PLEASE RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING IN 50 WORDS OR MORE:
My thoughts on trends in nursing have shifted a bit since week 1. A topic I addressed was nurse-to-patient ratios and how they are incompatible with providing the best care to patients. Although that issue still proves to be a problem, I feel more informed on the causes and effects of this trend. I’ve learned about legislative and environmental factors that come into play. Funding for institutions is limited and in order to address this issue properly, we must be informed and have background knowledge of the people we are appointing who make the decisions to allocate health care funds. Also, being more inclusive when giving positions in higher departments would be helpful. Nurses should have access to take on more leadership roles to be able to be involved in decision making. Nurses have first hand knowledge on what is needed on the floor. They understand the resources needed and they also can advocate for nurses who come from different backgrounds or have different levels of expertise. All in all, I have a better understanding of why this problem exists and also the ways in which we could actively rectify the situation.