The Practice of Nursing and Patient Care Delivery

One thing stood out after sharing the expected reforms and the new role of nurses in hospitals, communities, clinics, and medical homes with three other nurses. All the nurses agreed that it is the high time the role of the nurse is revised and taken seriously. There are a few differences that were noted in the interaction with the three nurses. This second part of the essay will highlight the thoughts and worries that the three nurses raised during the interaction.

Susan Smith is one of the nurses who took part in the research. Like the other two nurses, she was anticipating the reforms to make her job easier. In addition, Smith mentioned that the nursing career will be expanded following the expected reforms. Greenhalgh (2013) argues that there are some policies that will be put in place to help develop the nursing career. One such policy is the specialisation of nurses. Even though at the moment nurses can work in any sector in the hospital or clinics, they will be encouraged to specialise in one particular area after implementing the reforms. Smith believes that specialisation will deepen her interest in the nursing career. Moreover, on the issue of nurses being given more duties and administrative responsibilities, Smith argued that there was no need to add responsibilities. She stated that nurses are very busy, even when they have just one patient to take care of. They not only make sure that the patient gets the medical attention he or she deserves, but they have to also act as a link between the doctor and the patient, the patient and the family, and the doctor and the patient’s family. Adding administrative duties to the nurses’ already busy schedule would overwhelm them.

On the other hand, Sam Collins agreed that giving nurses more administrative roles would be beneficial. He asserted that nurses need to be all rounded, not just in health, but in other things that make the hospital useful. Hospitals and other health clinics would not operate without the administrative duties. Collins also confirmed that the new roles for nurses, especially ones that target the community will be useful in his career. Meleis (2011) argues that the reforms will allow nurses to have a direct and seemingly greater impact on the community. For instance, nurses will be allowed to teach communities on preventative measures of diseases. Indeed, there are nurses who do this type of work, but they are very limited in number. Such community targeted projects take a lot of time; thus, nurses who undertake the tasks have very little time to advance their careers in the hospital.

Luke Sanchez agreed with Collins that the community targeted projects will enhance their careers. However, his main concern was the managing of health clinics by nurses. The administrative role might not be the best for Sanchez, given that he has a passion for dealing with people. Additionally, he argued that the ACO’s might also be restricting for him. However, it was observed that all the three nurses did not understand fully how the ACO works. They were all pleased to hear that it is voluntary. Sanchez was pleased to hear that the new roles would also encourage other health practitioners to respect the nurses. Over the years, there have been cases where nurses have complained that other health practitioners do not respect them. In fact, they are perceived to be the lowest ranking health professions in the health clinics. This has led to mistreatment and disrespect (Shalala, 2014). All the three nurses were relieved that this too would change. Sanchez, like the other two nurses, was worried that the acceptance of more people into the nursing field might make it crowded. He suggested that the standards of nursing should not be lowered just to get more people into the field. He was also in full agreement with the idea that the people who would express interest in the nursing career should first work in the community programs before being absorbed in the hospital and clinical settings.

Indeed, some of the reactions received went hand in hand with the data extracted from the earlier research. However, as Cherry and Jacob (2013) assert, these reforms should be drafted with the best interest of nurses at heart. Similarly, they should include nurses because nurses can encourage or discourage an idea. Many nurses do not know the minute details of some of the reforms; thus, they also have to be educated on these expected changes.

In conclusion, there are numerous things that are expected to change with the new reforms in nursing. After discussing these changes with three nurses, it was observed that all the three nurses agreed that the changes were necessary to make the nursing career more satisfying. In addition, the nurses agreed that the new reforms will encourage the other health practitioners to respect the nurses, which would make their jobs easier. It suffices to mention that the three nurses differed on the importance of administrative duties for nurses. While two nurses stated that these duties would add unnecessary work for the nurses, one was positive about the reform. All the three nurses were worried about the influx of nurses after the implementation of the reforms. It is expected that more people will get the opportunity to become nurses, which might cause an influx in the field.

References

Cherry, B., & Jacob, R. S. (2013). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, and management (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Greenhalgh, T. (2013). Primary health care: Theory and practice. Oxford, UK: Wiley, 2013.

Meleis, A. I. (2011). Theoretical nursing: Development and progress. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health.

Shalala, D. E. (2014). Nursing leaders can deliver a new model of care. Frontiers of Health Services Management, 31(2), 1-16.