MEDICAL COLLEGES OF NORTHERN PHILIPPINES

Alimannao Hills, Peñablanca Cagayan

Finals

Theoretical Foundation in Nursing

2nd Semester S.Y 2022

Glaiza Salvador, RN

Clinical Instructor

NURSING CORE VALUES

1. Love of God- Religion

2. Caring-

 Compassion in nursing takes a nurse from competent care that includes the required
skills and knowledge to treat their patients to outwardly caring through actions and
deeds that involve the emotional aspects of the relationship. A nurse’s compassionate
care can affect a patient’s outcome “The nurse's compassion is an invaluable aspect of
care,” states Koplowitz, “because it provides patients with emotional support, which can
lessen depression and strengthen the patient's will to survive.
 Compassionate nursing is broadly associated with caring actions. Examples of
compassion in nursing include:
 Being empathetic to better understand what your patients are going through
 Getting to know your patients to better understand their needs
 Giving patients someone to talk to, which is especially important for patients who don’t
have family or friends to lean on
 Being an active listener when patients discuss their health issues or complaints, which
also helps you pick up on unspoken concern
 Solidifying your bond with patients by following up with their health concerns or
complaints
 Providing emotional support during critical times of your patient’s treatment and recover
 Using a positive voice and body language to imbue confidence in your patients about
their eventual recovery
 a modicum of privacy where privacy is often limited
 Taking time to explain tests and procedures and answering your patients’ questions, so
they feel important
 Helping relieve your patients’ concerns, so they can concentrate on getting well

Benefits of compassionate nursing

- Being a compassionate nurse not only benefits the patient, but it also benefits
the nurse. Nurses more concerned about their patients’ well-being and the pain
and fear they feel typically enjoy their jobs more and feel more connected to
their careers.

- Providing emotional support to your patients can also offer tremendous self-
gratification but take care to not fall victim to compassion fatigue. When caring
for your patients becomes too much of an emotional drain, you could experience
a mix of emotional, physical, and behavioral symptoms; mental and physical
exhaustion; and emotional withdrawal.

 Conscience

-The influence of conscience on nurses in terms of guilt has frequently been

described. It primarily affects the ethical values of a nurse.

For example, nurses are consistently encountering ethical issues related but not
limited to:
 1. restrictions in providing quality patient care, or in providing care they do not
perceive to be beneficial or ethical to carry out for their patients,

2. and/or encountering care practices they are ethically at odds with, which creates
ethical dilemmas and can result in issues of conscience for nurses. At times, nurses
may encounter an issue in practice that so strongly conflicts with their personal,
ethical beliefs that they may declare a conscientious objection to refrain from
participating in or carrying out an aspect of clinical practice. Living through an
experience of making a conscientious objection, as a nurse, sheds light on how to
weave through the contentious fabric of what it means to be an ethical nurse in
today's world.

 Competence

-As professional nurses, we are competent to practice nursing by virtue of our

education and licensure as registered nurses. The concept of competence is regarded
as a basic aspect in practice, particularly when assessing the ability of a nurse to
offer nursing care. It is an essential professional issue in nursing practice as far as
professional standards, the quality of care and patient safety is concerned.
Reorganization within the healthcare delivery systems has pressurized the nursing
profession to guarantee the continued competence of its nurses. It is also important
because it affects many other realms of nursing profession like education and
management. It is also an issue of concern for regulators, hospitals, the public and
insurance companies.

 Confidence

- Confidence is one of those words that we understand at face value but have a
hard time quantifying. It is a factor of mental well-being that is determined by
your level of achievement, sense of belonging, and your self-esteem. It has a lot
to do with how you see yourself, but even more to do with how you perceive
others to see you. Some of the common attributes of a nurse with confidence
include:

1. Optimism
2. Independence
3. Assertiveness
4. Trust
5. Enthusiasm
6. Emotional Maturity

- Humans look to people who possess confidence and admire their calm and cool
demeanors in the eye of the storm. You can build your own confidence and become a
more effective nurse by:
1. Counting Your Achievements – Make your own log of your most recent
achievements and refer to it whenever you feel self-doubt. This list can include exam
scores from nursing school, recommendations from your professors, or something you
did to help someone else.
 2. Adding to Your List – Catch yourself doing something right and add it to your
own nursing achievement list. This will be even more impactful when it is something that
you previously felt unsure of, such as starting an IV or taking a patient history. This
forces your mind to focus on the positive contributions you are making in nursing and
encourages you to strive for even more.

