The advanced practice service is provided by nurses who practice at a higher level of capability as independent, autonomous and expert advanced practitioners.
The overall purpose of the service is to provide safe, timely, evidenced based nurse-led care to patients at an advanced nursing level .This involves undertaking and documenting complete episodes of patient care, which includes comprehensively assessing, diagnosing, planning, treating and discharging patients in accordance with collaboratively agreed local policies, procedures, protocols and guidelines and/or service level agreements/ memoranda of understanding.
The RANP in the Injuries Unit:
· Demonstrates advanced clinical and theoretical knowledge, critical thinking, clinical leadership and complex decision-making abilities.
· Practices in accordance with the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives (NMBI 2014), the Scope of Nursing and Midwifery Practice Framework (NMBI 2015), Advanced Practice (Nursing) Standards and Requirements (NMBI 2017), and the Values for Nurses and Midwives in Ireland (Department of Health 2016).
· Provides clinical leadership and professional scholarship in the delivery of optimal nursing services and informs the development of evidence based health policy at local, regional and national levels.
· Contributes to nursing research that shapes and advances nursing practice, education and health care policy at local, national and international levels.
· Compliments and contributes to the overall service provided by the Injuries Unit.
The specific contribution of the Advanced Nurse Practitioner (Injuries Unit) is to improve patient experience in the Injuries Unit and ensure optimum outcomes for the patients who fall within the Advanced Nurse Practitioner (Injuries Unit) scope of practice.
· Cultivates autonomous nursing practice through reflective practice and problem-solving in order to develop a nurse led service to a specific group of patients with non-life threatening injury and illness.
They will also provide professional development and academic support for nurses in the Medical Assessment Unit.
The RANP (Injuries Unit) practices to a higher level of capability across six domains of competence as defined by Bord Altranais agus Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann Advanced Practice (Nursing) Standards and Requirements (NMBI 2017).
The six domains of competence are as follows:
Professional Values and Conduct Clinical-Decision Making Knowledge and Cognitive Competences Communication and Interpersonal Competences Management and Team Competences Leadership and Professional Scholarship Competences