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Roles and responsibilities of a registered nurse essay
Roles and responsibilities of a registered nurse essay
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Advocacy is a valuable element to the nursing profession. While some may think that advocacy is not a significant aspect of a nurse’s job, it should be made aware that the nurse is most often the primary point of contact between the client and the physician. With this being said, it is consequential for the nurse to develop a high-level of advocacy for the clients under his or her care.
The definition of advocacy is the act of speaking on the behalf of or in support of another person, place, or thing. In its simplest form it means standing up for what one believes in for both self and others. Nurses may act as an advocate by supporting knowledgeable decisions, by acting as liaisons or by interceding for another individual. The objectives of a nurse as an advocate are to notify, enhance independence, and respect the decision of the patient (“Patient, Subordinate and Professional Advocacy, n.d.). Simply put, the nurse is most often the go-between or mediator between the healthcare system and the patient. Advocacy is mannered by the nurse’s code of ethics. These codes impact the profession across-the-board. While certain codes may vary from country to country, the central principles are created for the relationship between the nurse and the patient.
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It is essential for the nurse to have emotional strength and willingness to perform the needs of patient advocacy. The foundation is the relationship between the client and the nurse. Factors such as integrity and collegiality are examples of what are used in addition to other criteria in client advocacy selection (Vaartio, 2008). It is also important to recognize that nursing advocacy is also a professional strategy that may need to fall outside of the nurse-client relationship sometimes in order to do what is best for the clients’ well
Nursing advocacy is a professional obligation and the standard of practice expected by the Ontario College of Nurses (CNO, 2009). The concept of advocacy is enshrined into the code of professional ethics that nurses “must promote the interests of clients in their care” (CNO 2009). To meet this standard the nurse must first ensure a deep understanding of advocacy and how it relates to the nursing profession. Advocacy in nursing is a concept that can be first seen in the early work of nursing theorist Florence Nightingale and her plight to protect the safety of patients through autonomous nursing actions (Goldie, 1987). Although the concept of advocacy had been presented in early nursing theory, the term “advocacy” had not been
However, what if the actual patient is unsure what their wants or needs are? Can the nurse educate the patient without persuading them to their point of view? Can the nurse educate the patient without disrespecting the patient’s cultural values? With this being said, what are the consequences for the nurse if they advocate for the patient who is clearly in opposition to the health care professional and the family of the patient (Park, 2003)?
The first provision of the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) “Code of Ethics” states, “ The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.” The second provision states, “The nurse’s primary commitment is the patient, whether the patient is an individual, family, group, or community” (Fowler, 2010). As nurses we need to respect the autonomy and allow for the patient to express their choices and concerns. We also need to provide them with support by giving them knowledge and understanding so they
Hanks, R.. (2008). The Lived Experience of Nursing Advocacy. Nursing Ethics, 15(4), 468-77. Retrieved February 27, 2012, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1486004371).
In the medical profession, doctors and nurses run into ethical dilemmas every day whether it be a mother who wants to abort her baby or a patient who has decided they want to stop cancer treatment. It is important for the nurse to know where they stand with their own moral code, but to make sure they are not being biased when educating the patient. Nurses are patient advocates, it is in the job description, so although the nurse may not agree with the patient on their decisions, the nurse to needs to advocate for the patient regardless.
Frequently, nurses are confronted with the task of finding the balance between advocating for the patient, and remaining loyal to their hospital or institution (Hanks, 2007). Risks that are associated with patient advocacy are more on the institutional level (Bu & Jezewski, 2007). Risks such as accusations of insubordination, reputation slander, hostile work environment, and loss of job security are among some of the top reasons nurses tend to shy away for patient advocacy (Bu & Jezewski, 2007). Another problem with advocacy is that there isn’t a universal definition as to what being an advocate means, along with inconsistency of interpretations (Bu & Jezewski,
According to American Nurses Association (ANA), (2010) “the nurse promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the heath, safety and right of the patient” (p. 6). Nursing responsibilities should be acted at the highest standard and must be based on legal and ethical obligations.
