Claudia

Major disasters and emergencies can occur whenever there is no set time or date, and they inevitably inflict human suffering, and nurses are expected to respond and provide services during these catastrophic times. Lost within this expectation are the experiences and concerns of the nurses who are called upon and intend to respond to the disaster, and yet are themselves affected by the disaster (Stangeland, 2010). It is in everyone’s best interest to be prepared and trained to face any dramatic situation. The United States government and communities will have in place disaster health policies and protocols that all employees must be familiar with. Health policies are necessary for the healthcare system, as it provides regulations that give solutions to issues in the field. Policies must not only be in place for those health care providers with the patients but also critical care responders, material suppliers, receivers of supplies and patients, and any community member volunteering. Some examples of health policies are Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (Mason et al., 2016). Many times, policies will alter the scope of practice and standards in order to give more access to care and increase coverage. The policy also ensures delivery of safe and cost-effective quality care to the patients which is essential especially during a time of crisis that is occurring now and many people are afraid of getting treatment because of the high cost. Lastly, in times of an emergency, nurses need to know protocol and have a general understanding on what to do in order to save the patient’s lives.

Health policy does influence the nursing practice, in a normal situation they provide guidelines for nurse’s inpatient care. In abnormal situations, policies can be the guiding light at the end of tunnel. During a disaster, hospital managers and decision-makers must prepare nurses to be ready to respond in a rapid and effective manner. Nurses must be training on protocols and have a general understanding in case the situation occurs, and actions may be taken. This knowledge will also help shape nursing response, improve preparedness measures, such as education, training and planning; nurses are one of the largest groups of emergency responders during a disaster and are at risk for psychosocial problems that may need interventions to help them cope with exposure to disasters. It is highly recommended that decision-makers and leaders ensure the availability of educational activities that enhance nurses’ knowledge and skills in this area; also, an improvement of the policies and procedures related to disaster nursing to ensure that nurses have no conflict or ethical issues (Al Harthi et al., 2020). There may be some gray areas and blurred Iines when it comes to emergency and disaster responses; however, nurses must feel confident in their actions. Nurses, as well as other health care providers, can give good insight and contribute to the formation of health policies. Knowing what has happened and how things can be better can help in instructing future emergent situations.

Aracelys

Health legislations are formulated and implemented in response to a health need or problem. Most developed countries, including the USA, have relatively well-established healthcare policies implemented for various reasons. Some of the famous health policies include the Affordable Care Act and All-Hazard Preparedness Act. These policies can impact the nursing practice in diverse ways. Some health care issues in the USA include high costs of medical services and accessibility of quality care. Most of the implemented health policies aim to reduce healthcare disparities attributed to the challenges mentioned above. I work as a registered nurse on a medical-surgical floor, and I have observed some of the nursing practice’s health policy impacts. Health policies can impact nursing practice by improving patient access to care, reducing medical costs, and improving patient health outcomes.

Policies such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) increase the accessibility to medical care. According to Mason et al. (2016), implementing policies that change the scope and standards of care can ensure access to care. The ACA allows individuals to frequently access health care, which improves the treatment and management of their conditions. Patients are not limited to medical care as long as they are insured through Medicaid or Medicare plans. These policies also allow nurses to attend to patients adequately, translating to desirable health outcomes.

Health policies such as the Affordable Care Act reduce medical costs significantly and allow more people to access medical care than before. Maddox et al. (2019) state that ACA was developed as a strategy to reduce medical costs for USA citizens. Health care in our country is quite expensive, and the government thought it wise to subsidize the health sector to enable more people to access medical care. Medical costs for USA citizens have tremendously reduced since the introduction of the policy. Individuals can come freely to the facility to seek surgical treatments. The number of patients coming to the surgical floor for medical diagnosis and advice has significantly increased over the last three years. Still, some extremely low-income families are unable to afford even the lowest medical expenses. The government needs to consider this vulnerable population and devise ways to improve their health for a healthy nation and increase productivity.

Some health policies “guarantee” improved patient care and outcomes for all people. For instance, the Affordable Care Act provisions impose a 3% penalty on Medicare payments if they record high readmission cases within one month (Birk, 2016). The Act is based on the assumption that high readmissions are indicators of inadequate health care. The legislation pushes hospitals to offer the best medical care they can to avoid detrimental fines that could deter their operations. My workplace has mechanisms to ensure patients are appropriately handled when they walk into the facility until they leave. Minimum cases of readmissions have been witnessed for a long, which suggests excellent medical care is delivered.

Overall, health policies have a significant impact on nursing practice. Most policies are tailored to address the people’s problems or needs, and the Affordable Care Act initiated by President Obama’s administration has contributed significantly to these efforts. Policies can improve access to care, reduce medical costs and improve patient outcomes. Governments should encourage the implementation of policies that protect the interests of the population for a healthy nation.

