NRS 430 Topic 5 Professional Associations Membership GCU
NRS 430 Topic 5 Professional Associations Membership GCU
Professional organizations play an important role in the development of advanced practice nurses. Advanced practice nurses utilize them as platforms for advancing their knowledge and skills in practice and networking purposes. Often, advanced practice nurses belong to professional associations that align with their areas of specialization. Therefore, this paper explores a professional association that I may belong to in the future as a specialist in geriatrics nursing.
Organizational Description
I am interested in the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA). GAPNA is a professional organization formed to represent advanced practice nurses, researchers, clinicians, and educators’ interests. It advocates the interests of healthcare providers involved in advancing and practice of caring for the elderly. GAPNA provides healthcare providers in elderly care and practice, opportunities for research, leadership, education, networking, advocacy, and advancement of evidence-based care. The mission of the association is to promote excellence in advanced practice nursing for the health and wellbeing of the elderly. Its vision is to continue being trusted leaders for the expert care for the elderly. The goals of the association include advocating quality care for the elderly, promoting professional development, offering continuing gerontological education, and educating the population about issues related to aging. GAPNA members enjoy several benefits from the association (gapna.org, n.d.-a). They include the ability to network with other professionals, continuing education, information about evidence-based practice, and enhanced involvement activities that advance the care of the elderly.
Geriatric nurse specialists should network for several reasons. First, networking informs geriatric nurse specialists about new practices and developments in the care of the elderly. They learn about evidence-based interventions that optimize care outcomes of elderly patients, which can be used in their settings. Networking also informs geriatric nurses about transformations in their practice and their expected roles. For example, geriatric nurses learn about advances in geriatrics, new researches, and practice recommendations for their career advancement. Consequently, networking acts as an opportunity for personal and professional development for geriatric nurses (Rizany et al., 2018). Lastly, networking provides opportunities for spreading and promoting continuous improvement in healthcare. By connecting with other specialists in geriatrics, advanced practice nurses develop better insights into clinical pathways that can be adopted to drive sustained and continuous improvement in the safety, quality, and efficiency of elderly care. GAPNA creates networking opportunities for its members through scientific conferences. It organizes scientific conferences where members share information about evidence-based practices and guidelines for use in elderly care(gapna.org, n.d.-a). Members use the conferences to advance their knowledge in various issues affecting elderly care such as advocacy, research, education, and evidence-based practice.
How it Keeps Members Informed
GAPNA ensures that its members remain informed about health care changes and changes to practice that affects geriatrics. One of the ways it achieves this objective is through scientific conferences. It uses scientific conferences to inform its members about practice changes they should incorporate into patient care. The organization also publishes evidence-based information about practice changes. For example, it publishes current guidelines for geriatrics on its website to enable access to its members. It also supports inter-professional collaboration initiatives that enhance the competencies of the providers in elderly care(Kaya &Boz, 2019). GAPNA also has online resources accessed through its library for use by its members in learning about new practice changes. There is also the development of toolkits for new practice recommendations. Toolkits guide its members in implementing new changes in geriatric care, hence, standardized care. The last way in which GAPNA keeps its members informed about health care changes and changes to practice that affects elderly care is through social media (gapna.org, n.d.-a). It uses social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to inform its members about practice changes affecting their practice and patient care.
Opportunities for Continuing Education and Professional Development
Continuing education and professional development are important for geriatric nurses. GAPNA provides several opportunities for continuing education and professional development for its members. One of the ways is ensuring access to continuing education and professional development opportunities such as conferences to its members. GAPNA members have access to annual and pharmacology conferences that enhance their knowledge and skills in optimizing care outcomes in elderly care. Members also have access to an online library that enables them to obtain current, evidence-based information about geriatrics(gapna.org, n.d.-b). The organization also has a clinical advisor program where members get information about career paths they can explore to achieve their desired professional development goals.
Conclusion
Professional organizations play an important role in nursing practice. They provide opportunities for personal and professional development for nurses. GAPNA is an example of a professional association that I will belong in the future. It advances the education, practice, research, and advocacy of healthcare providers involved in elderly care. It also provides its members’ opportunities for continuing educational and professional development. Therefore, I believe that its membership will enable me to achieve my personal and professional goals as a geriatric nurse.
References
gapna.org. (n.d.-a).About | Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA). Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.gapna.org/about
gapna.org. (n.d.-b).Geriatric Nursing Journal | Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA). Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.gapna.org/publications/geriatric-nursing-journal
Kaya, A., &Boz, İ. (2019).The development of the Professional Values Model in Nursing.Nursing Ethics, 26(3), 914–923. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733017730685
Rizany, I., Hariyati, R. T. S., &Handayani, H. (2018).Factors that affect the development of nurses’ competencies: A systematic review.EnfermeríaClínica, 28, 154–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1130-8621(18)30057-3
Indeed Advocating on patients’ behalf can contribute to better treatment outcomes for patients and help improve their overall health, both of which can be improved through advocacy. Patients can gain from having advocates on their side. Because doing so gives patients the opportunity to participate in decisions regarding their own medical care and makes it simpler for patients to keep track of their multiple treatments and procedures, it is highly crucial for nurses to advocate on behalf of their patients. Patients are better able to communicate in a clear and succinct manner with their physicians and any other individuals who are invested in their care when they have a voice of their own and when they have the ability to speak for themselves. This is the case whether the patients have the ability to speak for themselves or not. These advocates are going to make an effort to explain everything and react to any questions that the constituents may have in relation to the matter.
We are all involved in plan of patient care. We need to be aware of what we are handling, disease process, dedicate high quality of care and advocate for our patients though accountability of our actions, and through collaboration with other health care team. Being assertive, can be misinterpreted by some people, but its one tool that enables a patient acknowledge the importance of the information being conveyed. For example health education on management of diabetes at home on discharge. We need to emphasize on warning signs of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, to help the patient manage well her long term condition at home.
Watch “The Importance of Nurse Advocacy and Empowerment” by Elders, from Healthwatch USA Conference for Healthcare Transparency and Patient Advocacy, located on YouTube(2018).
I couldn’t agree more, advocating for our patients can absolutely improve their outcomes. By involving them in their own care and educating them on their options and a different perspective they may not have been able to see without a nurse stepping in. I can only imagine how grateful the family was for you advocating and stepping up for the patients well being. Some family members or patients do not understand that they are in control of their health and care team, thankfully you and your team were able to educate them and empower themselves.
Providers must ensure that every client has the ability to raise concerns about their care regardless of culture, language, impairment or other factors. If these barriers impede the client’s ability to access the complaint system, the provider is expected to give the client extra support. When we advocate for our patients, sometimes we are indirectly saving their lives. It’s important for us to be their voice in times when they have none.
Great post! Nurses should advocate for their patient’s rights to promote human dignity, relieve them from pain, and promote equality (Toda et al., 2015). Advocacy helps patients to make better health decisions due to access to quality information. Nurses spend more time with patients than most healthcare professionals. As a result, they should identify areas or instances where patients are uncomfortable and provide a solution through patient advocacy. Nurses should prioritize the patient’s safety alongside their wishes.
Toda, Y., Sakamoto, M., Tagaya, A., Takahashi, M., & Davis, A. J. (2015). Patient advocacy: Japanese psychiatric nurses recognizing necessity for intervention. Nursing ethics, 22(7), 765-777.
