Nursing Professional Practice Resource Nursing Professional Practice

Nursing Professional Practice

Nursing professional practice refers to the standards, ethics, and frameworks that guide nurses in delivering high-quality patient care. It encompasses the scope of practice, which defines the responsibilities and competencies nurses must uphold.

Professional Practice Model (PPM)

A Professional Practice Model (PPM) is a conceptual framework that describes how nurses collaborate, communicate, and develop professionally to ensure optimal patient outcomes. These models align nursing practice with an organization's mission, vision, and values, fostering accountability and evidence-based care.

Additional Influences on Nursing Practice

Additionally, nursing practice is shaped by licensure regulations, ethical codes, and evolving healthcare demands. Organizations like the American Nurses Association (ANA) provide guidelines to ensure nurses maintain competency and adhere to best practices.



Nursing Professional Practice Sitemap

Professional Development

Autonomy in Nursing Practice

This page explores the concept of professional autonomy in nursing, providing guidance on ethical decision-making, scope of practice boundaries, and strategies for advocating for patient needs while maintaining professional standards.

Encouraging Critical Thinking: What Next Should I Do?

A resource designed to enhance nurses' clinical judgment skills, offering frameworks for systematic assessment, prioritization, and decision-making in various patient care scenarios.

Patient Assessment Guides

General Appearance Assessment

Provides a comprehensive guide to evaluating a patient's overall appearance, including posture, body habitus, signs of distress, and initial visual clues that may indicate underlying health conditions.

Facial Visual Inspection in Medical Assessment

Details the systematic examination of facial features for signs of illness, including skin coloration, symmetry, facial expressions, and potential indicators of neurological or systemic conditions.

Hair Health Assessment

Explores how hair condition can reflect nutritional status, metabolic health, and certain disease processes, with guidelines for documentation and reporting abnormalities.

Visual Inspection of the Legs - Interactive Guide

An interactive resource teaching assessment techniques for lower extremities, including evaluation of skin integrity, vascular status, edema, and musculoskeletal abnormalities.

Medical Visual Inspection of the Hands

Focuses on hand assessment as a diagnostic tool, covering nail bed examination, capillary refill, tremors, joint abnormalities, and other clinically significant findings.

Gait Assessment in Physical Examination

Provides a methodology for observing and interpreting gait patterns, with video examples and descriptions of pathological gaits associated with neurological or musculoskeletal disorders.

Key Observations When a Patient is Lying on a Bed

Details the specific assessment points to consider when examining a recumbent patient, including pressure points, respiratory patterns, and positioning clues.

Importance of Patient First Look Assessment in Nursing

Emphasizes the critical role of initial visual assessment in nursing practice, discussing how rapid evaluation can guide subsequent care and identify urgent concerns.

Vital Signs Interpretation

What is Blood Pressure

Explains the physiology of blood pressure, proper measurement techniques, interpretation of readings, and nursing interventions for abnormal values.

Heart Rate (HR) in Medical Assessment

Covers pulse assessment locations, characteristics of normal and abnormal rhythms, clinical significance of tachycardia/bradycardia, and appropriate nursing responses.

Respiration in Medical Assessment

Details respiratory rate assessment, patterns of breathing, signs of respiratory distress, and when to escalate concerns about a patient's respiratory status.

Critical Symptom Recognition

Dry Mouth (Xerostomia)

Examines the causes and implications of xerostomia in patients, including medication side effects, dehydration, and systemic diseases, with nursing management strategies.

Bad Breath (Halitosis)

Discusses how oral odor can indicate local or systemic health issues, assessment techniques, and appropriate nursing interventions or referrals.

Oliguria: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Provides an in-depth look at decreased urine output, its clinical significance, assessment techniques, and the critical role of nurses in monitoring and reporting this symptom.

Medical Reference Resources

Common Laboratory Results

A reference guide to frequently ordered lab tests, normal ranges, clinical significance of abnormal results, and nursing considerations for patients undergoing testing.

Common Medical Terminology

An educational resource covering essential medical terms, abbreviations, and their proper usage in clinical documentation and communication.

Skin Anatomy and Common Dermatological Pathologies

Provides foundational knowledge about skin structure and function, with visual guides to common skin conditions nurses may encounter in practice.

Healthcare Safety

Safe Patient Handling and Movement Techniques in Nursing

Details evidence-based practices for patient transfers and positioning to prevent injury to both healthcare workers and patients, with video demonstrations.

Importance of Dusting in Nursing Practice

Highlights the often-overlooked role of environmental cleaning in infection control, with specific protocols for maintaining clean patient care environments.

Nurse In-Charge: Maintaining a Safe Healthcare Environment

Addresses the leadership responsibilities of charge nurses in ensuring facility safety, including equipment checks, staff training, and hazard identification.