3. Reaching Out to a Mentor – This may sound backward, but the truth is,
confident people are those who are not afraid to ask for help when they need it. Ask
your nurse mentor to watch over your shoulder as you perform a procedure for the first
time or for advice on how to talk to a patient’s family members.

4. Setting Realistic Goals for Yourself – Give yourself some time to acclimate in
your new role as a practicing nurse by setting goals for what you need to accomplish.
Your confidence will build every time you are able to cross another one off of the list.

5. Rewarding Your Accomplishments – Self-praise helps to restore your

confidence by acknowledging that you have reached an important milestone. Treat
yourself to a special lunch, buy a new lab coat, or go for a massage when you feel good
about the work you have accomplished as a nurse.

6. Sharing Your Glories – Pick a friend or family as your confidence building

buddy and share your accomplishments with them. Preferably this will be someone who
will be overjoyed at your successes and gush over every little thing – like your mom.
Confident nurses don’t need to point out every achievement to their co-workers and
peers, but when you are working on building yours, it helps to have someone in your
corner.

7. Allowing Room for Mistakes – To err is human, and as a new nurse, you might
do this a lot. But rather than beat yourself up over every little one, make a commitment
to learn from them. Once you have mastered the art of bouncing back over accepting
defeat, you will have reached a new level of self-confidence.

8. Confidence is a learned trait, and a lack of it is not a permanent condition.

Once you have regained yours in nursing, you will begin to develop faith in the future of
your career and see all obstacles as surmountable challenges.

9. Commitment
- When you look up the definition of commitment, you’ll see it concerns a pledge
or a promise, an obligation to something. The definition that describes commitment is
dedication.
- Healthcare, whatever area you are in, is not a career upon which you can or
should embark unless you are dedicated to it. There is an everyday challenge of
providing a service where your actions directly affect a person’s life. Commitment is:

1. Awareness of the challenges ahead and working to overcome these for the
sake of your patient and your team
 2. Accepting that your social life may, at times, be secondary to the needs of
your patients

3. Maintaining your own health to be the very best role model

4. Exhibiting a willingness to learn from your co-workers

5. Always striving to provide the best possible guidance and care for your
patients

- Nursing requires you to always put the patient first. This can mean working late
when someone is sick, putting a uniform on and working nights when your
friends are dressed up and out partying, opening your Christmas presents a day
late, and being shouted at by people who are upset, scared or in pain.

- It also means realizing that you are an ambassador for health, and, in that sense,
you are never off duty.

3. Love of People -Respect for the dignity of each person regardless of race, creed, color, and
gender

4. Love of Country-

a. Patriotism (Civic duty, social responsibility, and good governance)

b. Preservation and enrichment of the environment and culture heritage

Core Competencies under the 11 Key Areas of Responsibilities

Legal bases

“Article 3 Sec.9 I of R.A. 9173/ “Philippine Nursing Act 2002”

 -Board shall monitor & enforce quality standards of nursing practice necessary to ensure the
maintenance of efficient, ethical, and technical, moral and professional standards in the practice
of nursing taking into account the health needs of the nation.

Significance of core competency standards

1. Unifying framework for nursing practice, education, regulation
2. Guide in nursing curriculum development
3. Framework in developing test syllabus for nursing profession entrants
4. Tool for nurses’ performance evaluation
5. Basis for advanced nursing practice, specialization
6. Framework for developing nursing training curriculum
7. Public protection from incompetent practitioners
8. Yardstick for unethical, unprofessional nursing practice

1. Safety and Quality

- The first key area of nursing responsibility focuses on providing nursing care that is safe and of high
quality. Under this key area, core competencies include demonstrating knowledge about the health status
and illness of a patient; making appropriate decisions when caring for patients and their families; and
ensuring patient safety, privacy and comfort. Competencies also include setting appropriate priorities in
patient care, working with the medical team to ensure stability of care, effectively administering
medications and other treatment modalities, and performing assessments and nursing services against a
background of established nursing guidelines. The nurse also works with the medical team and patient’s
family to develop a plan of care. Identifying the goals of care and evaluating progress toward those goals
are also core competencies within this key area.

