DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF ADVOCACY AS IT PERTAINS TO CLIENT CARE NRS 430
DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF ADVOCACY AS IT PERTAINS TO CLIENT CARE NRS 430
Discuss the importance of advocacy as it pertains to client care. What is the nurse’s role in client advocacy? Describe a situation in which you were involved with client advocacy. Explain what the advocacy accomplished for the client, and what the repercussions would have been if the client would not have had an advocate.
Being an advocate for patients is something nurses do daily. But how do we advocate for them? When do we advocate for them?
Lampert (2016) makes a good point stating “The first step in successfully advocating for your patient revolves around knowing your patient’s wants and needs” (para. 2). Lampert goes on to remind nurses of the importance of advocating for the patient and what they want not the wants of others such as family members or even the wants of the nurse (2016).
Advocating for the patient requires the nurse to be assertive in discussing the wants and needs of the patient. Being assertive is different than being aggressive according to Lampert (2016). Learning this balance is important.
What are your thoughts on these things? How do you find you can be assertive in advocating for patients?
Lampert, L. (2016). How to advocate for your patient.
· Lampert brings up a great point between aggression and assertiveness. I think bedside nurse and advocating for your patients is a huge and very important part of our job because we have a responsibility to keep our patient safe from harm. I believe one can be assertive without being aggressive when advocating for their patient by collecting as much objective information about the patients as possible and presenting it to whomever in this case most likely the hospitalist in charge of the patient in a manner where you have to show legitimate concerning information and direct advocation for your patients health and well being. I believe if you present information in this manner it is assertive and shows concern without being aggressive.
· Advocating for your patient helps build trust and overall helps that patients wellbeing and outcome. You’re putting that patients needs and wants above all else, and involving them in their care. We must listen to what our patient wants and think about what is best for that patient when following through with their care plan, making sure they are involved also!
- We can advocate for our patients by being diligent in our documentation, paperwork, charting and directions. Make sure to carefully read all orders and double check with doctors, pharmacists, nurse practitioners to prevent errors, misinformation or oversight. When do we advocate for our patients? All the time. Anytime we see or have the hunch that things might be wrong, we have to follow up on it and make sure we are doing everything we are supposed to do to ensure patient safety.
Advocating for patients can help improve patient wellbeing and help to improve patient outcomes. It’s important that nurses advocate for their patients because it gives patients a voice in their own care and helps them to keep up with their treatment and procedures. By having a voice patients can also communicate confidently with physicians and the ones that are invested in their care. Those advocates will take the time to explain and answer questions that they may have (2022).
I’ve advocated for this particular patient because of the lack of care the patient was receiving. The patient had a Specialist a nephrologist as her primary care physician, under normal circumstances the hospitalist will act as the primary medical physician and the specialist would be consulted to suit the patient’s needs and care. The patient was seen earlier that day by the specialist in the office for follow-up but complained about having periods of confusion, Patient was sent to the ED and admitted under his care. The family complained that they felt that the patient their mom was only worsening and requested to see someone else. The nursing staff also complained of the objective data and asked for a consultation with other disciplinaries, neuro, cardiology, and pulmonary. The specialist refused and stated that this was a result of the patient’s kidney injury and wanted us, the nursing staff to agree to that. This without doubt goes against the standards of care, (2017), therefore we as nurses disagreed and were asked by the family to seek help for their mom elsewhere, I advised the primary nurse to immediately contact the patient advocate and explain the situation we were dealing with. Within an hour the patient had a primary medical doctor, and consults, for neuro, cardiology, and pulmonary. Although there was a delay in patient care, in the end, the patient was able to receive the proper care she deserves. The family even requested that he to be removed as her nephrologist. Once the other doctors came on board, we noticed a significant change in patient status.
Avoiding Liability Blog (2017) Are There Limits to a Nurse’s Duty to Advocate for Patients Retrieved September 2022 from https://www.chins.com/are-there-limits-to-a-nurses-duty-advocate-for-patients/
Haft, J. (2014) What is Advocacy Communication Retrieved September 21, 2022 from eliteplusmagazine.com
