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 

Client advocacy is essential to healthcare, expressing the client’s rights, concerns, and desires regarding care and life (Grove, 2012). Advocacy can apply to more than one client or the caregivers of a client or a group of clients in clinical and home care settings. A client advocate may assist clients in setting up medical appointments for doctors, lab work, scans, and therapy. An advocate can also help clients get legal and financial help by connecting them with the appropriate local resources. A client can be assisted with social support by connecting with social services and local programs, such as social activities, delivery services, transportation to and from appointments or grocery stores, or general shopping. The significance of the nurse as an advocate for a patient is giving a voice to communicate with the patient’s other healthcare providers so necessary information is provided to make informed decisions concerning the care plan. The nurse’s primary focus is the client’s best interest to promote and protect the client’s rights, safety, and health (Helbig, 2022).

Nursing hours for my one-year-old pediatric home care female client had been terminated due to patient stability. Per doctor’s orders, I had successfully weaned the child from being ventilator and oxygen dependent. Home care medical equipment services had taken the ventilator and oxygen equipment from the home the previous day per phyician’s orders. My final sixteen-hour night shift ended at seven in the morning with all being well. Report was given to the mother, who afterward returned to bed turning on the monitor connecting to the child’s room. As I was approaching the front door to leave, I had an intense urge to check on the child. Upon entering the child’s bedroom, I observed the child sleeping peaceably in her bed, along with her sister who was sleeping in her own bed. All seemed well. Yet, I sensed something was not right, so I quietly stayed observing the child. Then it happened! Suddenly and without any signs, she stopped breathing! I quickly assessed her, immediately implementing CPR and yelling for the mother. At the time there were no cell phones, only land lines, with the only phone hanging on the wall in the kitchen. The mother was not responding to my call for help, so I believed she had fallen back asleep. I took the child into my arms using a chalk board for support and continuing CPR while I quickly went to the phone to call emergency medical services (EMS). The sibling remained asleep, but the mother awoke. The child responded to CPR and was conscience, alert, and responding appropriately. Finally, the ambulance arrived. However, after assessing the child, the medics did not feel any need to take the child to the hospital for further examining and left. Insurance protocols and State of Michigan legislation governing client authorized nursing hours according to status almost cost this child her life and the family a great loss. I stayed with the child who had recovered fully from the incident as I reported the happening to the nursing agency and the child’s pediatrician. I advocated for the child and family to restore nursing hours and certain medical equipment for the safety and well-being of the child. I continued to advocate to the State of Michigan. This case became a president at the state level for other children and adults requiring oxygen and/or mechanical breathing assistance living at home changing the then current state and insurance protocols. The child is now an adult and the mother a nurse. This was a true life-changing experience because the mother was then a single mom with two small children, a high school drop-out, and living with assistance of welfare.

References

Grove, D. (2012). Patient advocacy- Pass it on! Nursing made incredibly easy!, 10(4). DOI: 10.1097/01.NME.0000415011.58202.2a

Helbig, J. (2022). Professional engagement. In Grand Canyon University (Eds.). Dynamics in nursing: Art and science in professional practice (2nd ed.). Grand Canyon University.

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Advocacy plays a crucial role in client care as it ensures that the best interests, rights, and well-being of clients are protected and promoted. Advocacy involves actively speaking up for clients, empowering them, and facilitating their access to appropriate resources, information, and services. In healthcare, nurses have a unique and essential role as client advocates due to their close and continuous interaction with patients, Nursing Management paper,(2017).

By advocating for the patient, several accomplishments were achieved. Firstly, the patient’s anxiety and fear were significantly reduced as they gained a better understanding of the surgery. Secondly, their trust in the healthcare team was strengthened, knowing that their concerns were being heard and addressed. Additionally, the patient felt empowered to actively participate in the decision making process(ANA2019).

If the patient had not had an advocate, the repercussions could have been significant. They may have proceeded with the surgery despite their fears and concerns, which could have led to heightened anxiety, poor cooperation, or even non-compliance with post-operative care instructions. The lack of understanding about the procedure may have resulted in confusion or unrealistic expectations, negatively impacting their recovery and overall experience. Moreover, the patient’s trust in the healthcare team might have been compromised, affecting the therapeutic relationship and potentially leading to decreased satisfaction with the care received.

Reference

Nursing Management, The Ethics and Advocacy Connection,(2017).

American Nurses Association, ANA (2019). Advocacy. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy.

Part of the nurse’s role is to advocate for our patients and supporting a cause (Helbig, 2022). Our role in patient advocacy is important because we need to make sure that we preserve patient dignity, equity, and freedom from suffering (Elders, 2018, 3:40). Patient advocacy in nursing is protecting form harm that means all harm that can come their way while in your care to prevent injury and additional suffering (Elders, 2018, 8:13). Pain management and causing no additional suffering is an essential part of patient advocacy. In my practice pain management is a priority especially when performing thread lifts and administering dermal fillers. Some of these aesthetic procedures can be painful and to minimize pain we use lidocaine topically and intra dermal. I want to make this elective procedure as painless as possible so that the patient is not under additional stress. Without lidocaine it can be a extremely uncomfortable procedure that can enable us to finish the procedure, cause trauma to surrounding tissue or prolong the healing process. 

