Nursing is perceived to be the field that houses the so-called modern-day superheroes. Nurses, with their ability to save lives and care for the sick and injured are believed to be super people with a lot of strength and can do numerous things. However, like ordinary people, nurses have limitations in their line of work and that there are some things that they may face with difficulty. Nursing is just like all other professions who face a lot of challenges in their day-to-day operations.
The Institute of Medicine proposes and greatly recommends that nurses must engage in lifelong learning. With this, associate degree nurses can be able to find ways to become BSN degree holders and BSN holders are encouraged to lead in evidence-based practice and research. More and more numbers of nurses have taken up the desire to pursue their master’s degree in nursing and some even have the put slight interest in pushing through Ph.D. programs. By 2020, it is envisioned that 80% of all RNs already have a baccalaureate degree.
Patient engagement and safety
Nurses nowadays have been focusing more on tasks rather than the patients themselves. Nursing has turned into more of a quantitative care rather than qualitative because of this. Sometimes, it may be because of too many patients that we handle that we sometimes tend to get task-oriented and getting the work done. What we overlook is the fact that the interaction a nurse has with her patients actually is important. Not in the way that you have to entertain them all the way throughout their hospitalization, but nurses must find time to talk to their patients and find out their concerns and what they can do within their reach to make them better.
We must be there to help patients understand their care as well as involve their family and significant others in decision-making. . Also, we must always bear in mind that it is our responsibility to ensure the safety of our clients while they are in our care. We must, at all cost, prevent our patients from obtaining hospital-acquired infections. We can also achieve this nurse-patient interaction by coordinating multidisciplinary care, explaining complex diagnoses to patients, and even, occasionally, have time to offer a quick hug or hand to hold (therapeutic touch).
Cost cutting
There are financial complications to assert with such as the dilemma of balancing patient needs with the cost of care. As the largest budget in the organization, nursing is an easy target when it comes to layoffs and hiring freezes. Organizations can get more responsive with staffing and scheduling and find creative ways to reduce cost while maximizing efficiency. Nurses feel the need to embrace change be as flexible as they can in order to generate the portable alert workforce healthcare organizations need to adapt to shifting economic realities paired with the growing patient population.
Nursing can be a very demanding profession with the everyday challenge nurses are required to face. Some may find it stressful, some may lose hope and quit. But beyond the stress and demands the job description brings, lies a very rewarding profession where simple smiles and thank you’s are way better than monetary compensations.
Sources:
- https://blog.diversitynursing.com/blog/bid/125065/Top-5-Challenges-Facing-Nursing-in-2012
- https://www.medicalisland.net/nurse-talk/top-personal-and-professional-challenges-nurses-face
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