Nursing, like any other service delivery profession is wrought with innumerable controversies and challenges. This is more so because nurses deal with humans who have differing viewpoints and opinions on certain fundamental issues. The medical profession seeks to treat the patient as a person and not simply as an inanimate entity. This calls for a lot of caution among health practitioners when handling patients. The paper discusses the major practices that make a nurse be successful as regards patient contentment as well as effective execution of their duties.
Certain ethical considerations and standard procedures are analyzed in the paper. Success strategies for nurses Success is the inherent wish in all intelligent humans and nurses are not exempt from this. Exhibiting beneficence pushes the nurse to pursue for the establishment of a collaborative relationship with the patient. This will in addition make the nurse uphold the dignity of the patient by respecting their right to autonomy. The nurse thus allows the patient the freedom of choice and this in turn boosts the patient’s confidence in the health practitioner.
The patient will be motivated by the feeling that they are being dealt with as intelligent beings and not just some representative inanimate objects (Dowrick & Frith 1999, p. 73). Upholding the principle of informed consent allows the nurse to let patients understand the implications of any medical procedures carried on them. Incase a patient’s right to autonomy is negated by mental or other kinds of incapacitation; the nurse executes the duty of care by intervening in the best interests of the patient.
In some e other instances, the patient in question has no capacity to comprehend the situation and thus the medical practitioner is not obliged to offer any explanation in such cases (Singleton & McLaren, 1995, p. 46). Confidentiality is another guiding principle for nurses. The physicians strive to only divulge the patient’s information to others after obtaining consent from the patient. A nurse should also ensure that they always are truthful in their interactions with the patient.
This quality is to be moderated at times. For instance, a patient may not need to be furnished with all the details about their maladies in order to shield them from excessive worries. The principle of justice that dictates that equal treatment should be equally accorded to equal entities is of paramount importance to a nurse. The health practitioner will be responsible for determining among several patients who would be allocated resources in an instance whereby there are limited resources.
The nurse will also employ the justice principle in deciding what kind of health interventions should be accorded to patients depending on the resources at hand. A successful nurse understands that there is a very thin line between commission and omission incase a patient suffers harm from either of the two. The nurse will be very cautious when executing medical procedures so as to escape culpability as a result of the possible outcomes. In-depth reasoning and mental engagement will also be employed by the nurse when deciding on whether or not to administer certain medical procedures.
This will make the nurse free of blame incase of a mishap occurring due to non-administration of certain processes (Singleton & McLaren, 1995, p. 57). Proper patient-physician communication is essential as this saves time, boosts patient compliance and minimizes risks. For effective communication, physicians should endeavor to understand the personalities of their patient and try to conform themselves to fit into the worlds of their patients.
Body language is of utmost essence for a successful nurse since it often communicates more than words can convey. A keen listening ability enables a physician perform diagnosis faster with a higher degree of accuracy. A successful nurse also offers patients explanations they can recall and understand. Healthy interaction of the health personnel and the patient’s family also boosts the physician’s image professionally. Cultivating credibility, a deep commitment to the profession and self confidence enables a nurse be more empowered.
Credibility is developed by always maintaining openness and transparency as regards nurse-patient interaction. At no point in time should a patient have a reason not to believe what the physician says. The nurse will develop self-confidence by being at par with current trends and development relevant to their profession. Being an active researcher, be it through reading or surfing the net, is a useful asset for maintaining currency in the nursing profession (Drowith, Frith, 1999, 85).
In addition the nurse will develop the qualities of being visionary, supportive, responsive, knowledgeable, and the ability to preserve authority within the organization. Possession of and the utilization of the quality of foresight enables a nurse remain visionary. Always being willing to offer assistance to colleagues, both juniors and seniors, earns the nurse the trait of being supportive. Procedures will thus not be delayed, altered or discontinued as a result of lack of cooperation among the staff.