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Influence of Patient Care on Nursing Care and Education

In a nursing career, professionals seek better employment opportunities and supportive environments while focusing on quality patient care. According to Price and Reichert (2017), nurses are continually seeking employers that support their transition to practice and assist the individuals in adjusting to job demands and workloads. Notably, an individual’s experience shapes one’s career and further education. This paper examines how the patient care I have provided has influenced my nursing career and the decision to further my education.

The gaps in nursing care are the foundation of further education to explore other opportunities, such as research and leadership. Presently, my experience in patient care has been constrained by the education level. Although I am permitted to engage in research, there are a few setbacks, such as the opportunities by individuals with masters and advanced nursing professional degrees. Notably, my current education is also limited to introducing changes to healthcare, leadership, and research. I aim at furthering my education and career to provide individualized care and manage diverse patient populations. Also, increasing my education will help in participation in administrative matters and the development and implementation of healthcare policies and making contributions in medicine (Williams et al., 2016). Further education will also enhance my knowledge in assessing, diagnosing, and treating different medical conditions.

From experience, patient care is diverse, thus the need for advanced nursing career and further education. Presently, patients’ needs are changing. According to Gabutti, Mascia, and Cicchetti (2017), the current population is described by several pathological chronic illnesses. From experience as well, it is apparent that patients are informed compared to the previous era. The expectations of the healthcare system have also increased significantly. In delivering patient care such as individuals with diabetes and hypertension, their knowledge of the conditions is vast. Their expectations have also been changing, such as reduced length of stay at the hospital and increased satisfaction. To satisfy these patients’ needs, career development and education are essential to obtain more knowledge regarding the conditions and the development of the care plans. In career development, it entails gathering more experience to understand the pathophysiological processes and establish care strategies that will promote quality and safety of care. Also, more education enhances one’s ideas and concepts on current patient acuity and management strategies.

The patient care that I have provided has demonstrated the importance of gathering more skills in communication, interpersonal, critical thinking, teamwork, effective decision making, and leadership. Fukada (2018) argue that nurses should enhance their competency in daily practices to promote the delivery of quality care. From experience, it is apparent that nurses should demonstrate an understanding of various skills such as interaction with all patients regardless of their diversity affiliation, teamwork, and leadership. In delivering care to aged individuals, it is imperative for the nurse to engage with the person to establish the needs and how the present challenges can be addressed. From experience also, a healthcare professional needs to collaborate with other stakeholders, such as nurses and physicians, to ensure comprehensive care to the patient. Career development and education play a vital role in gaining more knowledge of these skills and how they can be applied to patient care. Some of the important activities in career development include workshops and seminars, while education involves research and being taught about these competencies and their application.

In summary, nurses are continually exploring opportunities to enhance their careers to improve patient care. Based on experience, the changing patient needs and diversity in healthcare conditions are the foundation of career development and engaging in further education to obtain more knowledge.