prepare me to ask the nurse to clarify something I didn’t understand, or something they may have missed saying during report.

There have been instances with nurses who have left patients lying in bed soiled, and the lesson I learned from that is, I actually go into the room with the nurse giving me report and quickly assess the patient and any drips they may have running. As nurses, I do feel we are leaders in the hospital setting, because we have to delegate care to others. As a leader guiding and training new nurses, I would personally share my experiences as a bedside nurse. When I became a new nurse, I was eager to learn as much as possible about nursing, and I would listen to advice from the more seasoned nurses, and I greatly valued their abundance of knowledge and experience. I remember thinking I was envious of their years of experience, and I can’t wait to be in that position one day, and be able to onboard new graduate nurses, and take them under my wing and lead them and guide them. New nurses are the future of our healthcare system, and after the terrible bullying I experienced as a new graduate nurse in the ICU, I would never want another new nurse to have that experience, that is why training new nurses is something I am very passionate about.

Sample Answer 3 for NRS 430 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing

Accountability is defined as the acceptance of responsibility for honest and ethical conduct. (Faubion,2023). A lack of accountability in nursing practice can have significant, far-reaching consequences. Nurses should strive to demonstrate accountability in all aspects of practice. Professional accountability as simply being answerable to oneself and actions. Nurses have a formal obligation of accountability placed on them by their Nurse Regulatory Board and must be willing to accept professional responsibility for the care they provide to patients. Working within the Scope of Practice is one of the best ways to demonstrate accountability in nursing practice even when faced challenging and demanding situations. For example, monitoring patient vital signs and recognizing abnormalities, administering and monitoring medications. Last week, I received hand off on a patient receiving intravenous antibiotics who developed a rash on his back and the doctor was convinced that it was not medication related despite my many attempts to convince him that it is was indeed an allergic reaction and possibly Steven Johnson’s disease. After a dismissal from the doctor, I went to my supervisor to express my concerns about this case and wound care was consulted. Patient merely got worse and soon after he was transferred to the burn unit for Steven’s Johnsons disease. There are several characteristics associated with accountability, including dependability, confidentiality, acting as a patient advocate, and ensuring best practices are followed.

Reference

Faubion, D. (2023). 10 Ways to Demonstrate Accountability in Nursing Practice. 10 Ways to Demonstrate Accountability in Nursing Practice (nursingprocess.org)