Therapeutic Nursing Intervention Paper

NURS 403 – Transition to BSN Practice

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to define a clinical problem, review the literature for
appropriate research supported nursing interventions, critique current practice and provide a plan
for changing or adapting clinical practice.

Student Approach to Assignment

I approached this assignment incorporating a problem faced in my personal area of
practice. I work as a nurse in an intensive care unit (ICU) at a local acute care hospital. This
assignment reflects my personal values and interests because I wanted to develop a plan to
improve a problem experienced by the majority of the patients I take care of. I learned the value
of quality improvement and nursing interventions to improve the impact of sleep deprivation on
patients.
Reason for Inclusion of this Assignment in the Portfolio
This problem is included in my portfolio to demonstrate my ability to identify a problem
and develop a plan to improve it utilizing literature review and analysis. This assignment reflects
me as a nurse because I genuinely care about my patients. It is key to constantly research ways to
improve practice and quality of care delivered. This assignment reflects growth in practice. As a
novice nurse, I was focused on delivering care to patients and refining nursing skills. Now that I
am almost finished with the program, I am able to apply what I have learned to recognize gaps in
practice and develop a plan to improve patient care.

• Critical Thinking


o Engages in creative problem solving 

I identified sleep deprivation as a problem in clinical practice. I used creative problem
solving to develop interventions of melatonin administration, music therapy, and earplugs to
reduce the impact of sleep deprivation on patients.

• Nursing Practice
o Applies knowledge of major health problems to guide nursing practice
Sleep deprivation is a problem experienced by the majority of my patients. I utilized my
knowledge of this health problem to guide literature review and critique current practice in
efforts to develop interventions to improve practice.

o Implements traditional nursing care practices as appropriate to provide holistic health

care to diverse populations across the lifespan
On my unit, I provide care to a diverse population of adults ranging from 18 to the
geriatric population, homeless, developmental delays, varied socioeconomic and educational
backgrounds. The interventions suggested in this assignment take a holistic approach to the
delivery of healthcare and are applicable to patients from diverse backgrounds. I suggested use
of melatonin, earplugs, and music therapy to prevent sleep deprivation.

o Demonstrates an awareness of complementary modalities and their usefulness in

promoting health

Music therapy is an intervention suggested in my paper. Music therapy is a non-
pharmacological therapy that can reduce stress, prevent sleep deprivation, and improve patient
outcomes.