Development of a publishable paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Development of a publishable paper - Essay Example Methods A qualitative research methodology is employed for the purpose of the study. The common themes in the literature on the therapeutic relationships between the nurses and clients are identified. The study was administered on a sample target group (who were screened based on their experiences of having worked in mental healthcare) of nurses who work in the psychiatric and mental health care hospitals in and around Melbourne in Victoria Australia. A preliminary mailed questionnaire was used to eliminate nurses with no prior experiences in mental healthcare. A telephonic interview was also administered on these respondents to know their willingness to take part in the sample survey. Thus, the participants for the survey consisted of 40 nurses who worked in and around Melbourne in Victoria Australia with at least two years of working in mental healthcare. The questionnaire comprised of 8 interrelated questions most of which were open ended. Results and Conclusions The results of th e study confirmed the common themes identified in the literature review. While therapeutic relationships have been identified as very much significant by the participant nurses they expressed their concern over the inadequacy of ongoing staff training, the heavy work schedule and the problems associated with maintaining professional boundaries. The respondents regarded mutual trust, empathy, confidentiality and non-judgment, feelings of reciprocity and connectedness, and acceptance and understanding as the key factors of effective therapeutic alliance whereas respect, communication and interpersonal skills, and professional knowledge were complementary. On the other hand, the major crippling factors (that prevent effective therapeutic alliance with patients) identified by the respondents consisted of mistrust, breach of confidentiality, ego, lack of communication and interpersonal skills, and lack of professional knowledge. Introduction and Background The therapeutic alliance betwee n the nurse and the client assumes utmost significance in the mental healthcare setting as the patients are greatly in need of personal counseling, guidance and care. Nurses need to have professional knowledge and skills to establish effective therapeutic relationships with the clients and they should be specially trained in displaying caring attitudes and behaviors towards the clients. The ultimate aim of the therapeutic alliance is the physical and mental well-being of the clients and as such the therapeutic relationship should be â€Å"based on trust, respect, empathy and professional intimacy, and requires appropriate use of the power inherent in the care provider’s role† (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2009, p. 3). The five components of effective nurse-client relationships have been identified as â€Å"trust, respect, professional intimacy, empathy and power† (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2009, p. 3). Nurses who work as catalytic agents of change needs to have good communication as well as interpersonal skills and a thorough knowledge regarding the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship (McQueen 2000). It is also significant that the nurses are able to build rapport and trust with the patients (McQueen 2000), show trust and commitment (Morse

Generating Evidance for Evidence-based Practice Thesis Proposal

Generating Evidance for Evidence-based Practice - Thesis Proposal Example Organizational culture is often discussed hand-in-hand with readiness assessment when thinking of the implementation of systems such as an electronic based competency records because organizational cultures are not readily changed and as such, if there is no effective readiness assessment in place, changes are that the changes will not be effectively undertaken. Having said this, it is important to point out that readiness assessment is a much integrated approach that is used in measuring how agile the need to undertake changes within a healthcare facility can take place. In effect, a readiness assessment that is directed at comparing the effect of completeness when converting inpatient registered nurse competency records from a paper to an electronic document system would consider a number of factors and that could either speed up the change process or slow it down. Some of these factors could be internal or external and generally constitute the environmental factors affecting chang e (Grayson, 2008). Specific examples of these could be mentioned as issues of technology, infrastructure, personnel, social adaptability, among others. Problem Description Background of the problem The importance of RN competence records can never be overshadowed in a healthcare setting where the need for ensuring high class training of nurses is a priority (Kalb, 1999). In the midst of the relevance and importance of keeping competence records in ensuring positive nurse attitude, nurse functions and education, it will be admitted that there is currently a paradigm shift where much focus is no the use of technology in guaranteeing and assuring efficiency and effectiveness (McKessy et al, 2008). It is against this background that it is important to assess the impact that an electronic competence record would have on nursing practice. Stakeholders/change agents In a bid to ensuring the effective use of RN competence records, there are a number of stakeholders whose roles stand out so clear and importantly in the delivery of responsibilities. Whether by the use of the traditional paper and pen competence records system or by using the electronic system, certain key stakeholders need to play relevant roles to bring about changes in the delivery of responsibilities within the hospital responsible for the training of the nurses. On a broader perspective, these stakeholders will be identified as the curriculum planners, supervisors/trainers, nurses/trainees, and the larger society. As stakeholders, the present proposal is going to affect these agents directly. For example the curriculum planners are going to be equipped with useful policies that need to be incorporated into existing curriculum provisions for trained and registered nurses in order to ensure a sound transition from traditional competence records to electronic competence records. Supervisors and trainers are also going to have their works and duties enhanced whiles the larger community is going to benef it from an effectively trained nurse with all necessary competence mastered. The evidence-based question Throughout the conduct of the evidence-based practice, there is going to be one pivotal question that is going to guide the researcher on the trend of data collection and the scope of literature review. Essentially, the evidence-base