NURS 440

Self-Assessment of Nursing Standards

ANA Standard (Look)

Standard 7: Ethics

Standard 8: Education

Brief Description (Elaborate)

The ethics standard
demonstrates that the registered
nurse should deliver care to
consumers that protects
autonomy, dignity, rights,
values, and beliefs. The
registered nurse should
advocate for the health care
consumer and question practice
if she feels it is unsafe or of
lesser quality than expected.

The education standard states

that the registered nurse should
provide competent,
knowledgeable care to each of
their clients, and commit to
lifelong learning. The nurse is
responsible for acknowledging
her weaknesses with her
nursing knowledge and seeking
out the information that is
required to overcome these

Activities that Helped you

Plan to Meet Standard(Revise)
Meet the Standard (Analyze)
When I am in the clinical
I will plan to observe the care
setting, I will question why a
my clients are receiving, and
situation is the way it is if I feel
ensure that their opinion is
it could be done in a more
heard, and that I am always
effective manner. One example working in their best interest to
is when I was in my Pine Rest
ensure that each one of my
rotation, and there had been a clients receives the high quality
patient that had not improved
care that they deserve. If I feel
during their extended stay on
that the patient is not receiving
the unit, and I questioned the
the highest standard of care that
nurse on the unit if there was
is possible, I will ensure to
anything that could be
speak up and take whatever
improved regarding their care
steps are required to give this
to ensure that they have a
client high quality medical
positive outcome.
care.
One time that I demonstrated
I will ensure that I am
meeting this standard was when providing high quality care to
I was caring for a client who
each of my clients, and that I
had been admitted to the floor
do not fail to look up the
with an epidural pump from
answer to any question that I
surgery. I was not aware of
have. I will continue in lifelong
what the registered nurses
education to ensure I do not let
responsibilities were for caring my weaknesses get in the way
for the client with this pump, so of giving the care to my clients
I looked up the specific policy
that they deserve.
on Spectrum Healths website

Standard 9: EBP and Research

Standard 10: Quality of

Practice

weaknesses. She is responsible

for her continued education.
This standard states that the
registered nurse integrates
evidence-based research
findings into her practice. She
needs to ensure that she is
utilizing current evidence, and
participates in evidence-based
practice through research.

This standard states that the

registered nurse contributes to
quality nursing practice by
documenting in a responsible,
accountable and ethical
manner, enhances nursing care
with creativity and innovation,
participates in quality
improvement by monitoring
quality and effectiveness of
nursing practice, formulating
recommendations to improve
the practice, analyzing for
barriers to quality health care

to learn what was expected of

the nurse in this situation.
One activity that I have done to
help me meet this standard was
to participate in a research
study. This study is being
conducted to determine the
proper amount or rest time
between sessions of performing
CPR, and the effect that the
different lengths had on fatigue
of the personnel. The evidencebased results of this study will
show what the best practice
may be for this, and could help
to decrease fatigue with this
practice.
One way in which I follow the
quality standard is by following
the policies that are put in place
by my unit and implementing
these measures into my
practice. One example of this is
the policy on my floor to never
walk past a call light. This
ensures that the patients are
satisfied with their care, and
their needs are not ignored, so
they are less likely to
experience inadequate nursing
care.

Throughout my career, I will

ensure to keep up-to-date with
the current research on
evidence-based practices, and
the current policies my
department has regarding these.
I will ensure that the care I am
providing to my clients follows
the proper evidence-based
procedures to ensure that care
quality or safety is not
compromised with my clients.

I will, throughout my career,

ensure to provide the best
quality of care to each of my
clients that I will work with,
and ensure that I can use my
nursing practice to determine
what further recommendations
can be implemented to ensure
that care of a higher quality can
be provided to my clients.

Standard 11: Communication

Standard 12: Leadership

outcomes, and implementing

processes to remove these
barriers.
This standard states that the
registered nurse must
communicate effectively in a
variety of formats in all areas
of practice. The nurse should
be able to communicate
effectively with all of her
clients, their families, and her
colleagues. She should
consistently improve her
communication and conflict
resolution skills, and ensure
that the care processes and
decisions in a clients care are
in their best interest. Any errors
that may be found in practice
should be disclosed to the
appropriate person, and she
needs to ensure that
communication is maintained
throughout the care team to
ensure patient safety, and that
her professional perspective is
heard.
This standard states that the
registered nurse must
demonstrate leadership in the
professional setting. She must

One way in which I ensure that

I communicate effectively in
the clinical setting is by
keeping in touch with my
interprofesional team
throughout my shift. I make
sure to keep the nurse up to
date with any changes with the
client, and ensure they are
aware of anything that they
need to know regarding their
care. One day, I had a client
that had vomited in her room,
and I found the nurse and
communicated the fact to her,
ensuring she was made aware
of this change in the patients
state.

As I progress through my
career, I will need to utilize
effective communication skills
in every aspect of my career. I
will need to be effective in my
client and family teaching,
thorough and prepared when I
am talking with doctors, and
caring when utilizing
therapeutic communication
with my patients. This is one
skill that I will continue to
grow in throughout my career,
and need to consistently work
on improving to ensure that I
meet this standard.

