Postgrad education allows nurses to be more effective clinical Essay

Postgrad education allows nurses to be more effective clinical decision makers - Essay Example Nursing practice has expanded and extended in both horizontal and vertical directions. This expansion has been too great and that professional growth comes by limiting functions rather than by extending them; they believe that the focus of concentration should be on the functions that are of a professional nature and integral to nursing. Nursing has gone too far and that it has begun to encroach on the medical domain. On the other hand the expanded roles in nursing fulfill a vital need and provide health care services where either none exist or services are limited. In addition, the assumption of additional functions by nurses is viewed as necessary so that the best possible care is rendered. Whatever the case, the changing environment has called for an education to keep pace with the modern world. Yet the struggle for the inclusion of educational programs for nursing in institutions of higher learning still continues at a time when education is needed more than ever to develop indiv iduals who can deal with the problems of adjustment in modern life. Postgrad nurses are well geared up to convene the demands placed on today's nurse. These nurses are valued for their skills in critical thinking, management, case management, and for their capability to practice across a range of inpatient and outpatient settings. Moreover, Critical care nursing cannot be understood in iso... e valued for their skills in critical thinking, management, case management, and for their capability to practice across a range of inpatient and outpatient settings. Moreover, Critical care nursing cannot be understood in isolation from nursing as a professional discipline. While geographical and specialization designations such as the emergency room, the coronary care unit, the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital ( MASH) unit, or the intensive care unit may imply critical care, the distinctiveness of critical care nursing awaits description. In fact, critical care nursing represents a concentration of nursing practice as a whole or reflects something innovative and different. Further, the impact of specialization and the rapid influx of technological change on nursing practice have gained the attention of few researchers. Advanced patient assessment skills held by post grad RN's particularly those who hold a grad dip in critical care, allow the nurse to improve patient outcomes because the grad dip gives nurses the ability to interpret and act on physiological abnormalities which is a fundamental factor in adverse event prediction and prevention (Julie Considine, 2004). Postgrad education not only provides nurses with the skill of using latest technology but also educate them to make efficient decision at right time. In the intensive care unit the nurse collects and monitors vast amounts of detailed data. This monitoring is continuous and occurs in rapidly changing situations. These judgments require anticipation of subtle changes and decision making, interpretations, intervention, and evaluation in complex situations. The outcomes of these decisions may have life and death potential for patients. The decision making may occur in units that are inadequately staffed,