Denise

The nursing process is a mutual goal setting, data collection, diagnosis, planning, treatment, evaluation, and documentation. The research process is the protection of human subjects, literature review, problem, purpose, design, sample, setting, research questions, hypotheses, instruments, procedures, data analysis, results, limitations, discussion, and dissemination. The evidence-based practice involves formulating the clinical question, searching efficiently for the best available evidence, critically analyzing the evidence for its validity and usefulness, integrating the appraisal with personal clinical expertise and client’s preferences, evaluating one’s performance or outcomes of actions, and disseminating and communicating knowledge (Stavor et al., 2017).

There are both similarities between the research process, the evidence-based practice process, and the nursing process. Basically, all processes aim to provide a solution to a problem or an issue. The three processes are based on theoretical frameworks and facts. In all processes education and practice play an important role in identifying the actual solution for the problem. The three processes are appliable in the health care industry intending to improve the quality of services to the patients. They are all based on empirical evidence and practice (Pérez Rivas et al., 2016). They all follow a systematic procedure for achieving various goals and objectives.

The research process, the evidence-based practice process, and the nursing process are all procedures that require action. As mentioned above, they all have a set of sequential procedures that must be completed for them to be considered as successful. However, the procedures for each process are different and they must be followed strictly in order to achieve the expected outcomes. The three processes are carried out by professionals in their respective fields (Stavor et al., 2017). This is because to undertake the three processes, distinct skills and experience are required. The three processes rely on each other. Effective nursing processes require appropriate evidence-based practice in research.

There are differences between the research process, the evidence-based practice process, and the nursing process. Each of these processes is entirely different from the other. The nursing process is different from the other processes because it is only applicable in the medical field. The research process can be applied in all fields and evidence-based practice applies to areas that require justification of study or practice. According to Pérez Rivas et al. (2016), the core purpose of every procedure differentiates the research process, the evidence-based practice process, and the nursing process. While the nursing process is entirely conducted to plan and provide unique health care solutions to improve the outcomes of the patients, the knowledge to be applied in both the evidence-based practice process is obtained from the research process.

In terms of implementation, the differences in the three processes are observed because the research process and evidence-based practice process is rigorous than the nursing process. The outcomes of the processes are different. The findings and results of the research process are used to generate new knowledge. The evidence-based practice process involves converting the knowledge collected in the research process to practice. On the other hand, the knowledge of the nursing process is used to maintain patients, families, and the entire health of the community.

Maudeline

The Nursing Research, Evidenced-Based Practice, and the Nursing Process are critical aspects of the healthcare system. The three tasks are implemented separately, despite many interconnected facets and resources, notwithstanding their unique arrangements for nursing practice. For instance, nursing research improves wellness and health promotion information over the entire lifespan, treatment for people with health conditions and disabilities, and nursing actions to strengthen individuals’ ability to respond effectively to real or possible health problems. EBP refers to the use of an empirical basis, of the best available evidence for decision making and the provision of efficient and effective patient care. EBP is the diligent, explicit, and judicious use of the existing best proof in making decisions about the treatment of the individual patient. The nursing process is a systematic methodology that uses scientific reasoning, problem-solving, and critical thinking to guide nurses to effectively care for patients.

Differences

It is important to translate scientific evidence into clinical practice to ensure the safe, transparent, reliable, and efficient provision of healthcare and to meet the needs of patients, families, and the community. It is difficult to translate research into clinical practice, despite its significance. Contrary, EBP is not about discovering new knowledge or validating existing knowledge. It is about transforming the evidence into the clinical decision- making and applying it. The aim of EBP is to make patient-care decisions using the best available data. On the other hand, the Nursing process is a structured problem-solving technique used to recognize, avoid and manage current or future health conditions and encourage wellbeing. It was initially an adapted type of problem-solving methodology based on the philosophy used every day by nurses to help patients improve their health and assist physicians to treat patients. Its primary goal is to consider the health status of the clients and the issues that might be real. h

Similarities

The similarities between the three processes are that they all have to follow different steps and resulted in an improvement of positive patient outcomes. Researchers must use the scientific method in orderly sequential steps for study findings to be considered accurate and legitimate. The method starts with burning questions. The nursing process is made up of a set of five phases assessment, diagnosis, outcomes, implementation, and evaluation used to accomplish the purpose of maintaining wellbeing. It is a scientific approach for providing holistic and consistent nursing care. Finally, in order to ensure efficacy, EBP usually has seven important measures that have to be considered. The phase includes the creation of an inquisitive spirit, the detection of clinical problems, the compilation of world-class data, the evaluation of evidence, the alignment of consumer desires and values, the assessment of change, and the dispersion of EBP performance. Systematic steps must be implemented by nurses to efficiently exploit EBP and to provide a systematic consistency and holistic approach.