Pre Eclampsia Research Paper

Recognition and Prevention of Pre-eclampsia
Kathryn M. Beard
Phillips Community College University of Arkansas

Recognition and Prevention of Pre-Eclampsia in Pregnancy

Clinical Judgement According to Giddens (2013) clinical judgement is defined as “interpretations and inferences that influence action in the clinical practice” (p. 365). The nurse needs to encompass the whole patient in order to provide safe quality care, interpret data and have knowledge on how to respond to the data. Judgement should also include reflecting on how the patient responded to the care provided. This is critical for the safety of the patient (Giddens, 2013). The writer of this paper will be pointing out that an undesirable outcome for pregnancy is pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is diagnosed by new onset of hypertension and protein found in the urine. This is usually diagnosed after 20 weeks. The only cure for pre-eclampsia is delivery. The nurse is responsible for the accuracy of taking blood pressure and teaching the client how
to do a 24 hour collection of urine (Townsend, O'Brien, & Khalil, 2015). Failing to collaborate with the physician any changes in blood pressure, weigh and activity of the fetus can lead to morbidity and or mortality to the mother and the fetus.
It is important that the nurse is educated on the signs and symptoms of early pre-eclampsia. The roll of the nurse is to report the assessment data and protect the maternal and fetal well-being (Bell, 2010). Quality improvement measures should include screening women for pre-eclampsia (Townsend et al., 2015). Checking the functions of the placenta, kidneys and other organs should be done along with monitoring blood pressure. Other methods to help prevent pre-eclampsia should also include teaching about diet. The diet needs to be low sodium and consist of food high in protein, calcium and magnesium. Antihypertensive drugs and low dose aspirin can be used as preventive measures as well (Perry, Hockenberry, Lowdermilk, & Wilson, Maternal Child Nursing Care,
2010). Ethics and legality intertwine with each other in the health care field. Employee and the employer can both be held accountable if the consequence occurred at work and employee was within the scope of practice. The nurse is regulated by the State board of nursing which includes the education requirement, scope of practice and licensure (Giddens, 2013). The consequences depend on the severity of the outcome and the state of which the nurse resides. For example, Nurse Practice Act in the state of Arkansas has the authority to limit and even revoke a license depending on ethical performance and if a law was broken. Retrieved from http://www.arsbn.arkansas.gov Electronic health records (EHR) help provide quality safe care, prevent medical errors, decrease cost and help providers share information. Allows for better clinical judgement because information can be seen as soon as it is entered into the system. EHR allows the nurse to see trends in vital signs and lab results quicker which would allow her to notice early signs of possible pre-eclampsia (Giddens, 2013). In conclusion a nurse must use good clinical judgement along with collaboration with other health care professionals to ensure a positive outcome for both mother and baby. Through effective training a nurse can learn valuable knowledge that allows warning signs of pre-eclampsia to be addressed. By utilizing good clinical judgement a nurse will be able to recognize when pre-eclampsia worsens and address those issue as they arise.