Exam 1 Study Guide
Chapter 1: Nursing Today
Nursing is an art and a science. As an art, you learn to deliver care with sympathy for the
fact that the patient is a person. Learning to deliver care with compassion, caring, and
respect for each patient’s dignity and individuality. As you gain more experience in the
field of nursing, you will be able to cultivate the art of talking to your patients in a way
that is helpful to them and seeing what the patients and their family most respond to.
Nursing science is the knowledge that is specific to what you learn in nursing school and
what you apply based on the research that is conducted and applied based on nursing
practice. The goal of nursing science is to expand your knowledge about human
experiences through research and acquired knowledge.
NURSING AS A PROFESSION:
● Use critical thinking skills
○ Patients will have different goals and needs, it is important to assess the
patients and use the knowledge that you learn through, school, practice,
and research in order to correctly help the patient
○ You are not trained to perform specific tasks in nursing, you have to be
able to assess the patient and decide what course of action to take and
make sure to report all signs and symptoms to the healthcare provider
○ Nursing is a profession, in a profession how you practice will be the most
important factor. Acting professionally, you will use critical thinking and
clinical judgement
● Patient centered care: your patient can be an individual, group, or community of
people based on your field and role that you choose
○ ***Patient and client can be used interchangeably. When referred to as a
patient, they are usually in an institution. A client can be someone in
multiple settings (in the community, home health care, and school nurse)
○ Family is a crucial aspect of wellbeing and health, which is why they are
often times considered to be the patient as well or apart of patient care
○ Every patient will have a different story, support system, and reason for
coming into the hospital. Focusing on the patient as a whole will affect
how you assess the patient.
● Be responsible and accountable
○ You are responsible and accountable to yourself, your patients, and your
peers
○ Decisions have weight and affect the patients
○ Safety should always be considered first, “is this something i’m allowed to
do?”
, ○ Being accountable and practicing safely also means knowing your limits,
which is why delegation in an interdisciplinary team is so important
● Understand the scope of of professional nursing practice and how nursing
influences the lives of your patients, their families, and their communities
○ Health care advocacy groups recognize the importance of the role
high-quality professional nursing plays in a nation’s health care.
○ The role of professional nursing in improving health equity and creating
communities in which everyone has access to high-quality health
○ Need to be able to assess patients’ physical, emotional, cultural, and
psychosocial needs
○ The Nursing profession can increase diversity in the nursing workforce
and nursing leadership
○ Nurses can work to address social determinants of health, reduce health
disparities, and promote equity, while keeping costs at bay.
● The healthcare provider is whoever can diagnose a medical condition and
prescribe treatments (physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner)
● As a nurse, whatever you delegate to someone is your responsibility, because you
have the training such as critical thinking skills to do certain tasks
● Must appropriately delegate tasks: within scope of practice and ensure they have
the training and skills needed to perform the tasks
SCIENCE AND ART OF NURSING PRACTICE
● Nursing requires:
○ Current knowledge and practice standards
○ Insightful and compassionate approach
○ Critical thinking and clinical judgement
○ To meet the needs of each patient and family caregiver, you integrate best practice
standards and evidence-based findings to provide the highest level of care
● Clinical expertise takes time and commitment
● Benner’s stages of nursing proficiency: 5 stages to become an expert in nursing
○ Novice- Beginning nursing student or any nurse entering a situation in which
there is no previous level of experience (a new grad nurse or a nurse who
transferred to a new specialty). Very stepwise and linear, follows a recipe and
doesn’t have the experience to deviate
○ Advanced Beginner- A nurse who has some level of experience with the
situation. This experience can be observational in nature, but the nurse can
identify principles of nursing care. Has some experience but still unable to think
outside the box
○ Competent- A nurse who has been in the same clinical position for 2 to 3 years.
Can anticipate nursing care, and has experience using all psychomotor skills in
, different situations. This nurse understands the organization and specific care
required by the type of patients.
