NURS FPX 4905 Assessment 3

NURS FPX 4905 Assessment 3 Technology and Professional Standards Student Name Capella University NURS-FPX4905 Capstone Project for Nursing Professor Name Submission Date Technology and Professional Standards The issue of depression screening and ineffective screening in CareTeam Health is pretty bad because, without being picked up or screened properly, depression can have a significant impact on a person’s physical health, safety, quality of life, and mental health. For example, the elderly with depression might feel lonely or isolated, not take the prescribed medications, struggle to manage a pre-existing disease, be admitted to a hospital, or even consider suicide. However, the key role of psychiatric nurses and other healthcare workers in the identification and management of the above-mentioned issue cannot be ignored, as they should help their patients receive prompt treatment, monitoring, and follow-up visits (Russell, 2025). Therefore, the paper will explore the role of the BSN-prepared nurse in the process of process improvement, the importance of collaboration amongst health care workers, recommendations from governing bodies, technologies to solve the problem discussed, and the potential barriers for implementation. Clarifying Role in Change Process I observed and participated in the process of assessing patients, documented patient information, kept track of changes in behavior, and provided the supervising nurses with information related to the patient during the practicum period at CareTeam Health as a nursing student. I was not given the autonomy to make clinical decisions by myself. Still, I did see the potential for psychiatric nurses to assist in the treatment of depression in older adults by observing patients, administering medications, offering psychological support, educating patients, and organizing the work of various experts. This made me realize how much of a difference nurses make in achieving positive patient outcomes and areas that need to be improved. Essential for the BSN-prepared RN to make changes to the processes, because BSN education focuses on leadership, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, communication, and healthcare informatics. Nurses are in frequent contact with patients and hence are good at identifying problems in the processes used and suggesting changes that should improve the process. One of the most frequent problems I observed during my practicum was that not all patients were measured with the same depression scale; there was also no reassessment of the patients’ depression status after they were admitted to the facility. In this health care setting, as a BSN-prepared nurse, I would be a part of the process of implementing the screening procedure for depression in the elderly. If this were the case, I would do my utmost to ensure that standard assessments of depression in older people are implemented (including the use of the GDS and PHQ-9 in initial and ongoing assessment sessions). I would also back efforts to enhance documentation and reporting, inter-professional working, and post-work-up assessments. Also, the reminders (in the EHR system) for reassessment and surveillance can be utilized by the nurse. All of these would help to enhance the effectiveness of symptom detection and the continuity of care, and overall patient safety. The professional standards of nursing totally support the concept of nurses’ involvement in quality improvement efforts and change. Nurses should showcase evidence-based practice, advocacy, collaboration, leadership, and accountability in their practice as outlined by the ANA’s Standards of Practice (American Nurses Association, 2022). Also, nurse practice acts define the boundaries of practice of registered nurses. The role of nursing assessment, advocacy, documentation, communication, and involvement in quality improvement activities is typically emphasized in nurse practice acts. The standards make the assumption that nurses have the required knowledge and skills in judgment and leadership. Interprofessional Collaboration Implementation Overview Interprofessional working is also of critical importance in relation to depression and the elderly, as mental disorders may be complex and require a range of perspectives from the different health and social care professionals. Interprofessional working between psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, psychologists, therapists, social workers, geriatric specialists, and case managers can be seen in the case of CareTeam Health. The various healthcare professionals bring different specialties, which will contribute to the holistic treatment of the elderly suffering from mental disorders (Chu et al., 2025). The doctors of psychiatry, for instance, have the responsibility to diagnose the mental disorders and prescribe appropriate medicines. The psychiatric nurse’s role is to watch for the patient’s symptoms and response to the medication. Here are some things that I think would have benefited my practicum experience if I had collaborated better with others. Communication was a significant factor in this case, and at times, communication issues led to poor communication, monitoring, or follow-up. Communication can be enhanced with patient care conferences and huddles between healthcare personnel and/or effective communication tools like the SBAR tool (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendations) (Shrivastava et al., 2025). Enhanced teamwork will make sure that everyone is on the same page about the patient’s condition, whether or not there has been a change in medication, and the patient’s psychology. As an RN with BSN preparation, I will be able to enhance interprofessional working by arranging interdisciplinary meetings relating to patients who are deteriorating and frequent admissions. Benefits Collaborating with other professionals has many benefits when working with older adults with depression at CareTeam Health. First, with interprofessional collaboration, there is better communication between health care partners and less fragmentation of care. Information regarding the client’s recovery, treatment, and/or behavioral changes can be shared with one another to offer clients unified and coordinated care (Dietl et al., 2023). Secondly, by treating interprofessionally, all factors that could impact the client’s physical, psychological, emotional, and social well-being can be taken into account. For instance, some of the reasons for older adults becoming depressed are due to chronic disease, bereavement, limited mobility, social isolation, and financial problems. Third, interprofessional care enhances adherence to medication and follow-ups, and identifies early signs of problems. Psychiatric nurses and social workers are the key workers who can identify any obstacles that may prevent patients from making follow-up visits or taking prescribed medication. This interprofessional care is supported by research studies, which report