Nurses: The backbone of our healthcare system
The role of nurses in healthcare delivery in terms of promotion, prevention, treatment, care and rehabilitation is crucial to the smooth functioning of the system.
How do nurses play an important role in the health care industry?
It is true that doctors or medical practitioners play an important role in the healthcare industry by treating the patients in the right way. But at the same time, you cannot deny the role that nurses play in the healthcare industry.
In fact, they are the unsung heroes who take care of the patients day and night without being impatient or irritated.
Nurses are the ones who form the backbone of both the public and the private healthcare system ensuring that the requirements of the patients are rightly taken care of.
Anyone who has ever visited a hospital has surely seen the kind of work the nurses are engaged in and hospitals cannot even imagine functioning without their help. However, with services offered by medical organizations.
Nurses serve their communities in many ways and have essential roles in healthcare. Nurses promote healthy lifestyles, advocate for patients, provide health education, and directly care for many patients. The exact functions of nurses have changed somewhat over the years; however, their importance in healthcare remains evident.
Since the advent of modern medicine, nurses’ role has shifted from being comforters to modern healthcare professionals who provide evidence-based treatment and wellness education. Nurses have a multifaceted role as holistic caregivers, patient advocates, specialists, and researchers.
Patient care
The primary role of a nurse is to be a caregiver for patients by managing physical needs, preventing illness, and treating health conditions. Nurses care for injuries, administer medications, conduct frequent medical examinations, record detailed medical histories, monitor heart rate and blood pressure, perform diagnostic tests, operate medical equipment, draw blood, and admit/discharge patients according to physician orders.
Nurses also ensure patients’ comfort, change bandages, report any changes in a patient’s condition to other nurses or doctors, document patient activities, and assume other relevant tasks.
Patient advocacy
In addition to their role as a clinician, nurses often provide emotional support for their patients and families. This can include ensuring that the patient understands and is prepared for their treatment, listening to patients and assessing their physical, emotional, cultural, mental, and spiritual needs.
A nurse often serves as a patient advocate in protecting a patient’s medical, legal, and human rights. Since many sick patients may be unable to comprehend medical situations and act accordingly, it is often the nurse’s role to support the patient.