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NursingSeven Ways Nurses Can Improve Patient Care

Within any healthcare institution, a nursing staff performs a pivotal role in determining a patient’s healthcare experience. Since nurses constitute frontline bedside staff, they are more involved than any other healthcare worker in providing direct and individual care to patients.

Nurses play a crucial role in providing patient care. Their primary responsibility is to assist patients with their emotional, spiritual, physical, and social needs, especially when they do not have the support of their families. Since nurses are directly involved in patient care, they must acknowledge the impact of their actions and attitudes on their patients and focus on attaining the highest levels of patient satisfaction. They can guarantee patients are pleased with the services they receive by using the appropriate tools, training, and adequate healthcare protocols. Given below are some tips that nurses in any healthcare institution can use to improve patient care and satisfaction:

Communicate

The primary factor determining the competence of nursing staff depends on their ability to take time out for their patients to communicate while keeping a positive and friendly attitude. Today, many patients wish to be involved in their healthcare plan and demand a detailed explanation of their condition, treatment options, and possible prognoses. Hence, nurses need to be well-composed and patiently address patient concerns. Moreover, nurses must focus on improving their communication skills. In addition to being friendly and empathetic, they must also know how to answer all the questions put forward by the patients.

Be Attentive

In the healthcare industry, many consider nurses as patient advocates because they interact closely with patients at all times. Hence to improve patient care and ensure satisfaction, nurses must spare some time to sit at their patient’s bedside and listen to any complaints they might have. If the patient wishes to get a second opinion or is unhappy with the current line of treatment, nurses, as patient advocates, should present their concerns to the attending doctors. Moreover, to improve patient care, nurses must prioritize their patient’s interests, uphold their autonomy, ensure their safety, and educate them about their rights and treatment.

Educate Patients on the Significance of Self-Care

It’s a common belief that a nurse’s job is to provide only patient bedside care. Though this is true, nurses must also focus on educating their patients on taking care of themselves after discharge from the hospital.

To do this, nurses can ask open-ended questions and conduct friendly patient interviews. They can also provide educational materials like pamphlets, videos, and brochures to patients to assist them in creating an individualized plan featuring goals specific to the patient. It is vital because once patients return home, they might not need constant reminders about choosing the right food, indulging in physical activities, or taking medicines on time. Hence nurses must empower patients to make the right choices for themselves.

Prevent Errors

According to The World Health Organization (WHO), one of the foremost causes of death worldwide is medical errors that result in adverse health conditions among patients. It may include preventable mistakes, for instance, providing the wrong medications, infections due to not following standard safety protocols, incorrect diagnoses, and other issues that deteriorate a patient’s health.

Nurses can help by implementing uniform safety procedures and wearing examination gloves nitrile and masks to minimize the spread of infections. Focus on teamwork and coordination between other care providers, tending to your patient and pharmacists to ensure the patient receives the correct treatment. As a nurse, you should also maintain complete health records of the patients to prevent diagnostic errors.

Further Your Education

The field of healthcare is constantly evolving. Science is coming up with better treatment options every day. Hence as a nurse, you must seek ways to expand your knowledge and develop advanced skills. To improve patient care, consider obtaining an advanced nursing degree or enrolling in courses to remain abreast of the latest practices. Being a lifelong learner will give you the skill set to improve patient care by implementing evidence-based practices, so later they become standard. An advanced degree will also provide numerous opportunities to secure a better job in the healthcare industry.

Be Compassionate 

Nurses come across the pain, sickness, and suffering of different patients at all levels every day. They become habitual in dealing with them; therefore, apathy toward human suffering is one of the foremost reasons for the decline in patient care. The most successful nurses delivering the best patient care are those that practice compassion. Compassionate care focuses on viewing the situation from a patient’s perspective and providing care that enables them to uphold their independence and dignity. Nurses must be deeply aware of the patient’s suffering and express a strong desire to alleviate it. They must try to realize a patient’s difficulty when away from home and family and in the care of strangers.

Focus on Mental Health

Sometimes people tend to ignore the patient’s mental health. Nurses can improve patient care by being perceptive to their patient’s emotional and mental well-being. Being sick and away from home can impact even the strongest person. Moreover, physical trauma and chronic health conditions can induce depression or anxiety. Likewise, side effects of certain drugs that doctors prescribe to treat those conditions can also alter brain chemistry and cause depression. Hence if you feel a shift in your patient’s mood, gently encourage them to talk to a therapist or help the patient to connect with them.

Conclusion 

Nursing is indeed a demanding job. Nurses are constantly on their feet, running from one patient to another. Doing so can wear down you and your emotions. Hence it is necessary to equip yourself with empathy, compassion, and determination to survive even the worst days and keep your patients first. There is a whole list of steps that nurses can take to improve patient care. Adopt a more humane way of interacting with your patients and listen with an open mind regardless of cultural and religious differences. Moreover, accept the patient’s suggestions and include the family in the patient’s care plan to provide the best treatment for complete patient satisfaction.

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