Advocate: The Role of the Nurse



Advocate: The Role of the Nurse

Introduction

Health and nursing, as a profession, comprises of the self dependent care and support, alone or in collaboration with other professionals, from and for people of all ages, families and communities, as well as groups and social communities whether sick or well, in all of forms and walks of life. Care includes the promotion of health, prevention of disease and the treatment and care of the sick, the disabled and those that are nearing their end. Other key tasks of nursing are promoting a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in the management of health and education and representing the interests and needs, commonly called advocacy. 

A doctor and nurse's responsibility is to provide the best care possible to their patient. This involves proper diagnosis, quality of treatment, medication and cooperative interaction. Interaction with the patient is crucial. A patient that is comfortable with their doctor or nurse and understands what is going on is much easier to treat effectively and has a much better chance of gaining health and recovering from his health concern as compared to those who do not cooperate or fail to communicate with their health professionals. For an understanding to be reached, the doctor or nurse must communicate with the patient thoroughly. The doctor should inform the patient of what is wrong, what the possible treatment is and the possible outcomes before he begins with the actual treatment. The reason behind this practice involves factors of law, ethics and etiquette. This paper takes a closer look at nursing and how they advocacy plays a major role in their profession.

Thesis

“Advocacy and nursing go hand in hand. Through effective advocacy, nurses ensure that their patients are aware of all potential risks, the form of treatment and possible alternatives. They make sure the patient is aware of their respective rights.”

General Advocacy

The general description of advocacy does not cover the concepts of power relations, the participation of the general public, the participation of common professionals or the vision of a just and honorable society. Advocacy can take on the simple meaning of two questions; what currently is and what it should be. The later describes the concepts of a fair and just society as per the mentioned vision of a utopian society. Forms of advocacy may include budget advocacy, administrative advocacy, express versus issue advocacy, ideological advocacy, interest group advocacy, legislative, mass, and media advocacy (Paquin, 2011).

Advocacy, in its simplistic meaning, is a political process. It is typically initiated by an individual or a group of workers. These said individuals or their respective groups, commonly known as social workers, primarily wish to form a policy or allocate resources based on political, social or economic systems and motives to their respective institutions or whom so ever they represent. Motivating factors may vary from faith, ethics and morality or even protection of crucial economic or public assets. Also, advocates often stand up to protect aspects of society that are crucial to their ...