Elders, J. (2018, October 4). The importance of nurse advocacy and empowerment [Video]. Health Watch USA. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsRbFrvZQjA 

Helbig, J. (2022). Professional engagement. In Grand Canyon University, Dynamics in Nursing: Art & Science of Professional Practice. (2nd ed.). Grand Canyon University

I side with the importance of patient advocacy in nursing and the critical role of pain management during procedures. patient advocacy in nursing involves ensuring that patients receive appropriate care, respect, and dignity. Additionally, nurses should prioritize pain management during procedures to minimize discomfort and prevent harm. In turn, effective pain management will improve patient outcomes and satisfaction with that team working on such procedures requiring pain management.

In the context of aesthetic procedures, topical lidocaine has been shown to be an effective method of reducing pain and discomfort. A study by Lee et al. (2019) found that the use of topical lidocaine cream during botulinum toxin injections significantly reduced pain and improved patient satisfaction. Overall, nurses should prioritize patient advocacy and pain management during procedures to ensure positive outcomes and prevent harm.

Reference:

Lee, S. H., Cho, Y. S., Kim, J. E., & Roh, M. R. (2019). Comparison of pain relief methods in botulinum toxin injection: A randomized, double-blind, split-face study. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 81(2), 457-459.

Our role in patient advocacy is to stand up for their rights and provide them with the right care and education. Advocacy is the act of supporting a cause. (Helbig, 2022) I think every day I advocate for patients because I care for them. Sometimes patients don’t fully understand their diagnosis, treatment, or medications. When I have a patients who are bladder-incontinent, I helped them get incontinence supplies at no cost. Many patients are not aware of the programs that the community has to help patients by providing supplies. It is important to fully educate patients about risk factors and side effects and teach them about possible treatments. Providing the right medications to our patients is another example of advocacy; provide safety for them. According to Nitzky (2018), there are six ways to advocate for patients, such as educating patients, protecting patients rights, connecting patients to resources, and providing the right medication to their patients. It is very important to keep patients updated on their care. Unsuccessful advocacy can result in negative consequences for the health institution and nurses. (Nsiah, et.al. (2020) 

References:

Nsiah, C., Siakwa, M., & Ninnoni, J. P. K. (2019, December 19). Barriers to practicing patient advocacy in healthcare setting. Nursing open. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7024610/

Helbig, J. (2022). Professional engagement. In Grand Canyon University, Dynamics in Nursing: Art & Science of Professional Practice. (2nd ed.). Grand Canyon University

REPLY

Patient advocacy is a dynamic concept, beyond mere support, compassionate care, and empathy where it is attributed to safeguarding, apprising, valuing, mediating, and championing social justice in the provision of healthcare (Abbasinia, M et al.,2019). Personally, I believe that advocacy is crucially important to improve patient outcomes, ensure their safety, enhance quality of care and elevate their sense of empowerment through the collaboration among patients, families and the healthcare team. Advocacy is the promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient, health systems management, and education (ICN, 2002). Firstly, apprising encompasses providing patients with information about their diagnoses, prognoses, treatments, and discharge, as well as discussing health care alternatives with them. For example, I recently encountered a patient who refused dialysis and was about to be discharged against medical advice but only to find out that she was fearful and did not want to be a burden to her children because of the costs of dialysis. As a patient advocate, I intervened and scheduled a meeting with the patient, physician and her family to discuss the costs, procedure, and alternatives. After a lengthy discussion and full support from her family, the patient agreed and consented to start dialysis immediately. It has been over three years since she started dialysis and is progressing well. Without proper treatment this patient would have a poor outcome and prognosis. Being a patient advocate has helped improve this patient outcome by alleviating her fears and without delays addressing the problem.

Secondly, championing social justice in health care includes responsibilities such as facilitating patients’ access to health resources and addressing inequalities in health care delivery. Mediating involves responsibilities such as serving as a patient’s voice when necessary, acting as a liaison for patients with other health care professionals or patients’ families, and relaying the cultural values and preferences of patients to other health care professionals. For example, a patient who refused blood transfusions because of their religious values and as nurses we need to ensure that patients are well informed of other alternatives to blood transfusions and respect their beliefs. Safeguarding entails carrying out responsibilities such as tracking errors made in patient care. Lastly, valuing focuses on responsibilities such as facilitating patients’ ability to make decisions freely; maintaining patients’ right to privacy; and operating in accordance with patients’ preferences and beliefs (Abbasinia, M et al.,2019).

References

International Council of Nurses (ICN). (2002). Definition of nursing. Retrieved from Nursing Definitions | ICN – International Council of Nurses

Mohammad Abbasinia, Fazlollah Ahmadi & Anoshirvan. (2019). Patient advocacy in nursing: A concept analysis. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0969733019832950