Doctors and other health professionals such as nurses have issues within their offices that trickle down to patients which causes distrust. Most doctors and nurses have so many patients, where the time they have with each patient is limited. Patients come to doctor offices and hospitals to get the equal amount of time and care from these professionals. A study published in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety in May 2013, researcher Heather L. Tubbs-Cooley and colleagues observed that higher patient loads were associated with higher hospital readmission rates. The study found that when more than four patients were assigned to an RN in pediatric hospitals, the likelihood of hospital readmissions increased significantly [3]. This study addressed …show more content…
It also defines the paradox of equality as meaning inequality; equal treatment may require unequal treatment; and the same distribution may be equal or unequal, depending on one’s point of view [4]. To reference this with the study, the patients are receiving un equal healthcare and time, which is resulting in them coming back to offices of hospitals to get the same issue corrected. After the patient keeps coming back for the same issues, they lose trust that the professional is doing their job. Another issue is communication between more than one doctor or nurse. If a patient must see multiple doctors for multiple health issues, they should all be in contact with each other. The distrust comes in when the doctors don’t communicate. It goes back to the patient-to-professional ratios, if the charts aren’t all updated and properly documented that leaves room for the right information to be transferred. When the correct information isn’t transferred, things could be wrongfully prescribed by the professionals that could not help the patients issue or harm them. Once again it could cause distrust, because we as people expect these professional to do their jobs …show more content…
The first tip is to go from being passive to active. Once again patients take a passive role in their healthcare, letting the doctor make all their decisions on what medications to take but don’t know what they are taking them. Patients should be active and have questions prepared to ask the doctors. Another tip is to come to grips with medicine’s limitations [2]. As much as we idolize doctors as heroes, we must realize that doctors can’t cure everything. The best thing to do is to do the best we can do is control symptoms and take control or your health to be less dependent on doctors. Another tip is to have a team of doctors. If you have a doctor and a group of specialists, it’s your job to make sure they are talking to each other [2]. Make sure that medical records and each doctor visits are all documented and you have copies to take to each doctor. This will open the door for all your doctors to be on the same page about your health and have communication. The most important tip is to educate yourself. Technology has become so advanced where you can Google everything about your condition [2]. This is also a good tool to learn medical terms and understand symptoms. No, Google is not the answer to everything, but I will help the learning
Monitoring staff levels is an important factor. Also leveling the flow of patients in and out institutions could help to reduce wide fluctuations in occupancy rates and prevent surges in patient visits that lead to overcrowding, poor handoffs, and delays in care. Studies show that overcrowding in areas such as the emergency rooms lead to adverse outcomes, because physicians and nurses having less time to focus on individual patients. One study found that for each additional patient with heart failure, pneumonia, or myocardial infarction assigned to a nurse, the odds of readmission increased between 6 percent and 9 percent (Hostetter and Klein, 2013). All of which costs the hospital money.
Often time, nurses has been viewed by patients, their family members and the medical team as basic emotional care givers, pill crushers or cart pullers and not as healthcare professionals who are more interesting in health promotion, disease prevention and better patient outcomes. They also often forget the emotional, physical, mental, and caring part that is involved with the profession. And to make matters worse, nurses are continued to be viewed as a threat by doctors more than ever before especially with the opening of Nurse Practitioners programs.
Nurses have a considerable amount of responsibility in any facility. They are responsible for administering medicines and treatments to there patient’s. While caring for there patients, nurses will make observations on patient’s health and then record there findings. As well as consulting with doctors and other healthcare professionals to plan proper individual patient care. They teach their patients how to manage their illnesses and explain to both the patient and the patients family how to continue treatment when returning home (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014-15). They also record p...
Patients expect instant response to call lights due to today’s technological advancements. This can negatively impact nurse stress and cause contempt toward the patient. However, the expectation to respond promptly improves safety and encourages frequent rounding. Also, aiming for high patient satisfaction scores on the HCAHPS/Press Ganey by fulfilling patient requests can overshadow safe, efficient, and necessary healthcare. Although patient satisfaction is important, ultimately, the patient’s health takes precedence over satisfying patient and family requests, especially when those requests are unnecessary, harmful, or take away from the plan of care (Junewicz & Youngner, 2015). The HCAHPS/Press Ganey survey focuses on the patient’s perception of care. The problem with this aspect of the survey is that the first and foremost goal of nurses should not be to increase a patient’s score based on perception. According to an article in Health Facilities Management, the nurse’s top priority is to provide the safest, most quality care possible for patients with the resources they are given (Hurst, 2013). Once this has been accomplished, the nurse can then help the patient realize that the most
The United States offers some of the most established and advanced health care in the world. Practitioners and administers are constantly trying to improve the quality of care received by patients in the US. Data has consistently shown that the presence of a registered nurse contributes directly to positive patient outcomes (Cho et al., 2016). The debate across the country, however, concerns the precise number of staff required to provide safe, high-quality care. The issue of safe staffing is one that is of great importance to all involved in the delivery of health care across the country.
