The Nurses Role in Patient Advocacy

Caring originates in the human bloods of sh ard human experience. The go down ons primary eccentrics of promoting health, preventing chasteningness, restoring health and alleviating misfortunate places the soak up in a aim to forever and a day remain an advocate for their diligent. A scenario has been created in which a terminally ill enduring has asked the doctor or so selection health veneration interference options. The doctor in this case dismisses them as quack pr exploitices.What role does the nurse play in this circumstance? When the unhurrieds wishes are in conflict with others, the nurse hold inks to help calve the conflict. Where conflict persists, the nurses allegiance remains to the identified diligent (Code of object lessonity for nurses with interpretive rehearsals, 2001). Moral courage is something that helps the nurse to address respect able issues and take work when doing the right thing is not always easy.When a diligent and doctor relat ionship is strained the nurse sack sometimes help mediate a moorage while always remembering her effectual and ethical obligations. Physicians and nurses have different roles and duties in the hospital.Although nurses do not have the causation to make certain types of assist finales, they do have the responsibility to follow the train of command according to facility policy, until slaked that good decisions are being do for their patients. prevails spend more one on one time with their patients than doctors.The closeness of this relationship may make it easier for some patients to display their complaints to the nurse rather than the doctor (Ofri, 2013). Nurses responsibilities are to provide the scoop up assist to the patients and to insure that all of their rights and interests are met.Once healthcare interventions have been accommodate to meet the special submits of the patient, the nurses role is to articulate the patients request for care indoors the multidiscipli nary team, creating patient-centered patterns of health care (Hewitt, 2002).As a patient advocate, ordering a consultation with those who can help further in the decision making process is paramount. Patient protagonism is described as care for activities aimed at securing patients juristic and ethical rights and satisfying their existential take aways, both on the level of the patient-nurse relationship and in the healthcare team or organization (Vaartio-Rajalin & group A Leino-Kilpi, 2011).The nurse should stand for the patients rights, dignity and health when others will not, indeed becoming the communicator amidst the medico and patient. This ascertains that the patient receives optimal treatment. The Patient Bill of Rights states A patient has the right to obtain breeding around the specific nature of proposed treatment or procedure, a disclosure of the risks involved, and discipline ab aside medical alternatives (Patients rights, 2013).Since the physician from our sc enario has refused to discuss alternative health care options with the patient, it is the duty of the nurse to become a patient advocate. After first discussing this side with the doctor, if the nurse is granted the doctors permission to provide tuition to the patient, at that place are some government agencies and resources deal National Center for complementary color and ersatz medical specialty (NCCAM), The National Cancer Institute, U. S. nutriment and Drug Administration (FDA) and CAM on PubMed.These organizations advocate patients and their families in learning about Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapies (Complementary and Alternative Medicine in cancer treatment, 2013). If the doctor refuses to crack permission, it should lead the nurse to share his or her opinions with the medical staff involved in the patient care, following the appropriate chain of command.Based on a survey held by The New England Journal of Medicine around of the physicians reported that when a patient requests a legal medical intervention to which the physician objects for religious or moral grounds, it is ethically permissible for the physician to describe the reason for the objection but that the physician must also disclose information about the intervention and refer the patient to soul who will provide it (Curlin, Lawrence, Chin, & Lantos, 2007). In order to provide the take up care and safe environment to a patient, nurses need to band together and work as a team.Gloria Ohmart, EdD, MN, APRN, offers a few strategies to comfort patients rights and nursing profession. most of them are 1. Keep an accurate memorialize of issues that may be dangerous, illegal or unethical 2. Check with other coworkers to see if they feel the same way about the situation, compare notes and discuss what the problem is and range a united front 3. reproof to a charge nurse, head nurse, or supervisor to bring the problem to mortal elses attention 4. Go up the chain.If a superior does not act on the complaints, then nurses may need to go to the next level of garbage disposal and so on until they get to the hint 5. Pursue an advanced degree. Higher procreation empowers through knowledge and enables nurses to develop steady communication and conflict resolution skills, the superpower to negotiate and provides a deeper under rest of lord morality ( Finn, 2013). Nurses must examine the conflicts arising between their own personal and professional determine, the values and interests of others who are also responsible for patient care and health decisions, as hearty as those of patients.Nurses strive to resolve such(prenominal) conflicts in ways that ensure patient safety, guard the patients best interests and pressure the professional integrity of the nurses (Code of morality for nurses with interpretive statements, 2001).The Code of Ethics for Nurses was veritable as a guide for carrying out nursing responsibilities in a elbow room consis tent with quality in nursing care and the ethical obligations of the profession. When a white-hot topic arises in the industry, the American treat Association (ANA) will create an explanation, justification, or recommendation for a course of performance otherwise known as a position statement.The Code for Nurses published by the ANA is the standard by which ethical grapple is guided and evaluated by the profession. It provides a good example within which nurses can make ethical decisions and discharge their professional responsibilities to the public, to other members of the health team, and to the profession.According to number eight of the position statement nurses must attend to and be certified of the conflicts of dual loyalty to patients, health care institutions, employers and agencies that provide payment for services (Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements, 2001).Care and compassion are 2 traits that most nurses excel in. However these ii qualities al one cannot facilitate being a voice for a patient. Education and moral courage are also indispensable needs when standing for the rights of a patient. It is imperative mood that a nurse understand their legal and ethical obligations to society and be able to carry forward their role as a patient advocate.Nurses should always seek to become as skilled and hooked in their chosen field as possible by consistently nerve-wracking to advance their education and training, as head as entering into a fusion with physicians and health professionals.Policymaking and workforce planning should be done effectively to collect entropy and provide for a better information infrastructure. Educating ourselves as nurses will be substantial to teaching our patients and allowing us to be a strong patient advocate, while standing united and taking comfort in knowing we are not alone.