CORE COMPETENCY 1:
-Demonstrate knowledge based on health/illness status of individual/ groups
Indicators:
○ Identifies health needs of patients/groups
○ Explains patient/group status

CORE COMPETENCY 2:
-Provides sound decision making in care of individual/groups considering their beliefs, values
Indicators:
○ Problem identification
○ Data gathering related to problem
○ Data analysis
○ Selection appropriate action
○ Monitor progress of action taken

CORE COMPETENCY 3:
-Promotes patient safety and comfort
Indicators:
o Performs age-specific safety measures and comfort measure in all aspects of patient care
CORE COMPETENCY 4:
-Priority setting in nursing care based on patients’ needs
Indicators:
○ Identifies priority needs of patients
○ Analysis of patients’ needs
○ Determine appropriate nursing care to be provided

CORE COMPETENCY 5:
-Ensures continuity of care
Indicators:
○ Refers identified problems to appropriate individuals/ agencies
○ Establish means of providing continuous patient care

CORE COMPETENCY 6:
-Administers medications and other health therapeutics
Indicators:
o Conforms to the 10 golden rules in medication administration and health therapeutics

CORE COMPETENCY 7:
-Utilizes nursing process as framework for nursing. Performs comprehensive, systematic nursing
assessment
Indicators:
○ Obtains consent
○ Complete appropriate assessment forms
○ Performs effective assessment techniques
○ Obtains comprehensive client information
○ Maintains privacy and confidentiality
○ Identifies health needs

CORE COMPETENCY 8:
-Formulates care plan in collaboration with patients, other health team members
Indicators:
○ Includes patients, family in care planning
○ States expected outcomes in nursing interventions
○ Develops comprehensive patient care plan
○ Accomplishes patient centered discharge plan

CORE COMPETENCY 9:
-Implements NCP to achieve identified outcomes
Indicators:
○ Explain interventions to patient, family before carrying them out
○ Implement safe, comfortable nursing interventions
○ Acts according to client’s health conditions, needs
○ Performs nursing interventions effectively and in timely manner

CORE COMPETENCY 10:

-Implements NCP progress toward expected outcomes
 Indicators:
○ Monitors effectiveness of nursing interventions
○ Revises care plan PRN

CORE COMPETENCY 11:

-Responds to urgency of patient’s condition
Indicators:
○ Identifies sudden changes in patient’s health conditions
○ Implements immediate, appropriate interventions

2. Resources and Environment

-The next key area is the management of resources and environment. Core competencies in this
area include identifying tasks that need to be completed, developing financially effective
programs, ensuring that equipment performs adequately and maintaining safety in the
environment.

CORE COMPETENCY 1:
-Organizes workload to facilitate patient care
Indicators:
○ Identifies task or activities that need to be accomplished
○ Plans the performance of task or activities based on priority
○ Finishes work assignment on time

CORE COMPETENCY 2:
-Utilizes resources to support patient care
Indicators:
○ Determines the resources needed to deliver patient care
○ Control the use of equipment

CORE COMPETENCY 3:
-Ensures the functioning of resources
Indicators:
○ Check proper functioning of the equipment
○ Refers Malfunctioning equipment to appropriate unit

CORE COMPETENCY 4:
-Check the Proper functioning of the Equipment
Indicators:
○ Determines the task and procedures that can be safely assigned to the other members of the
team
○ Verifies the competence of the staff prior to delegating tasks

CORE COMPETENCY 5:
-Maintains safe Environment
Indicators:
○ Observe proper disposal of waste
○ Adheres to policies, procedures and protocols on prevention and control of infection
 ○ Defines steps to follow in case of fire, earthquake, and another emergency situation

3. Health Education
-Educational core competencies include assessing the educational needs of the patient and family,
developing, and implementing health education plans and learning materials and evaluating the outcome
of education administered.

CORE COMPETENCY 1:
-Assesses the learning needs of the patient and the family
Indicators:
○ Obtains learning information through interview, observation and validation
○ Defines relevant information
○ Completes assessment records appropriately
○ Identify priority needs

CORE COMPETENCY 2:
-Develops Health Education plan based on assessed and anticipated needs.
Indicators:
○ Considers nature of the learner in relation to social, cultural, political, economic, educational,
and religious factor

CORE COMPETENCY 3:
-Develops learning material for health education
Indicators:
○ Involves the patient, family and significant others and other resources
○ Formulates a comprehensive health educational plan with the following components,
objectives, content and time allotment
○ Teaching-learning resources and evaluation parameters
○ Provides for feedback to finalize plan

CORE COMPETENCY 4:
-Implements the health Education Plan
Indicators:
○ Provides for conducive learning situation in terms of timer and place
○ Considers client and family preparedness○ Utilize appropriate strategies
○ Provides reassuring presence through active listening, touch and facial expression and gestures
○ Monitors client and family’s responses to health education
CORE COMPETENCY 5:
-Evaluates the outcome of health Education
Indicators:
○ Utilizes evaluation parameters
○ Documents outcome of care
○ Revises health education plan when necessary

4. Legal Responsibilities
- Core competencies in the legal key area include following legally mandated state and federal processes
and procedures, such as obtaining informed consent from patients and adequately documenting all
procedures performed for patients.