Nurses have long been known for their attention to patient care. The reason many nurses have entered this profession is due to their desire to care for people. The overwhelming responsibilities of documentation, chart reviews, verifying orders and medications, monitoring lab results, among others, leaves the direct care of the patient to another, possibly unqualified, staff member. Bolton, Gassert, and Cipriano (2008) estimate that a mere 23-30% of a nurse’s day is spent providing care to a patient. This leaves the greater part of a 12-hour shift performing some kind of paperwork. In fact, the inability to provide more patient care has been cited as a reason many nurses leave their job, and the profession altogether (Bolton et al., 2008).
Furthermore, there should be enough trust between the nurses and physicians where they can easily put aside their egos and ask for a second opinion when they have any doubts concerning a patient's safety. This was clearly exemplified when the nursing staff attending to Lewis Blackman failed to contact the physician when various side effects arose; instead they tailored the signs to fit the expected side effects. Even after Blackman’s health was deteriorating, the nurses remained in their “tribes” and never once broke out of it to ask for help. The entire hospital was built on strong culture of remaining in their tribes instead of having goals oriented towards patients care and safety.
Understanding that all patients needed to be treated justly and given the opportunity to make decisions in their care is important. Not causing harm and preventing them from harm is also the duty of health care workers. These ethical principles are essential to keep in mind with interdisciplinary communication. Ineffective communication has been associated with medical errors, patient harm, and increase length of stay. Failure to communicate properly has been associated with 79% of sentinel events (Dingley, Daugherty, Derieg & Persing, 2008). Good communication has been shown to improve patient satisfaction, increase in patient safety, as well as a decrease in health care costs (Paget et al.,
This paper is a literature review of the results of three empirical studies on trust within the nurse–patient relationship. Studies implemented a descriptive qualitative design, and studies used quantitative research, and phenomenological approach method. The context of most quantitative studies was nurse caring behaviors, whereas most qualitative studies focused on trust in the nurse–patient relationship. The quantitative studies used a descriptive design, while qualitative methods included the phenomenological approach, Data collection was mainly by questionnaires or interviews. Evidence from this review suggests that the development of trust is a relational phenomenon, and a process, during which trust could be broken and re-established. Nurses’ professional competencies and interpersonal caring attributes were important in developing trust; however, various factors may hinder the trusting relationship.
The nurse to patient ratio is unrealistic in many hospitals. In most cases it is almost impossible to give each patient the true amount of detailed care they really need. This is seen in most cases where there is one nurse assigned to 16 patients and each patient requires a different level of attention. Nurses are pressed for time, forcing them to cut corners, resulting in an increase in nosocomial infections and patient deaths. “The past decade has been a unsettled time for many US hospitals and practicing nu...
Healthcare is viewed in an unrealistic way by most individuals. Many people view a physician as the only means to find a solution to their problem. Nurses are still seen by some as simply “the person who does what the doctor says.” This is frustrating in today’s time when nurses are required to spend years on their education to help care for their patients. In many situations nurses are the only advocate that some patients’ have.
Patient’s safety will be compromised because increase of patient to nurse ratio will lead to mistakes in delivering quality care. In 2007, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) conducted a metanalysis and found that “shortage of registered nurses, in combination with increased workload, poses a potential threat to the quality of care… increases in registered nurse staffing was associated with a reduction in hospital-related mortality and failure to rescue as well as reduced length of stay.” Intense workload, stress, and dissatisfaction in one’s profession can lead to health problems. Researchers found that maintaining and improving a healthy work environment will facilitate safety, quality healthcare and promote a desirable professional avenue.
Talk with your pharmacist or health care provider about all the medicines that you take, their possible side effects, and what medicines are safe to take together. Make it your goal to take part in all treatment decisions (shared decision-making). This includes giving input on the side effects of medicines. It is best if shared decision-making with your health care provider is part of your total treatment plan. Relationships To strengthen your relationships with family members while treating your condition, consider taking part in family therapy.
Nurses play a huge role in the health care system. A nurse is a bridge between doctor and patient. s/he is a compassionate, understanding and nonjudgmental yet firm and grounded. S/he is probably one of the most important yet least appreciated person in a patient’s life. When many think of a nurse they probably recognize them by a white hat and uniform. Today those white uniforms have been replaced with vividly colored scrubs worn by both male and female nurses, and many other employees in healthcare. Nurses are not just the people that are limited to bedside care and drug administration; they are highly skilled and well-educated nursing professionals.
The physician inquires about how the patient is and begins the process of finding out what is wrong with the patient. The first thing that the doctor does is to put the patient at ease and to make them as comfortable as possible. The physician should begin the conversation with an open – ended question, such as, “How are you feeling”. The physician then encourages the patient to mention all of the ailments that they are experiencing. This is when the physician can learn the most about the patient’s personality and environmental influences. It is important for the doctor to be attentive and take good notes. The doctor explores in great detail the time of the ailments and the severity. The physician inquires about the patient’s past health and any family history that is of relevance. The physician then checks the accuracy of all the data and details collected to date and informs the patient of the next step in the process, the diagnosis. It is important that the patient does most of the talking throughout the interview, so that the doctor can elicit all...