“In addition to caring for you while you are sick, the nurses will assist you to develop an individualized plan to maintain your health.”
This response is consistent with the American Nurses Association (ANA) definition of nursing, which describes the role of nurses in promoting health. The other responses describe some of the dependent and collaborative functions of the nursing role but do not accurately describe the nurse’s role in the health care system.
When providing patient care using evidence-based practice, the nurse uses evidence-based guidelines in addition to clinical expertise.
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the use of the best research-based evidence combined with clinician expertise. Clinical judgment based on the nurse’s clinical experience is part of EBP, but clinical decision making also should incorporate current research and research-based guidelines. Evidence from one clinical research study does not provide an adequate substantiation for interventions. Evaluation of patient outcomes is important, but interventions should be based on research from randomized control studies with a large number of subjects.
The nurse primarily uses the nursing process in the care of patients as a problem-solving tool to identify and treat patients’ health care needs
The nursing process is a problem-solving approach to the identification and treatment of patients’ problems. Diagnosis is only one phase of the nursing process. The primary use of the nursing process is in patient care, not to establish nursing theory or explain nursing interventions to other health care professionals.
The nurse plans an every 2-hour turning schedule to prevent skin