A wide variety of factors impact on the scope of nursing practice, including government policies, organisational structures, the media, education, future healthcare directions and service users themselves. It is an NMC requirement that nurses understand these factors in order to deliver quality care. This book provides a clear and practical introduction to these contexts for the new nursing student. The new edition (formerly 'Nursing in Contemporary Healthcare Practice') has been revised to cover the organisational structures that students will find themselves working in, the various bodies involved in healthcare policy and the big issues in current and future healthcare delivery.
Part 1: The development and structure of modern health care services
The establishment and structure of the National Health Service
Contemporary issues in healthcare policy
Nurses, nursing and healthcare organisation
Part 2: Groups involved in healthcare policy
Political parties and media perspectives
The patient and service user perspective
The student's role and contribution to the delivery of healthcare
Part 3: Key issues in healthcare policy
The caring culture and tradition in nursing
Evidence-based practice
Quality in healthcare
Part 4: Conclusions
Conclusions and future directions