Professional organizations play an important role in the development of advanced practice nurses. Advanced practice nurses utilize them as platforms for advancing their knowledge and skills in practice and networking purposes. Often, advanced practice nurses belong to professional associations that align with their areas of specialization. Therefore, this paper explores a professional association that I may belong to in the future as a specialist in geriatrics nursing.
Christian values are essential to embody in all aspects of life. While GCU utilizes these values as a foundational component for educational standards, these should also be standard for how students are influenced in their academic performance as well. Academic dishonesty, which is the opposite of academic integrity, plagues all academic levels. There are several reasons why I think students are tempted into dishonesty including pressure for success, lack of understanding about what constitutes plagiarism, and not fully understanding the entire process of academia. Integrity is the intrinsic belief to do the right thing even when no one is watching and is an essential value of the Christian doctrine. When students believe and practice integrity, they will be able to apply this outside of the classroom and to other aspects of life. If students are engaging in academic dishonesty, this may be suggestive of a lack of integrity outside of the classroom as well. Lack of integrity is one example of the brokenness seen in society today. It shows a desire for success regardless of the means to get there or if there was any actual self-growth in the achievement of success. Having an educational infrastructure based on Christian values will not only foster academic success but will support students to apply these values beyond the classroom and become a part of their daily lives.
Organizational Description
I am interested in the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA). GAPNA is a professional organization formed to represent advanced practice nurses, researchers, clinicians, and educators’ interests. It advocates the interests of healthcare providers involved in advancing and practice of caring for the elderly. GAPNA provides healthcare providers in elderly care and practice, opportunities for research, leadership, education, networking, advocacy, and advancement of evidence-based care. The mission of the association is to promote excellence in advanced practice nursing for the health and wellbeing of the elderly. Its vision is to continue being trusted leaders for the expert care for the elderly. The goals of the association include advocating quality care for the elderly, promoting professional development, offering continuing gerontological education, and educating the population about issues related to aging. GAPNA members enjoy several benefits from the association (gapna.org, n.d.-a). They include the ability to network with other professionals, continuing education, information about evidence-based practice, and enhanced involvement activities that advance the care of the elderly.
Importance of Networking
Geriatric nurse specialists should network for several reasons. First, networking informs geriatric nurse specialists about new practices and developments in the care of the elderly. They learn about evidence-based interventions that optimize care outcomes of elderly patients, which can be used in their settings. Networking also informs geriatric nurses about transformations in their practice and their expected roles. For example, geriatric nurses learn about advances in geriatrics, new researches, and practice recommendations for their career advancement. Consequently, networking acts as an opportunity for personal and professional development for geriatric nurses (Rizany et al., 2018). Lastly, networking provides opportunities for spreading and promoting continuous improvement in healthcare. By connecting with other specialists in geriatrics, advanced practice nurses develop better insights into clinical pathways that can be adopted to drive sustained and continuous improvement in the safety, quality, and efficiency of elderly care. GAPNA creates networking opportunities for its members through scientific conferences. It organizes scientific conferences where members share information about evidence-based practices and guidelines for use in elderly care(gapna.org, n.d.-a). Members use the conferences to advance their knowledge in various issues affecting elderly care such as advocacy, research, education, and evidence-based practice.
How it Keeps Members Informed
GAPNA ensures that its members remain informed about health care changes and changes to
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