With health care systems undergoing rapid changes, it’s more important than ever to consider the quality of services provided. In the last three years, nurses have increasingly become a driving force in transforming the health care of individuals, families, and communities.
As the nursing profession faces several challenges such as the increasing demand for nurses, health care reform, rising costs in care, changing demographics, and more, it’s essential to set standards that improve the quality of care.
Nurses are the backbone of healthcare. They have been an essential part of this industry for years. The role of nurses has increased significantly throughout the decades, and it’s only expected that this trend will continue. Before going into the information about how nurses can transform health care, let’s take a look at nursing roles.
- Roles of Nurses
- Nurses are Stepping into New Leadership Roles
- Nurses are Leading Clinical Advances
- Nurses are Helping Patients Manage Their Health
- Nurses Make Safe Practices Standard Practice
- Flexibility is Key to Success in Today's Healthcare Environment
- Why Nurses Are Needed in the Health Care Industry
- More Resources for How Nurses Can Transform Health Care:
Roles of Nurses
In the United States, nurses are some of our most important medical professionals. They’re also responsible for a lot more than they might realize – from making sure patients take their medications to care for pregnant women and people with cancer or other chronic conditions like diabetes.
Today, the roles of nurses are changing even more dramatically than in years past. Nurses have become an essential part of our healthcare system because they have improved quality, safety, and value in care. As the implementation of health reforms such as accountable care organizations (ACOs) begin, nurses must be at the forefront of these efforts by using their critical thinking skills to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs associated with treatment.
Nurses have been making great strides in transforming healthcare. They’ve had some success, but this is not a field for the faint of heart. Here’s how these hard-working heroes can transform your experience in healthcare:
Nurses are Stepping into New Leadership Roles
Nurses have a lot of experience in the field, so it’s no surprise that they are often promoted to leadership roles and may even assume responsibility for entire hospitals. The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) is composed of more than 10,000 leaders nurses professionals who lead healthcare facilities across the country.
Leadership roles don’t come easy; nurses must work hard to earn respect and confidence from their peers and supervisors. They need to be innovative team players who can motivate others to exceed patient expectations while working within an increasingly complex health system.
Health organizations recognize the importance of good leadership.
For quality care to flourish throughout our health systems, supervisory staff must learn to develop strong leaders within their nursing ranks. Nurses need to be trained in state-of-the-art leadership skills to help them improve their organizations.
A study conducted by AONE in 2020 revealed that today’s nurses are increasingly assuming leadership roles, and they can significantly impact health care system performance, safety, and quality. These nurses also serve as models of excellence and mentors for other members of the team.
As an increasing number of hospital leaders begin implementing changes within their facilities, it will be critical to reaching out to staff nurses who can share input on how changes will affect patient care. Nurses must become advocates on behalf of patients who need access to high-quality, cost-effective care.
Nurses are Leading Clinical Advances
One undeniable trend is that healthcare is becoming more complex and constantly changing. Nurses have a front-row seat to these changes, which means they’re also responsible for helping identify potential solutions. Each day nurses are faced with new challenges.
Nurses continuously demonstrate their commitment to excellence in care by remaining at the forefront of technology advancements and clinical research designed to improve patient outcomes throughout the health system. To provide exceptional care, they know how to manage resources effectively, including time, medications, and staff members.
A study conducted by The Center for Health Outcomes Research & Education found that an increasing number of patients prefer nurses as their caregivers because they feel they are less likely to experience medical errors or adverse events when compared with physicians or other members of the medical team.
These nurses are actively engaged in research projects to improve clinical outcomes while reducing the cost of treatments. They also help facilitate high-quality care by documenting their daily observations and patient interactions with mobile devices, tablets, or computers.
Nurses are Helping Patients Manage Their Health
Healthcare today is more than just providing medical services; it’s about helping patients manage complex health conditions. Today’s nurses are essential for capturing vital information on a patient’s health status and sharing this data with other team members.
They rely on these insights to diagnose and implement treatment plans to improve patient’s overall quality of life. Nurses serve an essential function as educators for both patients and caregivers, guiding how to effectively self-manage conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.
Today’s nurses are increasingly being tasked to help patients understand the importance of self-management strategies for conditions such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. They’re helping patients make healthy lifestyle choices by offering guidance on how they can adjust their eating habits to lose weight.
These nurses also provide education on proper nutrition intake and offer preventative measures to reduce the risk of developing a medical condition like coronary artery disease or stroke.
When it comes to managing healthcare costs, today’s nurses are key players in identifying opportunities for reducing reimbursements without compromising the quality of care offered at the facilities where they work.
Nurses Make Safe Practices Standard Practice
In addition to caring for patients, nurses are working to improve the overall safety of health system practices. They play a crucial role in identifying and preventing medical errors before they occur and improving communication processes to identify risks or complications during treatment for patients more efficiently. Nurses also help to verify that systems are in place at their facilities designed to prevent and detect medication missteps.
Nurses offer guidance on how hospitals can become ISO certified, which will ensure procedures and policies throughout the organization meet high standards for quality care. The list goes on.
In addition to these critical duties, nurses keep an eye toward the future by becoming involved with research projects focused on predicting changes in disease occurrences or determining how new treatments could impact patients’ care. By participating in clinical studies, nurses are also contributing to the advancement of science-based medicine.
Nurses have access to an abundance of information that can help improve healthcare practices and advance medical knowledge. They know how to work within a hospital’s specific system or design their innovative solutions to make immediate improvements to patient care.
Flexibility is Key to Success in Today’s Healthcare Environment
Healthcare facilities today offer many different roles for nurses, and the most successful nurses actively seek out opportunities to learn new skills and gain expertise. Nurses can acquire additional training or education that will prepare them to assume management roles within hospitals. They might also take advantage of educational offerings designed specifically for nurses to advance their careers by gaining a specialty or taking on higher levels of responsibility.
As technology continues to impact the way healthcare is delivered, flexibility has become key to success for any nurse, particularly those who want to climb the ladder of professional success and secure a leadership position in their chosen field. The ability to embrace change is one of the key attributes that today’s healthcare organizations are looking for when searching for new nurses to hire.
Nurses have a unique opportunity to be part of the effort to transform health care in this country, and those who accept the challenge will be amply rewarded with job satisfaction, respect, and professional advancement.
Why Nurses Are Needed in the Health Care Industry
When you consider that there are approximately 2.9 million registered nurses in the U.S., it’s easy to see why they’re so important to healthcare providers at hospitals and other health system facilities. In addition, about 543,000 LPNs and LVNs supplement those numbers across the country.
Today’s health care environment is also diversifying, with more rehabilitation centers or special clinics opening up to provide patients with access to physical therapy, mental health services, and chiropractic treatments all within one facility or location. As consumer demand for these services continues to grow, opportunities will continue to open up for nurses who want to pursue jobs in this type of specialty setting.
Conclusion
Nurses are essential members of today’s health system, and as the industry continues to evolve, their value will only increase. Nurses have access to unusual job satisfaction in many different settings within the healthcare sector; they can choose from several different paths available for them to pursue during their careers.
Though nursing is typically known as women’s work, plenty of men also choose this field of study and perform just as adeptly as their female counterparts. So above are some ways on how nurses can transform health care. I hoped this article helped you so share show some support by sharing this on social media.
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