NURSING CONSENSUS MODEL

The Consensus Model: Pros and Cons for Nursing



Abstract

Since the year 2004, the advanced practice nursing community in the United States is involved in building a consensus for regulations, practice, roles, education, accreditation, and licensing. They have come up with a set of recommendations called Consensus Model for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), which was released in July 2008. This model was created after much deliberation and an in-depth research by the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to deal with conflicting approaches in nursing and regulate the profession. This model has both its advantages and disadvantages for the nursing profession and has been developed after consultation with the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS), nurse practitioners, nurse midwifery, nurse anesthesia, nurse executive organizations, certification bodies, and regulators.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction of the issue1

Discussion1

Historical Background1

Exploration and Analysis of Facts2

Current and Relevant Information3

Pros of the Consensus Model:3

Cons of the Consensus Model:4

Conclusion5

References7

Bibliography8

The Consensus Model: Pros and Cons for Nursing

Introduction of the issue

The Consensus Model is based upon the recommendations of the APRN Consensus Group. At first it did not account for the practice of clinical nurse specialists (CNS) but later the nursing professionals agreed that for consensus building in needed a more inclusive membership.

Discussion

Historical Background

In the healthcare industry, the right treatment of a patient is based on the decisions of the nurses, who decide any matter depending on the implicit assumption that the right treatment means accurate practice and administration of medical aids. This creates a problem when nurses are not knowledgeable about the accurate and correct nursing diagnosis and intervention decisions. To avoid ineffective treatment of patients and to ensure that nurses take the best possible decision for their health the Consensus Model has been developed. This model helps nurses take accurate decisions regarding all patient issues regardless of how ill-informed they are about the issue at hand. This has become possible because the Consensus Model is supported by scientifically rigorous and generalizable practices (Dahnke & Dreher, 2010).

Furthermore, this model has been developed by taking into consideration the needs of nurses, available resources, and patient welfare. Prior to the practice of the Consensus Model although nursing decision were taken legitimately as accurately as possible. However, the decisions for the same medical issue from nurse to nurse varied both in terms of process and outcomes. This increased the confusion faced by novices in the nursing profession or for practiced nurses as well that didn't have a previous experience dealing with certain problems (Thompson, 1999).

For this reason, the formerly followed comparative approach in nursing was discarded as it lacked consensus regarding nursing diagnoses and was replaced with a better approach called the Consensus Model.

Exploration and Analysis of Facts

The goal of the APRN was to reach an undisputed agreement on all issues and recommendations. This Consensus Model is the result of the combined efforts of APRN with various other nursing bodies by developing a consensus accounting for two thirds majority ...