Patient and Family Centered Care in Nursing

644 Words2 Pages

Nursing should focus on patient and family centered care, with nurses being the patient advocate for the care the patient receives. Patient and family centered care implies family participation. This type of care involves patients and their families in their health care treatments and decisions. I believe that it is important to incorporate this kind of care at Orange Regional Medical Center (ORMC) because it can ensure that we are meeting the patient’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs through their hospitalization.

Treating the patient and family as one, can have improved outcomes, decrease hospital stays, increased patient satisfaction, and improved reimbursements for the hospital. Developing a relationship with not only the patient, but family as well, can pay off in the long run by providing better communication, better quality of care, and trust. The patient and family can be strong advocates for improved performance improvement efforts. Including family in the treatment of the patient treats the “whole” patient through their hospitalization. Involving the family can enhance the patients care.

Including family members in the care of the patient helps them cope better with the patient’s illness and helps them plan ongoing care when the patient goes home. Gaining both the trust of the patient and family can help the health care team get any details that may have been missed on admission, such as medications the patient takes, or special diet, or spiritual needs. Also, the family may provide pertinent information that the patient may not have divulged to the nurse. Encouraging the patient and family to voice their concerns will help implement a safe plan of action.

Patient and family centered care can have its chall...

... middle of paper ...

...be beneficial for the hospital. The nurses are the front runners in patient care, and their input should be taken into serious consideration. Testing this plan, and revising it before it is fully implemented, can only have positive outcomes for the hospital and patient care.

I believe this can only benefit the hospital and patient care, and have a new way that the patient is cared for. Treating the whole family, instead of just the patient is what the future is all about. Implementation of this type of care requires creating a partnership between the patient, physicians, nurses, and patient’s families. This can only improve performance improvement, and treat the patient the way we would want to be treated. My goal is to decrease the patients and families anxiety throughout their hospital experience, and keep the whole family informed of the patients treatment plan.

Open Document