■ *A psychomotor skill is the ability to use your mind (psycho) to control
your body’s movements (motor), blending cognitive functions like
perception and memory with physical actions such as coordination,
dexterity, and strength to perform tasks
○ Proficient- A nurse with more than 2 to 3 years of experience in the same clinical
position. Has so much experience they are able to assess an entire situation, and
can train or serve as a resource to other nurses
○ Expert: A nurse with diverse experience who has an intuitive grasp of an existing
or potential clinical problem. Typically 5+ years in the same speciality. Able to
assess the problem and focus on multiple dimensions of the situation
SCOPE AND STANDARDS OF NURSING PRACTICE
● Scope of practice is what a professional (nurse) is allowed to do
● When provisioning nursing care, we follow the professional standards of practice and
nurses’ code of ethics
● Professional practice is based on knowledge from social and behavioral sciences,
biological and physiological sciences, and nursing theories
● The American Nurses Association illustrates the consistent commitment of nurses to
provide care that promotes the well-being of their patients and communities
○ Nursing incorporates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection,
promotion, and optimization of health and abilities
○ Prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, and alleviation of suffering
through compassionate presence
○ Nursing is the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the
care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations in recognition
of the connection of all humanity
○ The ANA develops, revises, and maintains the scope of nursing practice statement
and standards that apply to the practice of all professional nurses
● The International Council of Nurses also has a definition of nursing
○ Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all
ages, families, groups, and communities
○ Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill,
disabled, and dying people
● The scope and standards of practice guide nurses to make significant and visible
contributions that improve the health and well-being of all individuals, communities, and
populations
● Nurse Practice Act (Board of Nursing of that state) determines the scope of practice
● Abide by state, specialty, and facility scope of practice
, ● Standards of Professional Nursing Practice is determined by the American Nursing
Association: the roles and responsibilities of nursing
● American Nurses Association Standards of Nursing Practice:
○ Assessment: The registered nurse collects data and information relative to the
healthcare consumer’s health or the situation
○ Diagnosis: The registered nurse analyzes the assessment data to determine the
actual or potential diagnoses, problems, and issues
○ Planning: The registered nurse develops a plan encompassing strategies to
achieve expected outcomes
○ Implementation: The registered nurse implements the identified plan
■ Coordination of Care: The registered nurse coordinates care delivery
■ Health Teaching and Health Promotion: The registered nurse employs
strategies to teach and promote health and wellness
○ Evaluation: The registered nurse evaluates progress toward attainment of goals
and outcomes
● Standards of Professional Nursing Practice contain authoritative statements of the duties
that all registered nurses, regardless of role, population, specialty, setting, or APRN
specialization, are expected to competently perform. The nursing process if the model for
clinical decision making and includes all significant actions taken by nurses in providing
care to patients
● Standards of Professional performance describe a competent level of behavior in the
professional nursing role. States how we should behave, communicate, collaborate,
equitable practices, ethics, advocacy, respect, leadership, education, scholarly inquiry,
quality of practice, and environmental health.
● Practice according to the code of ethics
PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
● Nurses provide care and comfort for patients wherever there is a patient in need of care
and whenever there is a need for nursing knowledge, compassion, and expertise.
● Autonomy and Accountability is an essential element of professional nursing practice
that involves the initiation of independent nursing interventions without medical orders.
○ Take responsibility. The ability to act on our own. Trust that we have the skills,
critical thinking, etc. In order to do my job correctly. When you make a decision,
you accept responsibility for the outcome.
● Caregiver
○ As a caregiver you help patients maintain and regain health, manage diseases, and
symptoms to attain a maximal level of function and independence through the
healing process. You provide evidence-based nursing care to promote healing
through both physical and interpersonal skills.
● Advocate
Chapter 1: Nursing Today
Nursing is an art and a science. As an art, you learn to deliver care with sympathy for the
fact that the patient is a person. Learning to deliver care with compassion, caring, and
respect for each patient’s dignity and individuality. As you gain more experience in the
field of nursing, you will be able to cultivate the art of talking to your patients in a way
that is helpful to them and seeing what the patients and their family most respond to.
Nursing science is the knowledge that is specific to what you learn in nursing school and
what you apply based on the research that is conducted and applied based on nursing
practice. The goal of nursing science is to expand your knowledge about human
experiences through research and acquired knowledge.
NURSING AS A PROFESSION:
● Use critical thinking skills
○ Patients will have different goals and needs, it is important to assess the
patients and use the knowledge that you learn through, school, practice,
and research in order to correctly help the patient
○ You are not trained to perform specific tasks in nursing, you have to be
able to assess the patient and decide what course of action to take and
make sure to report all signs and symptoms to the healthcare provider
○ Nursing is a profession, in a profession how you practice will be the most
important factor. Acting professionally, you will use critical thinking and
clinical judgement
● Patient centered care: your patient can be an individual, group, or community of
people based on your field and role that you choose
○ ***Patient and client can be used interchangeably. When referred to as a
patient, they are usually in an institution. A client can be someone in
multiple settings (in the community, home health care, and school nurse)
○ Family is a crucial aspect of wellbeing and health, which is why they are
often times considered to be the patient as well or apart of patient care
○ Every patient will have a different story, support system, and reason for
coming into the hospital. Focusing on the patient as a whole will affect
how you assess the patient.
● Be responsible and accountable
○ You are responsible and accountable to yourself, your patients, and your
peers
○ Decisions have weight and affect the patients
○ Safety should always be considered first, “is this something i’m allowed to
do?”
, ○ Being accountable and practicing safely also means knowing your limits,
which is why delegation in an interdisciplinary team is so important
● Understand the scope of of professional nursing practice and how nursing
influences the lives of your patients, their families, and their communities
○ Health care advocacy groups recognize the importance of the role
high-quality professional nursing plays in a nation’s health care.
○ The role of professional nursing in improving health equity and creating
communities in which everyone has access to high-quality health
○ Need to be able to assess patients’ physical, emotional, cultural, and
psychosocial needs
○ The Nursing profession can increase diversity in the nursing workforce
and nursing leadership
○ Nurses can work to address social determinants of health, reduce health
disparities, and promote equity, while keeping costs at bay.