CORE COMPETENCY 1:
-Adheres to practices in accordance with the nursing law and other relevant legislation including
contract and informed consent.
Indicators:
○ Fulfill legal requirements in Nursing Practice
○ Holds current professional license
○ Acts in accordance with the terms of contract of employment and other rules and regulation
○ Complies with the required CPE
○ Confirms information given by the doctor for informed consent
○ Secures waiver of responsibility for refusal to undergo treatment or procedures
○ Check the completeness of informed consent and other legal forms

CORE COMPETENCY 2:
-Adheres to organizational policies and procedures, local and national
Indicators:
○ Articulates the vision and mission of the institution where one belongs
○ Acts in accordance with the established norms and conduct of the institution/ organization

CORE COMPETENCY 3:
-Document care rendered to patients.
Indicators:
○ Utilizes appropriate patient care records and reports
○ Accomplish accurate documentation in all matters concerning patient care in accordance with
the standard of nursing practice.

5. Ethical Responsibilities
-In this key area that concerns morals and ethics, core competencies include respecting the rights of all
individuals and groups, accepting responsibility for individual decisions, and adhering to the nurses’
national and international code of ethics.

CORE COMPETENCY 1:
-Respects the rights of individual/ groups
Indicator:
○ Renders nursing care consistent with the patient’s bill of rights (ie. Confidentiality of
information, privacy, etc.)

CORE COMPETENCY 2
-Accepts responsibility & accountability for own decisions and actions
Indicators:
○ Meets nursing accountability requirements as embodied in the job description
○ Justifies basis for nursing actions and judgment
○ Protects a positive image of the profession
 CORE COMPETENCY 3
-Adheres to the national and international code of ethics for nurses
Indicators:
○ Adheres to the Code of Ethics for Nurses and abides by its provisions
○ Reports unethical and immoral incidents to proper authorities

6. Professional Development
- The professional development key area includes core competencies of identifying personal needs for
education and pursuing those goals, participating in professional organizations and community activities,
presenting a professional image and positive attitude as well as performing work duties in a professional
manner.

CORE COMPETENCY 1
-Identifies own learning needs
Indicators:
○ Verbalizes strengths, weaknesses, limitations.
○ Determines personal and professional goals and aspirations.

CORE COMPETENCY 2
-Pursues continuing education
Indicators:
○ Participates in formal and non-formal education.
○ Applies learned information for the improvement of care.

CORE COMPETENCY 3
-Gets involved in professional organizations and civic activities
Indicators:
○ Participates actively in professional, social, civic and religious activities
○ Maintain membership to professional organizations
○ Support activities related to nursing and health issues

CORE COMPETENCY 4
-Projects a professional image of nurse
Indicators:
○ Demonstrate good manners and right conduct at all times.
○ Dresses appropriately.
○ Demonstrates congruence of words and actions.
○ Behaves appropriately at all times.

CORE COMPETENCY 5
-Possesses positive attitude towards change and criticism
Indicators:
○ Listens to suggestions and recommendations.
○ Tries new strategies or approaches.
○ Adapts to changes willingly.

CORE COMPETENCY 6
 -Performs function according to professional standards
Indicators:
○ Assesses own performance against standards of practice.
○ Sets attainable objectives to enhance nursing knowledge and skills.
○ Explains current nursing practices when situations call for it.

7. Quality Development
-In the quality improvement key area, core competencies include identifying areas for
improvement, participating in nursing rounds and audits, staying aware of variances in treatment
and recommending solutions to improve quality.

