Nurses’ responsibilities for quality health care in Australia

Main Body

This essay examines the responsibilities of nurses and their contribution to quality health care in Australia. It describes the application of NMBA rules, guidelines and standards for self-regulation. It explains the contribution of nurses to better quality care and their participation in interdisciplinary teams.

The Australian healthcare system continues to focus on implementing national standards for the safety and quality of health care services. In Australia, nearly 450,000 registered nurses and midwives work in the Australian healthcare system (Oldland et al., 2020). The Australian Code of Ethics outlines the nursing profession’s commitment to promoting ethics, respecting human dignity, upholding and protecting the human rights of people who have arisen in care providers and recipients. healthcare (anmf.org.au.2022). Four ethical principles describe the responsibilities of nurses in Australia, such as kindness, fairness, autonomy and non-malignancy (waubrafoundation.org.au. 2022). It is the nurse’s responsibility to empower patients to make their own decisions based on their values ​​and beliefs. Professionalism refers to the practice of an activity or skill that is expected of a professional. Nurses must be kind and not malicious in their nursing work (nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. 2022). According to the Australian Code of Professional Conduct, nurses must practice their profession safely and competently (nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. 2022).

Nurses support and respect the dignity, culture, values, and ethnicity of the patient. Nurses provide honest and accurate patient information and build trust with patients (nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. 2022). The Australian Code of Ethics for Nurses states that nurses should value the quality of care provided to everyone. Nurses should be kind and should value and respect themselves and others. They must prioritize people’s diversity and value equal access to high-quality health care for all. Finally, nurses must value informed decision-making (waubrafoundation.org.au. 2022). All of these codes of ethics and profession set out the responsibilities of nurses in Australia. By upholding all of these codes of conduct and policies, nurses can provide quality care. All of these rules, principles and ethics guide nurses in Australia to deliver high-quality, error-free health care (nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. 2022). For this reason, Australia’s healthcare system is one of the best in the world.

According to Oldland et al., (2020), a framework covering seven areas is critical to understanding nurse responsibilities. This framework is used by Australian nurses to achieve the goal of meeting all accountability criteria. This framework includes the promotion of safety, medical and technological competence, people-centred care, positive interpersonal behavior, environmental management, and clinical governance or leadership. A nurse’s primary responsibility is to assess, monitor, and communicate with patients. Nurses have different roles and responsibilities in health care. Their responsibilities include patient-centered care through multidisciplinary processes that support cultural needs, continuity of care, health literacy, sensitivity, open disclosure, and action. patient decision making (Oldland et al., 2020).

Prepare the patient for treatment or any other type of surgery. The nurse is responsible for recognizing the patient’s symptoms, taking practical actions to administer medication, and taking measures to relieve symptoms. In this context, nurses have a shared responsibility to the community and to patients to ensure the delivery of safe, effective, and high-quality services. Oldland et al., (2020) stated that the quality of health care will suffer if nurses do not fulfill or understand their responsibilities.

Professionalism

Communication is an important responsibility for nurses as they need to exchange information, thoughts and feelings between people. Cashin et al (2017) mentioned that the revised standard for registered nurses brought the relational and ethical nature of nursing to the forefront. In Australia, nursing standards have been formulated and approved by the NMBA. To work as nurses in the health sector in Australia, nurses must understand and apply them to their practice. He explains that the value of putting evidence into practice can yield quality results. Standards changes could extend the effectiveness of all registered nurses in Australia (Cashin et al., 2017). From the perspective of the Australian health system, the adoption and development of nursing standards is essential for quality nursing practice. The application of nursing standards extends across legislative, dynamic, social, occupational, and educational domains.

These standards help nurses contribute to improving the quality of health care. By applying standards, registered nurses can engage and demonstrate a higher level of professional commitment in health care delivery than other healthcare professionals (Cashin et al., 2017). Competency standards detail what a registered nurse is expected to possess and can facilitate a smorgasbord approach in which the nurse can hold herself accountable. These standards help nurses to fulfill their responsibilities appropriately.

According to Halcomb et al., (2017), nurses’ awareness and acceptance of professional responsibility for a wide range of practices related to quality and safety are essential for the delivery of quality care. High. The author states that the responsibilities of a nurse include a wide range of behaviors and practices, including coordinating and delivering safe, evidence-based, person-centered care. According to Oldland et al., (2021), a framework of seven nursing responsibilities can promote quality of health care. The development of a nursing curriculum includes all codes of ethics, standards and other things. It helps nurses to properly perform their responsibilities.

