Table of Contents
Nurses are expected to be patient advocates, experts in health and safety, compassionate caregivers, and proficient adaptors of clinical evidence. Along the way, they must also be theorists and researchers — well-versed in the literature of disciplines that fall within their purview. This is challenging for those who want to become nurses without leaning on degrees from coursework or nursing programs. Nurses must make decisions about their patient’s care based on various available sources such as textbooks, research articles, or opinion pieces (Molina-Mula & Gallo-Estrada, 2020). I find the pressure and opportunity nursing as a discipline inhibits. I picked up my interest in pursuing nursing as a kid from watching how my mother was compassionate and open-minded to doing what she could in her position to improve the overall well-being of patients and other community members. Nursing as a discipline is interesting and crucial because it helps uplift community members’ overall well-being.
An Opportunity to Improve the Livelihood of Community Members
Nurses can improve the overall well-being of people in the community. Nurses like NPs play an increasing role in patient care by helping diagnose illnesses, prescribing medications, and making referrals to specialists. Nurses at every level have opportunities to improve the health of patients and the community (Recio-Saucedo et al., 2018). While nursing is best known for its hands-on care of individuals, nurses at all levels can impact broader issues they face in their professional and personal lives. By reviewing the nursing literature, I can reflect upon my practice patterns, identify areas where I could improve, and develop an improvement plan.
Nurses have opportunities to share practice skills with others in their environment. If nurses do not have time to implement changes themselves, they can pass on the information to others to benefit from their shared knowledge (Granheim et al., 2018). As a nurse, I can use my influence to improve the healthcare system and advocate for patients, caregivers, and families. Nursing is also a two-way street. By giving input into policy decisions that affect people’s health, as a nurse, I can make life better for those I serve and myself and those who will come after me. As a nurse, I recognize that my work touches people’s lives in many different ways. I want to make a difference for patients, those who care for them, and their communities. As a nurse, I can contribute to how my practice will affect healthcare delivery in the community by keeping my eyes and ears open.
We can do it today.
Educate and Advocate for Patients and Community Members
Nurses are vital members of the healthcare team and are responsible for teaching patients about their illness or procedure and coordinating with the team on a patient’s plan of care. Nurses are also responsible for evaluating patient outcomes, such as how satisfied a patient is with his or her care (Driscoll et al., 2018). As a nurse, I can teach patients about managing their disease and self-care within their homes. As a nurse, my duty will be to help diagnose a problem and develop strategies to manage the problem and minimize complications. When caring for a patient, as a nurse, I have to be diligent in performing my work and be responsible for caring for my patients. To ensure that the patient receives the proper care, nurses carefully document all instructions. As a nurse, I need to be involved in educating my patients about managing their illnesses at home by organizing follow-up appointments and teaching them about necessary tests and procedures.
As a nurse, I will teach patients about self-care and prepare them for discharge from the hospital. All patients should be prepared for discharge, even if they refuse to accept their new condition. The patient must gain enough knowledge about the condition they are in so that they will be able to take control of their future and safely adapt to the unknown. As a nurse, I will be required to ensure that patients are well-informed regarding testing and self-care during their stay in the hospital. Although nurses offer a valuable service, they cannot perform it without adequate preparation; as a nurse, I must have the knowledge and experience to provide the best care. Being a nurse will allow me to understand their patient’s needs and be able to help them regain their sense of control over their lives.
Conclusion
Nurses are vital members of the healthcare team. They are responsible for teaching patients about their illness or procedure and coordinating with the team on a patient’s plan of care. My role as a nurse in patient education is very important. To be a good nurse, I should have caring, patience, and love for patients. A good nurse must be sensitive to the needs of their patient. Hence, education is one way to build a good relationship with patients in the nursing field, and I intend to use it to improve the overall livelihood of community members.
- Driscoll, A., Grant, M. J., Carroll, D., Dalton, S., Deaton, C., Jones, I., & Astin, F. (2018). The effect of nurse-to-patient ratios on nurse-sensitive patient outcomes in acute specialist units: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 17(1), 6-22.
- Granheim, B. M., Shaw, J. M., & Mansah, M. (2018). The use of interprofessional learning and simulation in undergraduate nursing programs to address interprofessional communication and collaboration: An integrative review of the literature. Nurse Education Today, 62, 118-127.
- Molina-Mula, J., & Gallo-Estrada, J. (2020). Impact of nurse-patient relationship on quality of care and patient autonomy in decision-making. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 835.
- Recio‐Saucedo, A., Dall’Ora, C., Maruotti, A., Ball, J., Briggs, J., Meredith, P., & Griffiths, P. (2018). What impact does nursing care left undone have on patient outcomes? Review of the literature. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(11-12), 2248-2259.