What Are Nursing Interventions?
What Are Nursing Interventions?
It is not easy for modern students to cope with academic activities related to analyzing assignments and academic work in nursing practice. Let's imagine that you will become a nurse, and you need to craft dozens of papers. Surely some of them will seem tricky to you. For example, what is a nursing intervention, and why is it important to create a care plan? The fact is that your intervention is part of medical activities related to patient assessment, diagnosis, healthcare goals, and monitoring of vital parameters. Understanding the goals and methods of achieving them will allow students to avoid mistakes.
Nursing Intervention Categories
Immersion in the academic process is impossible without understanding the basics. To understand the key nursing actions, you first need to know more about the categories of interventions. Here are three main aspects that are extremely important for understanding your job responsibilities and medical routine. Take your time and analyze each aspect to understand the key differences. There are three types of nursing interventions: independent, dependent, and collaborative interventions.
Independent Nursing Interventions
Well, it's time to talk about the key nuances. As an employee of the clinic, you can perform some independent nursing interventions without prior approval from the doctors. For example, you can make decisions regarding basic comfort care or taking a patient's temperature. Such responsibilities are typical of job descriptions for many employees, and your scope of authority allows you to get to work without agreeing on every step. As you can see, basic freedom of action implies that you will act for the patients' benefit, especially if your experience allows you to perform a certain set of activities.
Dependent Nursing Interventions
In some cases, nurses cannot make decisions independently, as they do not have certain competencies or powers. So-called dependent nursing interventions are actions related to administering medications or vaccinations. In other words, everything related to the key points of treatment depends only on the doctor or the higher representatives of the clinic.
Collaborative (Interdependent) Nursing Interventions
Now let's take a look at some aspects of closer teamwork. In some cases, your actions are associated with the continuous communication of many medical representatives such as doctors, anesthesiologists, rehabilitation specialists, and psychologists. In such situations, nurses act in tandem with other clinic representatives and follow a common cycle of goals.
The Role of Assessments
As a nurse, you will be faced with assessment processes during which you will collect, sort, and analyze medical data that signal the current state of the patient's health. This information is critical to understanding the relationship between symptoms, current health status, and further treatment methods. So that is why the nurse intervention is the final nursing process, preceded by a series of actions.
Assessment vs. Nursing Intervention
First of all, you must understand that these are two different steps that have a clear sequence. Activities should be assessed first, as they are important for understanding the goals, objectives, and treatment methods. The next stage is a nursing intervention, depending on what method of treatment the patient needs. Here is an example to help you get the point.
- The patient came to the clinic with a dermatological problem (red pimples all over the body). Through the assessment process, doctors and nurses learned about key allergens that trigger a dermatological reaction. Based on the data obtained, medicines were selected. The patient also received an ointment that reduces swelling and skin itching.
Now you are unlikely to ask questions like, "What are nursing interventions? Why are they impossible without preliminary tests, analysis, and search for medical triggers? A clear sequence of actions allows you to identify problems and choose the most effective treatment method quickly.
Nursing Intervention Classifications
Nursing Intervention Classifications (NIC) is a system that organizes nursing interventions into a standardized taxonomy. This system was developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) to provide a common language for nurses to use when documenting care.
The NIC system includes a list of nursing interventions, each with a unique code and definition. The interventions are organized into categories based on the type of care provided. The categories include:
- Basic Care and Comfort
- Medication Administration
- Health Education and Counseling
- Monitoring and Surveillance
- Treatment Procedures
- Therapeutic Procedures
- Care Coordination
- Health System Guidance
Each intervention is defined in detail, including the expected outcome of the intervention, the rationale for why the intervention is being performed, and any necessary equipment or supplies.
NIC is useful for nurses, healthcare providers, and researchers to communicate effectively about patient care, for patient care documentation, for research, and for planning and evaluating the care provided to patients.
Nursing Intervention Examples and Classification
Surely you are eager to learn more key nuances to understand the specifics of your future work, so let's get started. According to the NIC classification, about five hundred cases (nursing intervention examples) should be used as a springboard for medical care. All of them are relevant depending on the type of patient, disease, or certain physical and psychological factors. Here are examples to help you learn more details.
Basic Physiological Nursing Interventions
Such activities are aimed at helping the patient with basic physiological needs such as bathing, eating, or changing clothes. The fact is that not all patients can move without outside help. In addition, postoperative activities can cost them a lot of effort, so the nurse's task is to assist. Without your help, people can experience mental pressure and stress.
Example
One of the key examples of nursing interventions is feeding someone with broken arms. Nurses have to help clinic clients eat or drink. As a rule, such assistance has a certain cyclicity and is tied to a pre-compiled feeding schedule. Such basic needs directly affect the psychological state of people, so you should lend a helping hand to them. But do not forget about etiquette and general procedures so as not to cause discomfort to patients.
