ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSING SAMPLE ESSAY OUTLINE

Advanced nursing practice is one of the most demanding professions. In my weekly, orientations, researches and presentations, I was able to employ my theoretical knowledge into practice. The assessment of the final paper enabled me to fully diagnose patients and understand the medical environment that nurses work.

First, the process enabled me achieve full diagnostic knowledge of patients in a clinical situation. The weekly case studies involved deep researches and physical assessments of various patients. This expounded my nursing knowledge and experience. I was able to deal with patients who presented with emergencies. My encounter with these patients shaped my nursing experience. Further, I was able to learn the value of evidence-based practice to fully diagnose patients. In most patient situations, I was required to work collaboratively with other medical practitioner. For instance, I ordered for various tests in the laboratory, sometimes I asked for help from the nurse educator and I other specialists such as therapists.

I learned the basic critical thinking skills required to evaluate the level of patient preference towards various diagnoses. For instance, most patients have a phobia for undergoing a surgery. Thus, in order to counter this phobia, it was necessary to educate these patients or to refer them to a counselor in order for them to accept the treatment.

Moreover, I learned that one of the most important aspects of treatment is patient education. Patient education should also include the patient’s family and support system. For patients with low or no support system, more support came from me during the recovery process. This was in order to evaluate the success of diagnosis first hand. In addition, weekly calls and regular visits were necessary after admission of the patient (Terry, 2012).

While diagnosing chronic illnesses, one should first begin with primary acute care (Buttaro, Trybulski, Bailey & Sandberg-Cook, 2013). After primary care, the results found, from both the patient and the nurse interpretations, should be diagnosed differently in order to assess the level of infection. However, while diagnosing chronic illnesses I learned that it was vital monitoring and managing the disease condition.

The first major experience during the weekly rounds was the formation of a patient care plan. The patient care plan presents the necessary information pertaining to the patient in question. Further, it presents the current diagnosis of the patient, which needs to be monitored as well. In addition, the care plan enables one to educate the patient using accurate information.

Depression

Apart from disease diagnosing, I learned that it was necessary to evaluate the emotional condition of the patient. Emotions such as stress and depression may lead to slow progress of the patient. Thus, in my medical experiences I learned that it was necessary to evaluate the level of depression or other distractions that may hinder the patient’s progress. The collaborative help of a stress therapist would enable the patient acquire more confidence and become positive with their healing process (Buttaro, Trybulski, Bailey & Sandberg-Cook, 2013).

 Hypertension

Hypertension is one of the most common diseases presented during emergency situations. However, I learned that not every crushing chest pain is caused by hypertension. Thus, patients who present themselves with chest pains and they have been previously diagnoses with hypertension required more lab tests and imaging tests to establish the real cause of the condition. However, if hypertension was detected, it is important for the medical practitioner to engage the patient in healthy practices and options other than mere drug prescription. This would solve the condition in the long run. For instance, in order to improve the eating habits of a hypertension patient, the help of a dietitian would provide beneficial help (Buttaro, Trybulski, Bailey & Sandberg-Cook, 2013).

Hypercholesterolemia

Hypercholesterolemia presents itself during increased activity rate. However, while diagnosing the condition various cardiac tests should be conducted. Further, the diagnosis should begin with primary acute care, which should involve a blood test. In order to fully treat the disease, the medical practitioner should provide the necessary patient education regarding the right feeding habits and the ideal physical activities that the patient should engage in.

 Urinary tract infections or malfunctions

Urinary tract infections are also common and they require keen observation in order to conclude the cause of the condition. For instance, imaging tests and organ testing would be necessary to establish the cause of the condition. Further, the medical practitioner should assess the patient on the pain patterns (Terry, 2012). This would help the medical practitioner during the diagnosis.

Weekly rounds and my final project improved my nursing practice. This is through the challenges posed by the tests. Weekly rounds provided for random patient test that were quite tactful. For instance, the gout and angina tests shaped my nursing knowledge regarding the conditions. Further, the difference in patient situations presented a nursing challenge that added on to my nursing knowledge. For instance, there were instances where the level of diagnosis did not fully treat the condition. For instance, in cardio-vascular diseases, the patients mostly complained high level of pains. This required the collaborative help of pharmacologists to stabilize and manage the pain levels without paving way for drug dependency.

References

Buttaro, T., Trybulski, J., Bailey, P. P., & Sandberg-Cook, J. (2013). Primary care: A collaborative practice (4th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Hamric, A. B., In Hanson, C. M., In Tracy, M. F., & In O’Grady, E. T. (2014). Advanced practice nursing: An integrative approach.
Terry, A. J. (2012). Clinical research for the doctor of nursing practice. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.