Introduction
Background
Pressure ulcers (PU) remain one of the issues that prevent the provision of high-quality healthcare services.
Goals
The objective of the paper is to define the strategies that can help avoid the development of PU in patients.
Problem Description
The phenomenon of PU occurs in hospitalized patients quite often. PU can be seen as a nurse-sensitive outcome. The adoption of a strategy based on the use of PU protocols seems to be a legitimate solution to the identified issue since it helps introduce order and focus on the process. Therefore, the use of protocols should be regarded as the superior method that needs to be deployed in the context of the modern nursing setting.
Literature Review
Studies show that the management of PU mostly includes encouraging patients to move more actively (Stansby, Avital, Jones, Marsden, & Guideline Development Group, 2014). The use of protocols in PU management, in turn, is often dismissed (Santamaria et al., 2015). Also, it is worth noting that ulcers may lead to the development of comorbid diseases, such as dermatologic complications (Qaseem, Humphrey, Forciea, Starkey, & Denberg, 2015). Therefore, the design of a comprehensive treatment strategy is overdue.
Methodology
To compare the outcomes of the suggested strategies for managing PU, one will have to use quantitative analysis. A t-test will have to be deployed to determine the superior method of preventing and addressing the development of PU. For this purpose, one will need to recruit a total of at least 200 participants. Thus, the sample size will be representative of the vulnerable population whose needs the framework will address.
Timeline
The project will take approximately 6 months to complete.
Summary and Review Essay (Park, 2009)
Addressing ethical concerns in nursing is inevitable since conflicts between the needs of patients and the requirements for healthcare professionals occur rather often. Therefore, gaining new knowledge and skills that will help a nurse make the right choice when addressing an ethical dilemma is critical. In his article, Park (2009) stresses the importance of viewing the existing ethical guidelines as a dynamic standard that is defined by the ability of a nurse to understand the unique needs of a particular demographic (Park, 2009). Thus, by approaching the phenomenon at the stage of learning, one will be able to handle complex ethical dilemmas when becoming a professional nurse.
Park (2009) explains that three key categories of ethical concerns can be identified in nursing. These include end-of-life issues, problems associated with patient care, and compliance with the concept of patients’ rights, particularly, the right for non-disclosure of personal data (Park, 2009). Handling the identified problems, in turn, may be problematic due to staffing issues in a nursing setting. Because of the drastic lack of competent nursing staff, high-quality nursing services become difficult to attain and provide to patients. Therefore, more rigid control over the acquisition of respective knowledge and skills by nurses is required. Also, compliance with the Code of Ethics for nurses issued by the American Psychological Association (APA) needs to be seen as a necessity (Park, 2009).
Moreover, the study indicated that the frequency of having to deal with particular ethical dilemmas hinged on the setting in which nurses worked. For instance, in the preoperative environment, patient confidentiality became a reason of concern, which can be explained by the need to transfer data from one nurse to another. Therefore, the use of a strategy for ethical issues management depends heavily on external factors such as the setting.
References
Park, M. (2009). Ethical issues in nursing practice. Journal of Nursing Law, 13(3), 68-77. Web.
Qaseem, A., Humphrey, L. L., Forciea, M. A., Starkey, M., & Denberg, T. D. (2015). Treatment of pressure ulcers: A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine, 162(5), 370-379. Web.
Santamaria, N., Gerdtz, M., Sage, S., McCann, J., Freeman, A., Vassiliou, T.,… Knott, J. (2015). A randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of soft silicone multi‐layered foam dressings in the prevention of sacral and heel pressure ulcers in trauma and critically ill patients: The border trial. International Wound Journal, 12(3), 302-308. Web.
Stansby, G., Avital, L., Jones, K., Marsden, G., & Guideline Development Group. (2014). Prevention and management of pressure ulcers in primary and secondary care: summary of NICE guidance. BMJ, 348, 2592-2596. Web.