Leadership is a skill that is

necessary to becoming a
successful registered nurse, and
I am working to improve this

Throughout my career, I will

continue to strive towards
becoming a better leader. I will
observe effective leadership in

oversee the care given by

others and remain accountable
for the quality of care that is
given, demonstrate a
commitment to lifelong
learning for self and others,
mentor colleagues for the
advancement of nursing and
health care as a whole, respect
her colleagues, develop her
communication and conflict
resolution skills, and be
autonomous.

Standard 13: Collaboration

This standard states that the

registered nurse collaborates
with the healthcare consumer,
family, and others in the
conduct of nursing practice.
The registered nurse should
partner with others to effect
change and share knowledge of
the client and situation to
produce positive outcomes,
promote conflict resolution,
apply the group process and
negotiate with clients and
colleagues, and engage in
teamwork and the team
building process.

skill. One way that I

dempnstrated leaderhip in the
clinical setting is by taking
charge of providing report on
our patients to the nurse tech
for the day. I made sure to be
confident in what I was saying,
and provide the information
that the tech required in order
to provide adequate care to our
clients. I ensured to discuss
with her which of the patients
required feedings, among other
tasks that they required for the
day.
One way in which I have
applied this standard in my
nursing care is when in had to
change the bedding for a client
that had broken her hip. I
understood that this task was
too much for just one person to
handle, so I went to get the
charge nurse to help me. She
and I engaged in teamwork to
ensure that this clients bedding
was changed without any harm
to her.

the clinical setting, and

implement their techniques into
my own practice, ensuring that
I can be effective at this
standard. I will ensure to
delegate appropriate tasks to
appropriate individuals.

Teamwork is a skill that is

essential for nursing care to
ensure that clients are cared for
appropriately. When I am
working, I will always be sure
to collaborate with others
appropriately. I will ensure the
nurse assistant and I work as a
team to care for our clients.

Standard 14: Professional

Practice Evaluation

Standard 15: Resource

Utilization

This standard states that the

registered nurse must evaluate
therein own nursing practice
related to the guodelines,
standards, rules, and
regulations. She must provide
appropriate care to each of her
clients, and take action to
achieve goals that were
identified by feedback she has
received she should also
provide feedback to her peers
to ensure they can identify
areas of strength and weakness
as well as her.
This standard states that the
registered nurse needs to utilize
appropriate resources to plan
and provide nursing services
that are safe, effective, and
financially responsible. They
need to individually assess
client needs and the resources
available to them, delegate
elements of care to appropriate
healthcare workers, identify the
evidence when evaluating
resources, modify practice
when necessary to promote
positive interaction between
clients, care providers, and

I utilize this standard every

week with clinical when when I
fill out my weekly evaluations.
With my evaluations, I identify
any area odd strength or areas I
need to work on that I noticed
in that week of clinical. If there
ware any areas that that I
noticed during that week that
that I needed to improve on, I
ensured to do what was
necessary to fix it before my
next day at clinical

Throughout my career, I will

ensure to take any feedback i
am given graciously. I will
make sure to fix any areas of
improvement that are
identified. I will also be sure to
give feedback where it is
needed to my coworkers.

While in the clinical setting, I

To ensure I continue to provide
utilized my proper resources
safe, effective, and financially
when I was unsure of the
responsible care, I need to
proper technique for a complete
ensure that I know how to
newborn assessment on an
perform the skills that I am
infant in obstetrics, so I looked
performing. This will help to
up the proper technique for it in limit wasted products, as could
a textbook to ensure that I was
happen with dressing changes
performing it correctly.
when you do not understand the
proper technique, and will
ensure that the client remains
safe throughout the skill. If I
am unaware of how to do
something, I should utilize any
resources that are available to
me to learn.

Standard 16: Environmental

Health

technology, and assist the client

in setting up the appropriate
resources to address their needs
and factoring in costs, risks,
and benefits in decisions about
treatment and care.
This standard states that the
registered nurse practices in a
environmentally safe and
healthy manner. She attains
knowledge of environmental
health concepts, such as
implementation of
environmental health strategies,
promotes an environment that
reduces environmental health
risks, advocates for the
judicious and appropriate use
of health care products, utilizes
scientific evidence to determine
if a product or treatment is an
environmental threat, and
participates in strategies to
promote healthy communities.

When in my community health

rotation, a client that we saw
had children with abnormally
high lead levels. With these
clients, the home environment
was surveyed to determine the
source of this lead. I was not
able to participate in the lead
hazard investigation for this
case, but I discussed with the
nurse what interventions were
done in the case of lead
poisoning, and how exactly the
situation was handled.

When identifying health risks

of clients, one risk that is
consistently forgotten is the
home environment of the client,
especially in the acute care
setting. It is essential to take the
clients home life into
consideration with their care,
and ensure that any problems
with their environment are
identified and resolved before
their care has been completed.
On a broader scope, the
medical field is notorious for
excess waste, and health care
workers need to be proactive in
ensuring that there is not
unnecessary waste from the
care that they provide. In
making sure that this is true, I
will make sure to only grab and
open the supplies that I am
positive I am going to use, so
that I do not have unnecessary
waste.