HEALTH PROMOTION ROLE OF THE NURSE

Health Promotion Role Of The Nurse

Health Promotion Role Of The Nurse

Nursing is a challenging, rewarding and a very exciting career. The nurse's role is not limited to changing bandages, giving needles and offering support, as the past has indicated. In fact, the role of the nurse in the present, is now one of advocate, caregiver, teacher, researcher, counselor, and case manager. The role of the nurse is limitless and it's importance to our health care system is vital in providing quality care. According to Pépin (1999), "nurses make up the largest body of health care providers in the system".

In nursing, according to Kozier, Erb, & Blais (1997), "the caregiver role has traditionally included those activities that assist the client physically and psychologically while preserving the client's dignity", (p.129). In order for a nurse to be an effective caregiver, the patient must be treated as whole. The caregiver role, is vital in providing direct quality care to a patient and is greatly influenced by the attitude of the nurse. By treating the whole person, the nurse can build trust between the nurse and client, thus promote healing and peace of this individual. Everyone is an individual and a caregiver must consider this in order to deliver quality care and love.

A nurse must do this by following the code of ethics. By following the code of ethics, and providing care to the individual, the client feels that he or she is viewed as a whole and complete person, regardless of their illness or disease. Being a caregiver encompasses the physical, developmental, psychosocial, and also the spiritual part of a client. In today's fast growing technology, medical science, and the goal of "curing" a patient seems to be cold and calculative. This is where the nurse takes on the role of caregiver, by not doing for the client, but the nurse takes into account what this patient is living through, feels what they must be going through, and finds ways for the client to help him or herself. The caregiver, helps a patient and their family set goals and plans of action, and meet them in a minimal amount of time. If the nurse was to do her work in a mechanical fashion, the public would obviously feel that the health care system is cold and calculating, since the nursing profession is a big part of the health care system. The trust would be gone, and the public would feel like they were just number. However with a nurse taking the caregiver role, he or she demonstrates to the public that they are not just numbers, but they are individuals with different needs and attitudes.

With caregiving, being a client's advocate is a very important role that a nurse assumes. According to Tyson (1999), "advocacy is the act of informing and supporting individuals so they can make the best decisions possible for themselves", (p.64). Nurses frequently encounter clients that feel powerless, vulnerable to assert their own ...