Knowledge and Nursing Practice

Description of Research Area Relationship between Knowledge

Process of Identifying the Research Problem

In the identification of the research problems I am going to apply the Stripling Model of Inquiry, which was developed by Barbara Striplings

Connect: I recall an incident in my nursing practice where I was attending to a post-surgical woman who had gone through a bilateral total mastectomy. I was dealing with such a case for the first time in my nursing practice, but the experience was quite informative.

Wonder: Each time I recall the situation I always ask myself what I could have done differently to ensure that my service were effective and gave the patient the desired outcome.

Investigate

• Information required when attending to a breast cancer patient, who has undergone a bilateral total mastectomy
• Proper health care in breast cancer patients

Construct: According to Yabro, et al (2010, p. 89) women affected by breast cancer especially those who have undergone through mastectomy and a reconstruction, always need adequate support from the nurses, irrespective of their age. Each woman regardless of her age group has expectations, needs, demands, and goals they yearn to achieve in life. The diagnosis with breast cancer or even any other type of cancer does not make the situation better for any patient. Thus, it is important that nurses keep acquiring knowledge that will help them provide the best services to these patients.

Reflect:  It is important as nurses, to keep creating and devising new nursing practices that will enhance breast cancer patient over their fear, anxiety, and lose of losing an essential part of their feminism.

This research will focus on effective nursing practices for breast cancer patients who have undergone bilateral total mastectomy.

Over the past years, evidence-based nursing practice has continued to gain momentum in the health sector. Knowledge obtained from basic science, research findings, expert opinions, and clinical knowledge are regarded as evidence. According to Pukis and Bjornsdottir (2006, p. 247) the quest to achieve a professional status and accountability has contributed to the acceptance that the nursing practices require to be a knowledge-based. Nurses use the diverse knowledge acquired through the methods mentioned above to make the appropriate clinical decisions, and to plan properly for the patient’s care. As stated by Youngblut, and Brooten (2001, p. 469), practices that are based on a wide range of research knowledge are most likely to achieve the required patient outcomes in all geographical locations and across all settings.

In addition, through researches nurses acquire knowledge, which is multidimensional. The form of knowledge acquired through research, allows the nurses to view the patients as unique beings and focus on their social dynamics in all the clinical set-ups (Squire, 2011). Moreover, all the nursing process of caring and their outcome depend on the knowledge that a nurse has on the particular situation. The difference between having general knowledge on healthcare and having nursing knowledge is what creates the distinction between a nurse and a lay health carer. The body of knowledge in the nursing practices defines the nursing as a profession and which can be passed to other nurses. Thus, there is a strong link between, knowledge, research, and nursing practice. One cannot practice without knowledge, and knowledge cannot be acquired without studying or researching (Purkis and Bjornsdottir, 2006).

Description of Potential Research Problem

This research will focus on effective nursing practices for breast cancer patients who have undergone bilateral total mastectomy. According to the World Health Organization report (2013), in a group of eight women, at least one of them is likely develop breast cancer in her life. As explained in the U. S.  Breast Cancer Statistics (2012), on top of skin cancer, breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed types of cancer in American women. The 2012, statistics showed that fewer than 30 percent of the cancers diagnosed in U. S. are breast cancer in women. The white women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than the African-American women are. According to the Breast Cancer Organization, it was estimated that in 2011, approximately 230,480 new cases of breast cancer were going to be diagnosed among American women, and 57,650 new cases of Breast cancer were going to be diagnosed. The number of women diagnosed with breast cancer has been on the increase not only in United States, but also in other parts of the world. Therefore, there a need for an effective nursing practices in caring for breast cancer patients.

According to Giulio (2010, p. 20), cancer nursing is very different from other forms of nursing practices. In his study, on cancer nursing, he explains that, there have always been nurses offering health care to cancer patients, however, the nurses do not all have the necessary skills and specialty requires in the healthcare. He goes further, to illustrate the need for nurses training on the effective practices in the different form of cancer. According to Giulio, to achieve effective nursing practices for both the cancer patient and his or her relatives, there is a need for nurses to have comprehensive knowledge on psychology, physiology, pharmacology, and sociology. Thus, it is important to study effective nursing practices for cancer patients.