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Roles and responsibilities of a nurse
Role of nurse
Role of the nursing profession
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Although most nurses do not get enough recognition in medical environments, nurses often do the same tasks as physicians. Even though becoming a doctor requires more education, nurses are the staple of American medicine. From Florence Nightingale to present day, nurses continue to build relationships and provide care for a wide variety of patients. There are differing views regarding the importance of nurses, but I believe they are just as important as physicians and can make just as much of an impact as any other medical provider. Many controversial views have been brought to the attention after the 2016 Miss America pageant regarding nurses. After Miss Colorado, Kelley Johnson, walked onto stage in scrubs and a stethoscope around her neck …show more content…
Doctors must complete at least eight years, while nurses need a minimum of four. Doctors continue on to complete a residency anywhere from one to three years and nurses complete clinical rounds while in nursing school. In all, nurses complete less formal education than that of doctors. According to Jauhar Sandeep in the article, “Nurses Are Not Doctors” written in The New York Times, nurse practitioners typically receive 600 hours of clinical instruction during their entire four years of nursing school, which is less than what physicians complete during the first year of their three-year residency.” Recently, nurse practitioners in New York have been given permission to provide primary care without an overshadowing physician. Sixteen other states have already been given okay to do away with physicians. The statistics could cause argument when nurses practice independently. Due to doctors having more experience, most patients trust and feel more comfortable when being treated by a physician. Jauhar states, “So if we want more primary-care providers, let’s have them be doctors. And to attract more of the best and brightest in out of medical schools, let’s find a way to increase their pay. There is an essential place for nurse practitioners in medicine, but it is as essential to patient care. But they are not doctors”
Although nurses do not wield the power of doctors in hospital settings, they are still able to effectively compensate for a doctor’s deficits in a variety of ways to assure patient recovery. Nurses meet a patient’s physical needs, which assures comfort and dignity Nurses explain and translate unfamiliar procedures and treatments to patients which makes the patient a partner in his own care and aids in patient compliance. Nurses communicate patient symptoms and concerns to physicians so treatment can be altered if necessary and most importantly, nurses provide emotional support to patients in distress.
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...
Define a critical thinking task that your staff does frequently (Examples: treat high blood sugar, address low blood pressure, pain management, treating fever etc.). Create a concept map or flow chart of the critical thinking process nurses should take to determining the correct intervention. Include how much autonomy a nurse should have to apply personal wisdom to the process. If the critical thinking process was automated list two instances where a nurse may use “wisdom” to override the automated outcome suggested. Note the risks and benefits of using clinical decision making systems.
The nurse practitioner (NP) is a registered nurse with graduate education and advanced clinical training. The NP has acquired knowledge and clinical skills to diagnose and treat illness, and provide individualized, evidence-based care to a particular population (Chism, 2013). Throughout the past decades, the responsibilities of the NP have expanded and evolved due to the advances in healthcare. NPs are responsible for understanding the complex life processes of patients and must integrate evidence-based research into clinical practice (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2006). NPs focus on meeting the current and the future health needs of the patient population.
Everyday in this world, elderly, adults, teens or children become ill or get into accidents and need medical attention. Whether these elderly, adults, teens or children are taken to a hospital, pediatrician, specialist, or clinic, a doctor and a nurse will tend to them. The nurse plays a role that is just as important as the doctor. Nurses work very closely with the families as part of the caring process. Every member of the family plays a role in different ways. The nurses are there to help the patient as well as the family step through the illness or injury. They provide information for the prevention of future illness and injury, and help to comfort the patient and his/her family. It is vital that a nurse understands that to be a nurse, you need a certain personality and understanding of the field.
In most aspects of life the saying “less is always more” may ring true; however when it comes to providing quality care to patients, less only creates problems which can lead to a decrease in patient’s quality of life as well as nurse’s satisfaction with their jobs. The massive shortage of nurses throughout the United States has gotten attention from some of the most prestigious schools, news media and political leaders. Nurses are being burnt out from their jobs, they are being overworked and overlooked. New nurses are not being properly trained, and old nurses are on their way to retirement. All the while the rate of patient admissions is on the rise. Nurses are reporting lower satisfaction in their job positions and hospital retention rates are at an all-time low, conversely this is affecting all patients’ quality of care. As stated in the article Addressing The Nurse Shortage To Improve The Quality Of Patient Care “According to an Institute of Medicine report, Nurses are the largest group of health care professionals providing direct patient care in hospitals, and the quality of care for hospital patients is strongly linked to the performance of nursing staff”.