Complex Physiological Nursing Interventions
Now let's concentrate on the most important details. Some patients have experienced serious injuries or illnesses that greatly affect their bodies. In this case, nurses must prepare for complex activities related to doctors' prescriptions. Sometimes, nursing intervention examples consist of dozens of items that cannot be ignored.
Example
The patient needs to recover from surgery, so the nurse's job is to administer a series of vaccinations and setting up an IV or medical gadgets to keep the patient alive. Such actions are consistent and depend on the doctor's prescriptions.
Behavioral Nursing Interventions
Such activities are associated with helping patients suffering from some deviations. The nurse's task is to create comfortable conditions for adaptation to the treatment process. In addition, you have to provide psychological support to people to adapt their psyche to the conditions of a medical routine.
Example
Let's look at an example to understand such a dependent nursing action. For example, a patient comes to the clinic with depression and needs attention. Your task is to provide psychological support that will allow people to adapt to a new place of residence. Nurses will have to be behavioral mentors helping people cope with psychological stress.
Family Nursing Interventions
These activities are associated with the help of some or all family members in the clinic for any reason. You will have to follow protocols and staff instructions so that all family members can count on timely support and advice.
Example
One good example is breastfeeding a baby after birth. A young mother needs help to position her baby correctly and avoid injury. The nurse's task is basic instruction and demonstration of basic techniques for feeding the newborn.
Safety Nursing Interventions
Usually, medical staff must provide conditions to ensure the patient's safety and comfort. This rule is unchanged for most clinics and medical centers. Moreover, safety is a key condition for the hospitalization of many people.
Example
The person underwent surgery on her leg and cannot move without outside help. The nurse's task is to ensure the patient's safety during the descent down the stairs or the route to the bathroom. As a rule, you will have to use a wheelchair or hold the patient's hand to avoid any incidents.
Community Nursing Interventions
Such activities are associated with interactions between nurses and residents in certain areas. So this intervention format involves providing services aimed at all community residents, regardless of their age, gender, or nationality.
Example
During the free vaccination period for polio or influenza, nurses administer injections to all community residents who wish to join the state health program. Basic examination of residents and search for symptoms of diseases can also be included in the list of medical activities.
Health System Nursing Interventions
Such interventions aim to ensure the safety and quality of medical services for a particular medical institution. Usually, these activities are associated with team tasks or routine activities.
Example
Nurses should keep medical instruments clean and sterilize scalpels on time. In addition, your task may be to use cleaning equipment or sterilization devices to ionize rooms in the clinic.
Intervention Mapping
Intervention Mapping(IM) protocol, which includes the following six steps:
- Needs assessment: Identification of the problem, the target population, and the potential impact of the intervention.
- Specification of objectives: Clearly defined and measurable objectives that will be achieved by the intervention.
- Selection of theory- and evidence-based methods and strategies: Identification of the most appropriate methods and strategies based on the objectives and the target population.
- Development of intervention materials and delivery methods: Design and development of materials, tools, and strategies for delivering the intervention.
- Implementation and adoption planning: Identification of the resources and strategies needed to put the intervention into practice.
- Evaluation planning: Identification of the methods and indicators to be used to evaluate the intervention's effectiveness and impact.
Tips on How to Write a Nursing Intervention
Know Your Objectives
First, you should understand your nursing interventions' purpose and methods before starting. That is why you must analyze the objectives and draw up your strategy. Stick to a key plan and try to avoid misinterpreting tasks.
Setting Priorities
As a rule, your work type sets a certain rhythm and specifics of your actions. Try to prioritize and start with the most difficult parts. Typically, such a strategy will allow you to quickly deal with the most important medical nuances while your concentration and attention to detail are high.
Stick To Your Professor's Instructions
Don't forget that your professor is the boss and you should be familiar with all the requirements beforehand. Try not to experiment and discuss the details in advance. Perhaps your professor will want you to follow a clear paper structure and not add minor nuances to your assignment.
Academic Help as a Way to Understand How to Craft Your Works
Surely you understand how difficult it is to follow all the paper instructions, especially if you are a freshman and do not know where to start. Sometimes the academic pressure is so great that students experience constant stress. The fact is that there are many reasons why it can be difficult for you to cope with your work. Deadlines, tricky requirements, and lack of experience are just the first triggers future nurses face.
Our team is ready to lend you a helping hand at difficult times. How about academic assistance at any time? Contact the professionals, and you can delegate your nursing interventions in a few clicks. Moreover, we guarantee that you can count on polished papers in the shortest possible time. Now high grades are unlikely to come as a surprise to you!