● The healthcare provider is whoever can diagnose a medical condition and
prescribe treatments (physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner)
● As a nurse, whatever you delegate to someone is your responsibility, because you
have the training such as critical thinking skills to do certain tasks
● Must appropriately delegate tasks: within scope of practice and ensure they have
the training and skills needed to perform the tasks
SCIENCE AND ART OF NURSING PRACTICE
● Nursing requires:
○ Current knowledge and practice standards
○ Insightful and compassionate approach
○ Critical thinking and clinical judgement
○ To meet the needs of each patient and family caregiver, you integrate best practice
standards and evidence-based findings to provide the highest level of care
● Clinical expertise takes time and commitment
● Benner’s stages of nursing proficiency: 5 stages to become an expert in nursing
○ Novice- Beginning nursing student or any nurse entering a situation in which
there is no previous level of experience (a new grad nurse or a nurse who
transferred to a new specialty). Very stepwise and linear, follows a recipe and
doesn’t have the experience to deviate
○ Advanced Beginner- A nurse who has some level of experience with the
situation. This experience can be observational in nature, but the nurse can
identify principles of nursing care. Has some experience but still unable to think
outside the box
○ Competent- A nurse who has been in the same clinical position for 2 to 3 years.
Can anticipate nursing care, and has experience using all psychomotor skills in
, different situations. This nurse understands the organization and specific care
required by the type of patients.
■ *A psychomotor skill is the ability to use your mind (psycho) to control
your body’s movements (motor), blending cognitive functions like
perception and memory with physical actions such as coordination,
dexterity, and strength to perform tasks
○ Proficient- A nurse with more than 2 to 3 years of experience in the same clinical
position. Has so much experience they are able to assess an entire situation, and
can train or serve as a resource to other nurses
○ Expert: A nurse with diverse experience who has an intuitive grasp of an existing
or potential clinical problem. Typically 5+ years in the same speciality. Able to
assess the problem and focus on multiple dimensions of the situation
SCOPE AND STANDARDS OF NURSING PRACTICE
● Scope of practice is what a professional (nurse) is allowed to do
● When provisioning nursing care, we follow the professional standards of practice and
nurses’ code of ethics
● Professional practice is based on knowledge from social and behavioral sciences,
biological and physiological sciences, and nursing theories
● The American Nurses Association illustrates the consistent commitment of nurses to
provide care that promotes the well-being of their patients and communities
○ Nursing incorporates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection,
promotion, and optimization of health and abilities
○ Prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, and alleviation of suffering
through compassionate presence
○ Nursing is the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the
care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations in recognition
of the connection of all humanity
○ The ANA develops, revises, and maintains the scope of nursing practice statement
and standards that apply to the practice of all professional nurses
● The International Council of Nurses also has a definition of nursing
○ Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all
ages, families, groups, and communities
○ Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill,
disabled, and dying people
● The scope and standards of practice guide nurses to make significant and visible
contributions that improve the health and well-being of all individuals, communities, and
populations
● Nurse Practice Act (Board of Nursing of that state) determines the scope of practice
● Abide by state, specialty, and facility scope of practice
, ● Standards of Professional Nursing Practice is determined by the American Nursing
Association: the roles and responsibilities of nursing
● American Nurses Association Standards of Nursing Practice:
○ Assessment: The registered nurse collects data and information relative to the
healthcare consumer’s health or the situation
○ Diagnosis: The registered nurse analyzes the assessment data to determine the
actual or potential diagnoses, problems, and issues
○ Planning: The registered nurse develops a plan encompassing strategies to
achieve expected outcomes
○ Implementation: The registered nurse implements the identified plan
■ Coordination of Care: The registered nurse coordinates care delivery
■ Health Teaching and Health Promotion: The registered nurse employs
strategies to teach and promote health and wellness
○ Evaluation: The registered nurse evaluates progress toward attainment of goals
and outcomes
● Standards of Professional Nursing Practice contain authoritative statements of the duties
that all registered nurses, regardless of role, population, specialty, setting, or APRN
specialization, are expected to competently perform. The nursing process if the model for
clinical decision making and includes all significant actions taken by nurses in providing
care to patients
● Standards of Professional performance describe a competent level of behavior in the
professional nursing role. States how we should behave, communicate, collaborate,
equitable practices, ethics, advocacy, respect, leadership, education, scholarly inquiry,
quality of practice, and environmental health.
● Practice according to the code of ethics
PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
● Nurses provide care and comfort for patients wherever there is a patient in need of care
and whenever there is a need for nursing knowledge, compassion, and expertise.
● Autonomy and Accountability is an essential element of professional nursing practice
that involves the initiation of independent nursing interventions without medical orders.
○ Take responsibility. The ability to act on our own. Trust that we have the skills,
critical thinking, etc. In order to do my job correctly. When you make a decision,
you accept responsibility for the outcome.
● Caregiver
○ As a caregiver you help patients maintain and regain health, manage diseases, and
symptoms to attain a maximal level of function and independence through the
healing process. You provide evidence-based nursing care to promote healing
through both physical and interpersonal skills.
● Advocate
