NRS433: Nursing Practice Problem Versus Medical Practice Problem

The PICOT Process

A healthcare community employs the PICOT approach to pinpoint and investigate a nursing or medical practice problem. They use the PICOT process to tackle case scenarios by developing researchable questions to draw evidence-based findings and conclusions. 

As PICOT questions are grounded on a medical practice problem, they may be irrelevant to the nursing practice. This article compares and contrasts the concepts of a nursing practice problem and a medical practice problem.

What is the Difference Between a Nursing Practice Problem and a Medical Practice Problem?

Medical practice and nursing practice problems share certain things. For instance, both phrases are applied in the medical and healthcare fields. However, there is a difference between the two concepts.

Nursing practice problem refers to an issue faced during the nursing process. Nurses experience this challenge when assessing and caring for patients. This problem is related to a patient’s attitudes, emotions, or any responses toward their potential needs or health conditions.

There are many considerations for nursing practice problems. Some include signs and symptoms of a health disorder and a patient’s struggles during their daily routines. Patients with extremity fractures encounter difficulties when completing everyday tasks. In this case, nursing care involves the patient, family, or public members. Hence, nursing practice problems incorporate care interventions like providing support and comfort, trauma prevention, health screening, patient assessment, patient education, recovery promotion, and care coordination.

On the other hand, a medical practice problem is an issue associated with a health condition or disorder. Medical professionals identify a disease, look for triggers, conduct a prognosis, and recommend a treatment plan to manage the condition in question.

Medical diagnosis is a process intended to identify the cluster of events related to a condition (Chiffi & Zanotti, 2015). It focuses on the future as it aids in showing a possible prognosis and prescribing an appropriate treatment for the patient. The diagnosis process helps provide the clinical judgment needed to rule out or identify a condition, elaborate on the outcomes, communicate potential triggers to the patient, obtain information about the clinical history and disease course, and change the prognosis. A health professional may ask questions to identify the condition affecting the patient, examine clinical indicators, and devise the right methods and time to provide treatment. Hence, the nursing practice problem is based on a patient’s reactions to actual or potential health problems/life processes, while the medical practice problem pertains to a patient’s current state.

Examples of Nursing and Medical Practice Problems

If a patient has Conjunctivitis, they have a medical condition. The doctor will ask the patient some questions, take the necessary tests, identify the symptoms, and prescribe medications. The physician may prescribe antibiotics to help treat bacterial Conjunctivitis by reducing the duration of the disorder, complications, and risk of transmission (CDC, 2019).

The example above is among the medical practice problems. The nursing professional meets with the patient to review aftercare and medication instructions. They also provide the patient with emotional support, educate them, and offer care based on the doctor’s findings and recommendations.

The PICOT question is developed in a way that reflects the nursing practice problem. As a mechanism, it helps nurses identify the terms for searching for the best evidence that addresses clinical questions and supports evidence-based decisions, treatment, and practices (Ford & Melnyk, 2019). A patient responds to their needs and condition through emotions and attitudes. Therefore, a nurse is obligated to help the patient cope with challenging experiences, help them accept their status, and understand the action taken to facilitate treatment and prevention. The PICOT question creates a groundwork for enhancing evidence-based practice (EBP) to address problems with the patient, offer high-quality care, mitigate safety risks, and craft positive outcomes.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CDC). (2019). Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye). https://www.cdc.gov/conjunctivitis/about/treatment.html

Chiffi, D., & Zanotti, R. (2015). Medical and nursing diagnoses: A critical comparison. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 21(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.12146

Ford, L. G., & Melnyk, B. M. (2019). The underappreciated and misunderstood PICOT question: A critical step in the EBP process. Worldviews on evidence-based nursing, 16(6), 422-423. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12408