The healthcare system can be difficult for clients to navigate and they are often unsure how to access information which puts them at the mercy of others and can lead to feelings of helplessness (Erlen, 2006). Nurses can provide resources to educate patients when they becomes dependent on a health care provider and no longer feel in control of their own body which can lead to fear, hopelessness, helplessness and loss of control (Cousley et al., 2014). The change in roles individuals face can further increase their stress and feelings of powerlessness (Scanlon & Lee, 2006). According to the CNA code of ethics, nurses are responsible for protecting patients from objective risks that place them in an increased level of vulnerability (Carel, 2009). They can do this by providing the resources necessary for patients to educate themselves and be better able to cope with the health challenges they
The American Nurses Association (ANA) developed a foundation for which all nurses are expected to perform their basic duties in order to meet the needs of the society we serve. The ANA “has long been instrumental in the development of three foundational documents for professional nursing; its code of ethics, its scope and standards of practice, ands statement of social policy.” (ANA, 2010, p. 87) The ANA defined nursing as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” and used to create the scope and standards of nursing practice. (ANA, 2010, p. 1) These “outline the steps that nurses must take to meet client healthcare needs.” () The nursing process, for example, is one of the things I use daily. Other examples include communicating and collaborating with my patient, their families, and my peers, and being a lifelong learner. I continually research new diagnoses, medications, and treatments for my patients. As a nurse of ...
Nurses are responsible for their own practice and the care that their patients receive (Badzek, 2010). Nursing practice includes acts of delegation, research, teaching, and management. (ANA, 2010). The nurse is responsible for the following standards of care in all practice (Badzek, 2010). The individual nurse is also responsible for assessing their own competence and keeping their practice within the standards of the current standards of care for the specialty which they are practicing and the state nursing practice acts (ANA, 2010). As the roles of nursing change, nurses are faced with more complex decisions regarding delegation and management of care (Badzek,
Mrs. Denise Callaway (RN, BSN) is my charge nurse at the hospital in rural Georgia. She is a patient advocate. In her interview, she stated that she is a patient advocate first and foremost. She believes that all nurses, RN?s and LPN?s, have a responsibility to advocate for their patients. She admits that she try to put herself in the patient?s and/or family?s place. She was taught to? do unto others? and she has followed that philosophy throughout her nursing practice. Mrs. Callaway always encourages her staff to see the best in the patients. She never sets in an office. She is always out on the unit helping staff, it does not matter if it is housekeeping, and she is always there to lend a hand when needed. She always includes her patients
nurse becomes the patient advocate letting the physician know the effect of the medication the
In contemporary nursing practice, nurses need to integrate scientific knowledge and nursing theories prior to providing optimal health care. Nursing theories guide nurses to treat clients in a supportive and dignified manner through client centred approaches. However, it is challenge for nurses to practice client centred care in daily realities due to heavy workloads. In order to assist nurses to decrease the gap between ideal and real practice, Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) develops Best Practice Guideline of Client-centred-care (Neligan, Grinspun, JonasSimpson, McConnell, Peter, Pilkington, et al., 2002). This guideline offers values and beliefs as foundation of client-centred care, and the core processes of client-centred care can facilitate provision of optimal nursing care. These four core processes of client-centred care include identifying concerns, making decisions, caring and service, and evaluating outcomes. According to RNAO (2006), ongoing dialogue with clients and self-reflection are essential for nurses to develop their nursing skills and knowledge on client-centred care. As a nursing student, I reflected on written transcripts of interactions between patients and me, so that I could gain insights into client-centred care for further improvement. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss importance of the core processes of client-centred care in nursing practice through identifying and critiquing blocks to conversation. Based on the guideline of RNAO (2006), respect, human dignity, clients are experts for their own lives, responsiveness and universal access will be elaborated in each core process of client-centre care as reflecting on three dialogues with patients.
As a patient advocate, a RN will help to make sure the patient makes the right choice if possible and if they cannot then they uphold a strict guidelines of rules. Often times your patients may not understand the procedures or diagnosis. Nurses will work with integrity of the highest levels to help the patients understand what is going on and what it all means to them. You as the RN will be able to use your highly developed communication skills to both communicate and educate patients and their demanding families.
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 nursing staff will be able to work together to advocate for their patients. Along with those skills, nurses need to keep in mind the three core attributes that are: safeguarding patients’ autonomy; acting on behalf of patients; and championing social justice in the provision of health care. (Bu & Jezewski, 2006)