Healthcare (and nursing) is one of the least stagnate fields. It is ever changing and adapting to the needs of those it serves. One of the most essential piece of achieving this is patient centered care. Each patient is different and has different needs. It is the responsibility of the nurse to meet those needs to provide the best care possible. For a nurse to do their job to the best of their abilities their needs to be clearly defined goals and definitions and examples to follow. In Professional nursing concepts: Competencies for quality leadership (2nd ed.), Finkelman and Kenner describe patient centered care as “…the identification, respect, and care for patient differences” (2013, p.512).
Defining Patient Centered Care
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Whether the patient is educating the nurse about their status or the nurse is educating the patient in how to take care of themselves when they are discharged all the forms of language are vital to communicating the proper information. As Barry and Edgman-Levitan said in their article Shared Decision Making — The Pinnacle of Patient-Centered Care in the New England Journal of Medicine “Ask what matters to you, along with the question what is the matter” (). Questions like this are vital for increasing patient engagement and fostering a better patient-nurse relationship. A nurse needs to be completely expressive in all the way.
Advocating for Those in your Care Being a nurse means you have signed an unofficial contract with all who pass through your care that maintains the nurse will do everything in their power to advocate for the patient and work with the patient’s best interests and health in mind. Advocacy is an umbrella term that covers all actions a nurse may take to inform a patient and give them the proper recommendations so they may make an informed decision about their care. It is the basis of a strong patient-nurse relationship. It is upheld by the patients trust in the nonmaleficence of the nurse and the beneficence of the nurse. This principle of advocacy is supported by the
Nurses are in a great position to advocate for the patient when working with the other members of the healthcare team, and even the patient themselves to achieve a focused outcome. As a student nurse, I keep the patient at the center of my care regardless of the situation. This can be hard, as sometimes in the healthcare field the lines can be blurred by differences in the opinions of healthcare workers and family members, as well as influences of circumstantial factors. The way that I advocate for my patients is by being aware of my patient’s needs and want, and expressing these needs when the patient can’t.
As a Registered Nurse is a crucial component to ensure that there is effective communication between the nurse and patient. As well as being respectful to the person’s dignity, culture, values, beliefs and rights. This is because everyone is different, and due to this it is important that I am being cautious to each person’s individual needs.
It’s the nurse's duty to advocate for her patient and to make sure that the patient understands and ask questions if necessary.
Nursing is defined as the promotion, protection and the prevention of illness and Injury, the treatment of a patient’s disease or diseases, the patient’s response to a disease, as well as one big thing that nurses are known for, and that is being a patient’s advocate nursing has been one of the fastest growing fields since the 1990’s (Mueller et al.,2012). Advocacy is defined as an action in which a person speaks out, argues a cause, supports and defends on the behalf of others. I believe that the role of being a patient advocate is one of the most important things a nurse can do because there are many patients that cannot speak on their behalf, I believe that it is up to the nurses to be those patients as well as all patient’s voices (Mueller et al., 2012).
Not all patients are capable of independently identifying and articulate their care needs, so the nurse also adapts the role as an advocate. Clarity and continuity in a trusting environment enables good communication. Progressive identification of needs takes place as nurse and patient communicate with one another in the interpersonal relationship (Peplau 1988, p. 84). Being considerate to the needs and vulnerability of patients is a moral attribute, as nurses are accountable for the care they deliver.
In Nursing, there will always be instances where the patient's nurse needs to advocate for their patient. There are numerous reasons why a nurse would advocate for their patient ranging from getting the doctor to change the patient’s orders, helping the patient’s treatment team understand what it is the patient is requiring for the day, to expressing the patient’s last wishes before death. In every situation, the nurse should do what is in the patient’s best interest. Tomajan (2012), “Advocacy skills are the ability to successfully support a cause or interest on one’s own behalf or that of another. Advocacy requires a set of skills that include problem solving, communication, influence, and collaboration”(p. 2). With those skills, the
Advocating for patients is a key part of nursing. Working in the emergency department, I meet people from all different walks of life, who are sometimes not able to fend or stand up for themselves. As a nurse, it is my job to advocate for them and make sure that they receive the care that they need. . Recently I had a patient who was in pain and was shy to ask for pain management. I advocated for this patient by going to the doctor and requesting pain management for this patient. By recognizing the signs of pain in my patient and having a good form of communication with the doctor, I was able to provide my patient with quick and appropriate care.
