Intensive Care Competencies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Intensive Care Competencies - Research Paper Example A qualified and effective nurse understands all the dynamics of patient advocacy (Kassirer, 2009). In the intensive care unit, a nurse becomes the patient’s advocate. If the patient is paralyzed, unconscious, asleep or in pain, the nurse becomes the advocate for his or her rights and integrity (Lundy & Janes, 2009). The patient must always be ventilated and properly positioned (Lipe, 2003). This takes a lot of courtesy and professionalism from a nurse. If the nurse is working in a hostile environment where the services are limited and resources are scarce, the integrity of service delivery may be compromised (Lipe, 2003). Therefore, the nurse has to use all the necessary means to shield the patient from embarrassment or unwanted happenings during the service delivery. Critical reasoning must always be tempered with clinical reasoning in the nursing profession (Brunt, 2008).The willingness and ability to take responsibility is one of the most prominent competencies during the i ntensive care (Joint Commission Resources, 2004). It is always easy for nurses to blame people and other players when things go wrong. Nurses can take advantage of their patients’ ignorance and fail to take the blame upon themselves when things go wrong (Kassirer, 2009). This leaves patients more confused. A professional nurse working in the intensive care unit should be able to take responsibility and blame upon both the team and the patient if need be. This also involves recognizing one’s shortcomings.... Therefore, the nurse has to use all the necessary means to shield the patient from embarrassment or unwanted happenings during the service delivery. Critical reasoning must always be tempered with clinical reasoning in the nursing profession (Brunt, 2008). The willingness and ability to take responsibility is one of the most prominent competencies during the intensive care (Joint Commission Resources, 2004). It is always easy for nurses to blame people and other players when things go wrong. Nurses can take advantage of their patients’ ignorance and fail to take the blame upon themselves when things go wrong (Kassirer, 2009). This leaves patients more confused. A professional nurse working in the intensive care unit should be able to take responsibility and blame upon both the team and the patient if need be (Elliott, 2006). This also involves recognizing one’s shortcomings (Lipe, 2003). During critical thinking, analysis and evaluation are used before a conclusion is r eached (Joint Commission Resources, 2004). Some of the analyses and observations end up pointing at some professional omissions and laxity on the side of nurses in the intensive care unit (Brunt, 2008). This can be solved by admitting these omissions. The ability to think fast enough is also extremely necessary (Elliott, 2006). During clinical reasoning, trial and error decisions can be made in genuine faith. A competent nurse should be able to explain such decisions when called upon (Kassirer, 2009). Sometimes, some of the team members can run out of the ideas while carrying out some sensitive procedures. The ability of a nurse to observe and address the individual needs of team members is critical. Most of these