Practising Professional Competence In Practice

There are several definitions of the word professionalism. According to Epstein and Hundert (as cited in Kirk, 2007) “Professional competence is the habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions, values, and reflection in daily practice for the benefit of the individual and community being served,”. Practising professional competence as defined by Epstein and Hundert (as cited in Kirk, 2007) demands an inherent knowledge of both my strengths and weaknesses: being self-aware. A proper evaluation of my competence level in practice demands a high level of self-awareness, in the Nursing and Midwifery council [NMC] code (2015) working within my competence level is key to preserving patients’
To minimize error in decision-making and promote efficient practice nurses are encouraged through effective communication to link evidence construed from research, with clinical expertise and patients’ expectations, (NMC, 2015). The process of constructively documenting evidence extracted from a research paper was personally daunting. This is probably attributable to my lack of familiarity with the process of critical appraisals. As Moule and Goodman (2014) explains, a fundamental understanding of research methodology and general terminologies is essential; having some background knowledge of the research topic in question also facilitates a better evaluation exercise.

Following the lecture sessions and directed learning activities assigned to week two of this module, NM4202 Learning to be a Professional, the process of retrieving evidence from research articles seems less challenging. One of the many methods for determining the best evidence in practice is Barker and Linsley (2016) six steps approach to integrating evidence into practice: assess, ask, acquire, apply, appraise, analyse and adjust. It is simple and
However, I must agree with Moule and Goodman (2014), that it is perhaps better to have researchers and practitioners working together to address relevant and ongoing issues in practice through research. Grounding practice on best available evidence is important, equally central to present day practice is patients’ preference and value (NMC 2015).

Personal values differ from person to person. Barr and McLean (2014) defined values-based practice “as an approach which recognizes that working with people who are receiving health care is dependent upon recognizing and working with their values” (p.52). Evidence-based practice, on the other hand, is defined as “the integration of the best research evidence with clinical expertise and patients’ values” Sackett (as cited in Baker & Linsley 2016). From the above definitions, the importance of a patient's values on health care decisions cannot be easily