Foundations of Professional Nursing Practice I

At the end of this course, the student should be able to: 1. explain the nature of nursing and the trend towards the emergence of professional practice; 2. discuss the professional context of nursing practice with relevance to education, ethics and professional behaviours, and scientific basis of nursing practice; 3. discuss the concepts of health, healthcare delivery systems and contributions of government, non-governmental and international organisations to health care delivery; 4. discuss the components and use of nursing process and nursing care plan; and 5. demonstrate moderate competence in basic nursing skills covered as part of the core knowledge areas.

Fundamental concepts in nursing as a practice profession. Concept of health, illness and healthcare at the three levels of service delivery. The concept and nature of nursing with attention to the history and emergence of nursing as a profession. Nursing Associations and their roles. The attributes of Nursing. The Nursing Process. Outline, components, including North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) list and the NANDA Nursing Interventions’ Classification (NIC), and the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC). Use of nursing process in care of patients. Nursing theories and models. Values and nursing ethics and etiquettes. The role of nurses within organisational and professional ethical prescriptions. Understanding scientific basis of nursing care. Health and diseases in a socio-cultural context. The central placement of the nurse as a practitioner and a member of the health care team in the context of health care delivery system. Comfort, safety and hygiene in nursing care. Basic procedures in nursing such as bed making, bathroom and bed bath, food service, and vital signs. Skills acquisition and laboratory demonstrations of basic nursing skills prior to exposure to clinical practice.