CORE COMPETENCY 1:
-Gathers data for quality improvement
Indicators:
o Demonstrates knowledge of method appropriate for the clinical problems identified
o Detects variation in the vital signs of the patient from day to day
o Reports necessary elements at the bedside to improve patient stay at hospital
o Solicits feedback from patient and significant others regarding care rendered

CORE COMPETENCY 2:
-Participates in nursing audits and rounds
Indicators:
o Contributes relevant information about patient condition as well as unit condition and patient
current reactions
o Shares with the team current information regarding patient’s condition
o Encourages the patient to speak about what is relevant to his condition
o Documents and records all nursing care and actions
o Performs daily check of patient records/condition
o Completes patients’ records
o Actively contributes relevant information of patients during rounds thru readings and sharing
with others

CORE COMPETENCY 3:
-Identifies and reports variances
Indicators:
o Documents observed variance regarding patient care and submits to appropriate group
within 24 hours
o Identifies actual and potential variance to patient care
o Reports actual and potential variance to patient care
o Submits report to appropriate groups within 24 hours

CORE COMPETENCY 4:
-Recommends solutions to identified problems
Indicators:
o Gives appropriate suggestions on corrective and preventive measures
o Communicates and discusses with appropriate groups
 o Gives and objective and accurate report on what was observed rather than an interpretation
of the event.
8. Research
-Core competencies in the research key area include gathering and analyzing research data,
sharing results, and applying findings to work functions.

CORE COMPETENCY 1:
-Gathers data using different methodologies
Indicators:
o Identifies researchable problems regarding patient care and community health
o Identifies appropriate methods of research for a particular patient/community problem
o Combines quantitative and qualitative nursing design thru simple explanation on the
phenomena observed
o Analyzes data gathered

CORE COMPETENCY 2:
-Recommends actions for implementation
Indicator:
o Based on the analysis of data gathered, recommends practical solutions appropriate for the
problem

CORE COMPETENCY 3:
-Disseminates results of research findings
Indicators:
o Communicates results of findings to colleagues/patients/family and to others
o Endeavors to publish research
o Submits research findings to own agencies and others as appropriate

CORE COMPETENCY 4:
Applies research findings in nursing practice
Indicators:
o Utilizes and findings in research in the provision of nursing care to
individuals/groups/communities
o Makes use of evidence-based nursing to ameliorate nursing practice

9. Records Management
-The records management key area includes core competencies of maintaining appropriate
documentation using the appropriate system and staying within legal boundaries in the area of
patient privacy.
CORE COMPETENCY 1:
-Maintains accurate and updated documentation of patient care
Indicator:
o Completes updated documentation of patient care

CORE COMPETENCY 2:
-Records outcome of patient care
 Indicator:
o Utilizes a record system

CORE COMPETENCY 3:
-Observes legal imperatives in recording keeping
Indicators:
o Observes confidentially and privacy of patient’s records
o Maintains an organized system of filing and keeping patient’s records in a designated area
o Refrains from releasing records and other information without prop

10. Communication
- In this key area, core competencies include establishing communication with the patient and
treatment team, learning to read verbal and nonverbal cues, using visual aids and other
resources when necessary, responding to patient and group needs and effectively using
technology to facilitate communication.

CORE COMPETENCY 1:
-Establishes rapport with patients, significant others, and members of the health team.
Indicators:
○ Creates trust and confidence
○ Listens attentively to client’s queries and requests
○ Spends time with the client to facilitate conversation that allows client to express concern

CORE COMPETENCY 2:
-Identifies verbal and non-verbal cues
Indicator:
○ Interprets and validates client’s body language and facial expression

CORE COMPETENCY 3:
-Utilizes formal and informal channels
Indicator:
○ Makes use of available visual aids

CORE COMPETENCY 4:
-Responds to needs of individuals, family, group, and community
Indicator:
○ Provides re- assurance through therapeutic, touch, warmth, and comforting words of
encouragement
○ Readily smiles

CORE COMPETENCY 5:
-Uses appropriate information technology to facilitate communication
Indicator:
○ Utilizes telephone, mobile phone, email and internet, and informatics
○ Identifies a significant other so that follow up care can be obtained
o Provides “holding” or emergency numbers of services
11. Teamwork
-The teamwork and collaboration key area includes core competencies of establishing beneficial
working relationships with peers and colleagues and communicating care plans with health team
members.

CORE COMPETENCY 1:
-Establishes collaborative relationship with colleagues and other members of the health team
Indicators:
○ Contributes to decision making regarding patients” needs and concerns
○ Participates actively in patients care management including audit
○ Recommends appropriate intervention to improve patient care
○ Respects the role of the other members of the health team
○ Maintains good interpersonal relationships with patients, colleagues, and other members of the
health team

CORE COMPETENCY 2:
-Collaborates plan of care with other members of the health team
Indicator:
○ Refers patients to allied health team partners
○ Acts liaison / advocate of the patients
○ Prepares accurate documentation of efficient communication of services

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