What does Patient Advocacy entail
What does Patient Advocacy entail; Patient advocacy mainly involves acting on behalf of patients by ensuring that their medical rights are not violated and that all their needs are dealt with in time. As such, nurses are the best medical practitioners to apply patient advocacy because they have a close relationship with patients and provide care for them. In addition, nurses act as the liaison between patients, their families, other team members, and various departments in hospitals or other medical facilities serving patients.
In this regard, patient advocacy is important as it helps maintain continuity of care for the patient population for whom a nurse has responsibility. Through advocacy, nurses are worried about the safety of their patients and always work towards providing the necessary care to their patients (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2010). Whenever, nurses identify that their patients are not safe, they should always ensure the concern is fixed within the shortest time possible as tmay place a patient in danger.
This may include reporting practices by physicians that may put patients at risk.In my opinion, patient advocacy is about defending the rights of your patients even if you don?t agree with them. Without tadvocacy, nurses may delay in addressing the patient needs which may lead to deteriorating health conditions or even death of their patients. Moreover, through advocacy, patients receive health education concerning their medical conditions where assurance is also given by nurses.According to Sanford (2012), patient advocacy involves preservation of human dignity, patient equality, and freedom from suffering. Regarding preserving human dignity, every patient has the right to be treated with respect.
In most cases, patients and their families are anxious and frightened and therefore nan advocate to assist them to face the unfamiliar healthcare system and enhance communication among the caregivers. This may include interpretation of tests and instructions from physicians in a way the patient can understand easily. Furthermore, through advocacy, nurses advise patients on the importance of tests and proceduand also provide the required emotional and physical support needed during the treatment process.In relation to patient equality, advocacy is vital as it allows nurses to provide care for all patients with high degree of professionalism without any form of personal biases.
From the patient’s perspective, prevention and management of physical, psychological or emotional suffering are some of the most critical aspects of care (Harris & Roussel, 2010). Trequinurses to be committed in their work and to be available to patients and their families.In nursing, patient advocacy is applied by addressing all the patient needs by putting aside any personal feelings or preferences.
This implies that, nurses should serve their patients based on the specific needs of such patients. For instance, there is a new trend in patient advocacy that involves offering advice to the patient concerning the various treatment options that may be available and how to deal with health insurance issues (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2010).
This allows patients or their families to make wise decisions about the best treatment option to use depending on their capabilities.Patient advocacy is the core of the nursing profession because the rights of patients should be addressed before everything else. For example, a nurse should always find out any allergic reactions that a patient may have towards certain foods or medications (Mason, Leavitt& Chafee, 2013). As such, a nurse should report the allergic reactions to the attached physicians or even to the kitchen department.
Throughout the stay in a hospital, a nurse should always ensure that all the medication or food that causes allergy to the patient is avoided and alternatives provided.For patient advocacy to be successful, it is paramount for nurses to have appropriate communications skills and to always use a language that a patient can understand. Due to the nature of the nursing profession, it is also imperative for nurses to exercise the virtue of patience and tolerance while serving patients. As a result, nurses will be in a better position to advocate for the patients in providing all the assistance required.Patient advocacy also applies in the nursing profession by respecting the cultural and ethnic beliefs of patients and their families.
Although such beliefs may not be understood by the nurse, it is important for a nurse to consider them in all interactions as they may affect the patient?s physical and emotional well-being (Benner et al., 2009Moreover, advocacy also requinurses to be considerate towards patient privacy and treat patient and family information as confidential. In relation to this, nurses should also adhere to organizational, state, and national laws when revealing health care or personal information.