Patient-centered care recognizes that the care that you provide as a nurse should be centered on the patient, respecting the patient’s needs, values and preferences. By using this competency, I was able to create a mutual respect relationship between me and my patients. I believe that when they feel respected, and that you are there for them, to care for their needs, the whole process of providing care for your patient becomes easier and a better experience for the patient, independently of what the reason is for what they are being cared
Nursing profession is constantly changing with the development of new technologies that lead to a new level of responsibility. The new level of responsibility challenges nurses torespond to different and difficultsituations in the health care industry, especially in protecting the human right, dignity of patients and their safety. Nurses hold adistinctive position as patient advocates, regardless of their respective areas of practice; either in a home health, clinic, or in a hospital setting. Nursesare faced with ethical decisions, both personal and professional decisions.
Nurses play many essential roles in the care of their patients, one is being an advocate. Nurse advocates are the liaison between patients and doctors.
Patients, in any healthcare setting, deserve respect and care that is centered on their unique needs. Nurses and health care are required to assist them to achieve this goal. Changing the health care system will require us to reestablish our
Curtin's (1979) concept of advocacy is based on the nurse/patient relationship that forms from the common bond of humanity. The nurse must realize patient reactions and needs created by illness, which may threaten the integrity of the person (Bu & Jzewski, 2006, p103)(McSteen & Peden-McAlpine, 2006, p. 260). Gadow (1980) states that advocacy not only preserves, but also positively contributes to self-determination. "The effort to assist patients become clear about what they want in a situation, to assist them in discerning and clarifying their values and examining available options in light of those values" (MacDonald, 2007, p.120) Kohnke's (1982) definition of advocacy focuses on ensuring patient self-determination over decision-making (MacDonald, 2007, p. 120). Advocacy involves the nurse supplying patients with information needed to make appropriate choices and then supporting the decisions they make along with their right to make that decision (Bu & Jzewski, 2006, p103). Robinson (1985) thought advocacy involved allowing patients to make decisions without pressure and promote informed decision-making" (Baldwin, 2003, p. 35). Chafey et. al. (1998) indicated that the nurse-patient relationship is an important feature of advocacy. Teaching, informing, and supporting are activities of patient advocates. Lindahl and Sandman (1998) described patient advocacy as "building a caring relationship, carrying out a commitment, empowering, making room for and
Advocacy is risky, in that other peers may disagree with the decision when addressing the good of individuals or the nurse may potentially lose their position. But being able to find a balance between the foreseeable risks and benefits involved when advocating for better conditions is what leads to a more effective patient care plan (Edelman, Mandle, & Kudzma, 2014, p. 111). In the novel “A Nurse’s Story” by Tilda Shalof (2015), a positive example of advocacy is demonstrated between a patient named Sylvie and a nurse named Tracy. Sylvie is on the top of the organ transplant list for a new lung, but needs oxygen at the moment because she is struggling to breathe. The nurses are put in a situation where she either gets a sedation and intubation but gets taken off the transplant list, or gets the sedation and intubation to help her breathe at the moment. Despite the repercussions of possibly jeopardizing Sylvie’s chance for a lung transplant and going against the doctor in charge’s disapproval, she still gave her a dose of morphine to ease her breathing. Tracy in this situation is a perfect example of an advocate nurse. There were so many risks involved, but she was able to put a whole picture together and add in her instinct to come up with a plan of action. The interpersonal interaction between Tracy and her patient previously enabled her to spend more time to connect with the patient to understand what she needs and how to solve this situation. Not only did the nurse-patient relationship help the patient and her family feel as though they are being cared for, but also helped them feel more motivated to open up to the nurse to achieve better satisfaction. As said in the novel, “it was a small thing, but it was a big thing to Sylvie and her mother” (Shalof, 2015, p.
While providing safe care, nurses are also taught to be an advocate for their patients. To be an
A professional nurse is one who puts the needs and importance of patient care above all others. While striving for professionalism, nurses need compassion, patience, empathy, strong moral and ethics, accountability and the commitment to always act in the best interest of their patients. Nurses are held accountable for providing quality, safe, and effective nursing care (Hood, 2014). A professional nurse has the responsibility to continually improve and implement nursing standards while maintaining integrity by involving themselves in various tasks. Regular involvement in reading professional literature and sharing of evidence- based research with other healthcare personal helps increase knowledge and skills. This nursing ability can be used to encourage the actions of others in the healthcare team resulting in improved patient care. Nurses should encourage each other to become involved in hospital committees, provide an environment to encourage the discussions of ethical dilemmas, promote professional growth of nurses to voice their concerns and share viewpoints to address issues. “A professional nurse should expect to commit to a life of continuous learning growth and development”. (Hood, 2014, pp. 29). Nurses choose this profession to help others. As professional nurses we must maintain our ethics, values, characteristics, and commitment to drive our profession forward (CCN, 2015). Nurses must be autonomous, accountable, and be able to delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel. Being autonomous as a nurse means having control over their practice (Hood, 2014). It allows a nurse to take risks while being held accountable for ones’ actions (Hood, 2014).