According to the Journal of Nursing Education, nursing interventions can be described as one of two ideas:
§
Any task
that a nurse does to or for a patient.
§
Anything
a nurse does that leads directly to a patient outcome.
These tasks may be general
or specific and direct or indirect. Examples of areas of patient care
interventions include:
§
Sleep
pattern control
§
Mobility
therapy
§
Compliance
with diet
§
Infection
control
§
Alcohol
abuse control
§
Positioning
therapy
§
Bedbound
care
§
Energy
conservation
§
Postpartum
care
Nurses may work in
specialized settings (i.e. ICU, oncology, pediatrics), which may require
knowledge of specific interventions unnecessary in other areas. Although every
nurse may not be familiar with every intervention, the concept remains
universal across the field.
Nursing Intervention vs.
Nursing Assessment
Nursing interventions are
often confused with nursing assessments. Although both are essential aspects of
a nurse’s work, the practices are distinct.
Assessments may be done by
both nurses and physicians. They are how medical personnel gain information
about a patient’s symptoms and ailments. According to AMN (American Mobile
Nurses) Healthcare Education Services, there are four types of possible assessments:
§
Comprehensive health assessments, which require a thorough review of a patient’s
health.
§
Abbreviated assessments, which are done when lengthy evaluations are not
required.
§
Problem-focused assessments, which are designed to focus on a specific ailment
or medical issue.
§
Assessment for special populations, which are used for medically significant groups
of people, such as infants or the elderly.
During assessments, nurses
may gather information about:
§
Patient
health history
§
Chief
complaints
§
Present
health status
§
Condition
of external body areas such as the skin
§
Neurological
conditions
§
Condition
of internal systems such as cardiovascular, pulmonary or musculoskeletal
§
Patient
nutrition
Nursing interventions are
informed by the results of nursing assessments. While the ultimate goal of an
assessment is to decide on a course of treatment, an intervention in many
cases is the treatment. Nursing interventions also go beyond
simply “fixing” a patient medically. These actions can include:
§
Crisis
therapy and stress control
§
Terminal
care and hospice
§
Bereavement
support
§
Meals on
Wheels
§
Communicating
with nurses and physicians
§
Coordinating
nursing care and conducting status reports
§
Universal
health precautions
Because nursing
interventions describe nearly every interaction nurses have with patients, a
thorough system is used to identify and evaluate their work.
Understanding the Nursing
Interventions Classification System
The Nursing Interventions
Classification (NIC) system is designed to categorize and describe every
possible intervention a nurse might perform. This system is constantly used,
evaluated and updated. Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) 6th Edition describes a
number of uses for the system. They include:
§
Clinical
documentation
§
Standardized
communication regarding care
§
Research
on intervention effectiveness
§
Productivity
measurement
§
Evaluations
of competency
§
Curriculum
design
According to the U.S.
National Library of Medicine, the system contains several levels of classification. The first
level consists of seven broad domains:
§
Behavioral
§
Community
§
Family
§
Health
System
§
Physiological:
Basic
§
Physiological:
Complex
§
Safety
Within these domains are 30
classes, followed by lists of the interventions themselves. There are currently
554 interventions in total.
Although the sheer number
of interventions may seem daunting, it is important to remember that most
nurses do not need to be familiar with or use all the interventions.
Your Future in Nursing
As a system that helps
nurses both understand and improve the quality of care, nursing interventions
are an occupational mainstay. For practicing nurses seeking to further develop
their knowledge base, the RN to BSN online program
at Husson University provides an exceptional curriculum designed to transform
careers. Because the program is offered fully online, working professionals can
earn their degree in a format designed for their life.
https://online.husson.edu/nursing-interventions-nic-system/
No comments:
Post a Comment