The nurse education and training system in Australia provides necessary skills and knowledge that nurses must have in order to contribute to the overall health outcomes of all patients in the country. It must be able to contribute to the nurses’ personal and professional development that allows them to improve their capabilities to care for patients (“National review”). The Nurses’ Acts in Australia asserts that nurses must be registered or enrolled in the territory or state they wish to practice (An Bord Altranais [ABA], 2000).
There are mutual recognition laws in the country, which provide nurses who are registered in one state or territory the chance to apply for registration with the nursing board in the second state or territory or to qualify for registration if the second state or territory has similar registration category (ABA, 2000). The Registered Nursing practice is continuously changing to incorporate more advanced activities for patient care, including helping patients cope with difficulties in daily living that are associated with their existing or potential health problems or the subsequent treatment.
The Registered Nurses must show a significant amount of scientific knowledge or technical skill such as the performance of restorative approaches and disease prevention measures (Dumpel & the Joint Nursing Practice Commission [JNPC], 2004). He or she must demonstrate the usage of a nursing management system and will be responsible for providing quality nursing care. The goal of the paper is to highlight the role of the Division 1 Registered Nurse as well as the employer expectations of Registered Nurses.
It also provides insights into the principles of nursing practice decisions and the nature of delegation, supervision and accountability of Registered Nurses. The paper also provides a literature review concerning factors that influence the effectiveness of the nurse’s role performance. The Role of the Registered Nurse Division 1 The Registered Nurse Division 1 plays several roles in the care of a patient. He or she must be a health promoter, care coordinator, counselor, practitioner, clinical teacher, researcher and patient advocate.
He or she should adopt both health-protective and health promotion behaviors. Health-protective behaviors are those actions that help prevent an individual from a dangerous habit or a dangerous situation, while health promotion behaviors are those actions that help an individual to move to a higher level of health or energy that he or she is presently capable of (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). The Registered Nurse’s priority of care for health promotion is to assist in the recovery of the patient’s health (Claywell & Corbin, 2002).
According to Claywell and Corbin (2002), the Registered Nurse can involve in promoting a more positive health environment on a local or regional level aside from developing individual plans of care. The authors add that the Registered Nurse can become valuable to the communities in which people live if they actively participate in health promotion. The style of leadership of the Registered Nurse as a care coordinator should demonstrate the group members’ personalities and respond to the different types of situation (Claywell & Corbin, 2002).
By understanding the personalities of the group members, the Registered Nurse creates work assignments in order for each group member to use his or her best characteristics and work best together with the other members (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). The Registered Nurse must also utilize different styles of leadership to meet the patient’s needs (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). The Registered Nurse should accompany the physicians in making rounds to immediately take instructions and understand the condition and treatment plan for the patient (Claywell & Corbin, 2002).
He or she must also responsible for evaluating the patient’s understanding of the medical plan of care and making sure that the patient has all the necessary information to make informed decisions (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). The Registered Nurse must counsel the patient about the implications of every decision (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). The Registered Nurse’s role as an advocate of patient’s care means that he or she promotes the decisions of the patient in a nonjudgmental way.
He or she has the most suitable position to advocate for the patient who has the knowledge about his or her plan of care (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). His or her involvement in the medical plan of care allows the patient to be informed and to express his or her feelings and preferences. One key characteristic of the Registered Nurse to become a patient advocate is to be a caring individual because caring implies his or her commitment to preserve the humanity, dignity, and personal worth of his or her patient (Claywell & Corbin, 2002).
Moreover, the Registered Nurse must show a caring nature through his or her words and actions that help patient achieve his or her holistic wellness (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). The Registered Nurse must demonstrate interest in the patient’s concerns, form dialogue for understanding, create a plan of care to achieve these needs, and willingly accept responsibility for giving the best possible plan of care (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). He or she must know the difficulties of patient care management in order to properly advocate for the patient (Claywell & Corbin, 2002).
He or she must help the patient achieve the best care at the necessary level and for the least cost (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). The role as a researcher will help the Registered Nurse read and interpret research in order to gain the knowledge necessary to make better clinical judgments (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). He or she must have a basic foundation in the usage of research to best achieve the needs of patients (Claywell & Corbin, 2002). Moreover, the knowledge based on the foundation in scientific study will help the Registered Nurse in designing a better plan of care (Claywell & Corbin, 2002).