Leadership refers to the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to influence and guide followers. In the nursing profession, nurses have to deal with every problem on the front lines, for example, nurses are the first to stop the spread of disease. According to Halcomb et al, (2020), during the COVID 19 situation, nurses have done a great job on their part and also fulfilling all their responsibilities is a top priority in Australia. They are on the front lines or on the front lines where they have to fight this disease. Not only in the primary hospital setting, but they also work outside of primary care (PHC).

They are highly qualified and are primarily designed to meet the needs of the community. In this case, many nurses lost hours and worked full days to provide quality care in Australia (Halcomb et al., 2020). They are also committed to providing healthcare using telemedicine and telehealth. However, PHC nurses have played an important role in the COVID 19 situation to provide quality health care. They ensure patient safety and handle contamination risks. There is no doubt that the contribution of nurses is significant in building the quality of healthcare in Australia.

Teamwork

As noted by Oldland et al., (2021), Australia has focused on higher education helping nurses develop the skills, knowledge and abilities to fulfill their nursing responsibilities in order to provide care. quality health care. An assortment of psychometric testing tools can help nurses measure their perceptions of responsibility related to quality of care. Australia’s healthcare system wants to improve the quality of care, so it has hired more general practice nurses to meet the high demand for primary care services. It brought about important changes in the responsibilities of nurses. However, developing nationally-standardized professional practice for nurses working in Australian polyclinics could support the contingent growth of the workforce.

According to Edvardsson, Watt & Pearce, (2017), in patient-centered care, nurses can provide a good experience for nurses. Supportive communication and understanding were found to be most significantly associated with the quality nursing care perceived by patients. Concepts and diversity of nursing assessments based on policies, standards, external management, and other factors. According to Australian government and health policy, nurses are required to regularly record a patient’s temperature, blood pressure, breathing and pulse. They are responsible for providing interventions, therapies, and treatments based on patient care plans. Registered nurses assist other team members in health education activities. However, a patient-centered nursing approach can improve the quality of health care. In Australia, nurses have followed this approach to providing quality healthcare.

In Australia, nurses make decisions according to the Decision Framework (NMBA 2013) and the Australian Nurses Code of Conduct. The nurses participate in a collaborative practice where they have to work with different members of the disciplinary team. Nurses are the biggest reason why Australia ranks first among OECD countries for better and equitable health care outcomes.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that Australia has excellent public health care thanks to its nurses. They are getting primary health care and preventing deadly diseases in their early stages. Nurses are the backbone of the Australian healthcare system. The entire Australian healthcare system relies on nurses. Their roles and responsibilities span a wide range of the health system. The Australian Government and healthcare system have understood the importance and necessity of nurses understanding their responsibilities. For this reason, the Australian government has developed funds and investments in nursing education and practice. Nursing students should know all NMC policies, codes of conduct, ethics, codes of conduct, and standards that help them put them into practice and meet accountability requirements.

References

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Cashin, A., Heartfield, M., Bryce, J., Devey, L., Buckley, T., Cox, D., … & Fisher, M. (2017). Standards for practice for registered nurses in Australia. Collegian, 24(3), 255-266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2016.03.002

Edvardsson, D., Watt, E., & Pearce, F. (2017). Patient experiences of caring and person?centredness are associated with perceived nursing care quality. Journal of advanced nursing, 73(1), 217-227. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13105

Halcomb, E., McInnes, S., Williams, A., Ashley, C., James, S., Fernandez, R., … & Calma, K. (2020). The experiences of primary healthcare nurses during the COVID?19 pandemic in Australia. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 52(5), 553-563. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12589

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Oldland, E., Botti, M., Hutchinson, A. M., & Redley, B. (2020). A framework of nurses’ responsibilities for quality healthcare—Exploration of content validity. Collegian, 27(2), 150-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2019.07.007

Oldland, E., Hutchinson, A. M., Redley, B., Mohebbi, M., & Botti, M. (2021). Evaluation of the validity and reliability of the Nurses’ Responsibility in Healthcare Quality Questionnaire: An instrument design study. Nursing & Health Sciences, 23(2), 525-537. https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12844

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