Essential Of Care

INTRODUCTION:

In this paper, I will reflect upon my learning about the assessment and communication of activities of living and my personal role in providing essentials of care for future practice as a Registered Nurse. 

The paper further outlines the Roper-Logan-Tierney Model for Nursing Holland & Jenkins, (2019), that formulates an important framework of care in which both assessment and communication of activities of living are simultaneously addressed. 

This, I believe helps future Registered Nurses to strategically plan and analyze a patient’s care needs leading to interventions that are intended to sustain independence in carrying out activities of living that are otherwise rendered difficult or impossible for the patient to continue performing on their own.

Essentials of Care in the model for nursing is a framework that develops and evaluates nursing practice and patient care involving actions that a nurse undertakes who respects and focuses on a patient’s essential needs to make sure their physical and psychosocial wellbeing is not compromised. 

WHAT?

I understand the importance of assessment and communication of activities of living as the fundamental knowledge required for nursing practice. As a future Registered Nurse, this semester helped me understand that the role of a nurse is dynamic, it continuously evolves and in order to effectively provide high-quality nursing care to patients, I need to assess and communicate the 12 activities of living which as per Holland & Jenkins, (2019), are maintaining a safe environment, communicating, breathing, eating and drinking, eliminating, personal cleansing and dressing, controlling body temperature, mobilizing, working and playing, expressing sexuality, sleeping and dying. 

The activities of living outlined above, are to be assessed and reviewed as the patient is under care and as the care plan evolves to provide appropriate support to the patient. This helps in understanding the dependence-independence continuum of a patient’s care where nurses must strive to help a patient achieve greater independence throughout the patient’s care.

According to Dougherty and Lister, (2015), nursing assessments are an integral part of patient care. It is the initial stage in the process of person-centered care and providing an individualized patient-centered care in nursing practice. Assessment of the patient’s relative independence and potential for independence on a continuum is highly important in order to identify and plan interventions which will lead to increased independence.