This diminishes the roles of nurses, making it seem as though they are unintelligible, angel-faced, doctor’s maids. Nurses are so much more than their looks. In fact, some may say doctors contribute to the degradation of nurses’ image. Doctors don’t recognize the nurses’ ability and responsibility to make equal contributions to care. Doctors have accepted the medical view that nurses are to make coffee and change the bed pan rather than make any imperative decisions that may contribute to the outcome of the patient, but this is wrong (“Professional Nursing: Concepts, Issues, and Challenges”).
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.
A nurse’s role in our society today is exceptionally significant. Nurses are somewhat idolized and looked to as our everyday “superman”. “The mission of nursing in society is to help individuals, families, and groups to determine and achieve physical, mental, and social potential, and to do so within the challenging context of the environment in which they live and work” (“The Role of a Nurse/Midwife”). Many Americans turn to nurses for delivery of primary health care services and health care education (Whelan). In our country, there is constantly someone in need of health care. There will always be a baby being born or a person dying, someone becoming ill or growing old. Some people due to their physical and/or mental state of health are completely dependent on a nurse and wouldn’t be able to get through the simple obstacles of every day, or achieve the necessary requirements of a simple day without their aid. Not only do nurses help, and assist you when you’re sick, but also act to promote good health to others. They end...
According to Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, “Nurse Practitioner receive approximately 600 hours of clinical instruction during their entire formal education, which is less than physicians receive in just the first year of a three-year medical residency.” “So if we want more primary-care providers, let’s have them be doctors… There is an essential place for nurse practitioners in medicine, but it is as part of a physician-led team.” (Jauhar, 2014) Dr. Jauhar is a cardiologist, as a physician, there is can be some bias in regards to this debate, as physicians may feel like they have to defend their craft from being taking over. However, this doesn’t justify undermining the expertise of nurse practitioners based on different educational requirements.
One of the significant changes was the integration of nurse practitioners into the healthcare system. Nurse practitioners date back to 1967, when the first education program was developed at Dalhousie (Dicenso et al., 2007). While it was introduced during the fourth generation of nursing, it was not until 2006 that nurse practitioners began to gain recognition within the healthcare field (Dicenso et al., 2007). Nurse practitioners are registered nurses who are licensed to provide a variety of health care services, such as diagnosis and treatment of common ailments, issuance of prescriptions, and ordering diagnostic tests. This increase in nursing roles represents a change in a patient-centered approach to healthcare delivery.
Nurses are an equally important part of each client’s life. Nurses provide stable care to each client, answer their questions, give medications and treatments, and assist with medical procedures. They also have the responsibility to explain to clients and family members what they should and should not do as they go through treatment and recovery. Nurses must quickly respond to patients needs. Every individual nurse has his or her own unique way of caring.
Nursing is more than merely a job, an occupation, or a career; it is a vocation, a calling, a frame of mind and heart. As a nurse, one must value the general good of others over his own. He must devote of himself nobly to ensure the well-being of his patient. However, today’s well-recognized nurses are notably different from nurses of the recent past. Service is the core of the nursing profession, and the essential evolution of the vocation reflects the ever-changing needs of the diverse patient population that it serves. As a profession, nursing has evolved progressively, particularly in its modernization throughout the past two centuries with the influence of Florence Nightingale. The field of nursing continues to grow and diversify even today, as nurses receive greater medical credibility and repute, as its minority representations
While a nurse and nurse practitioner are different in several ways, the similarities between the two are irrefutable. When compared side-by-side you can see that both are a vital necessity to the healthcare system, working in many settings, such as hospitals, physician’s offices, and clinics. They both also interact and care for patients in settings, such as neonatal, intensive care, and geriatric units. Not only do they interact with patients, they also interact with a patient’s family during treatment. Another similarity between a nurse and