Advocacy is one of the pillars of the nursing profession. An important role for nursing professionals is to be an advocate for their patients to reach their healthcare goals. Advocating is about standing up for the rights of your patients and firmly defending them even if you personally may not agree. Nurses can be a patient advocate by helping to make an informed decision. Every individual has the right to make their health care decision about their own health. Especially when the patient is alert and competent, the nurses should take the patient’s decision seriously. Nurses must make the patient their priority, for example, a terminally ill patient may decline extensive treatment and may only wish for comfort care even though the family might seek extensive treatment. In this situation, the nurse must advocate the patient’s wishes.

Nurses can also advocate for their patients by being a resource person. I would like to share an example of a prescription drug cost. I had a patient diagnosed with severe neuropathy and the physician had prescribed him Lyrica which is a very effective medication to treat neuropathic pain. Unfortunately, the patient was uninsured, and the drug was very expensive, so the patient was unable to afford the medication. I did extensive research and found out about a program called “Pfizer patient assistance program” that provides medication (Lyrica) to the uninsured patients with no cost for a certain period. I then explained all this information to the patient and helped him fill the application form. Finally, the patient received his medication and took for 3 months. One day, when I was working on the floor, the patient called me and said his pain was well controlled and now he was able to get back to his work. I was so happy to hear that he was getting better and back to his normal job. If he wouldn’t have received this medication he would have been in pain every day and even get depressed. This might have resulted in multiple visits to the hospital and or healthcare facility. As nurses, we have the responsibility to stand up for what is right for our patients.

Reference

Tricia Hussung (2016) Critical Care: The Role of Nurses as Patient Advocates retrieved from https://online.alvernia.edu/nurses-as-patient-advocates/

Discussion: The Application of Data to Problem-Solving

In the modern era, there are few professions that do not to some extent rely on data. Stockbrokers rely on market data to advise clients on financial matters. Meteorologists rely on weather data to forecast weather conditions, while realtors rely on data to advise on the purchase and sale of property. In these and other cases, data not only helps solve problems, but adds to the practitioner’s and the discipline’s body of knowledge.

Of course, the nursing profession also relies heavily on data. The field of nursing informatics aims to make sure nurses have access to the appropriate date to solve healthcare problems, make decisions in the interest of patients, and add to knowledge.

In this Discussion, you will consider a scenario that would benefit from access to data and how such access could facilitate both problem-solving and knowledge formation.

To Prepare:

Reflect on the concepts of informatics and knowledge work as presented in the Resources. 

Consider a hypothetical scenario based on your own healthcare practice or organization that would require or benefit from the access/collection and application of data. Your scenario may involve a patient, staff, or management problem or gap.

Question

Post a description of the focus of your scenario. Describe the data that could be used and how the data might be collected and accessed. What knowledge might be derived from that data? How would a nurse leader use clinical reasoning and judgment in the formation of knowledge from this experience?

Discuss the importance of advocacy as it pertains to patient care. What is the nurse’s role in patient advocacy? Describe a situation in which you were involved with patient advocacy. Explain what the advocacy accomplished for the patient, and what the repercussions would have been if the patient would not have had an advocate.

Journal your experiences and in addition, include the following areas:
1. Evaluation of selected goals and objectives for Capstone Practicum.

2. Evaluate how the agency integrates best current evidence with clinical expertise and delivery of optimal health care.

3. Agency assessment on its use of information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision making.

The “Pulse” Check.  Where are you in your journey and how are you doing?

DQ2 of Week 5 is an opportunity for you to self-assess and reflect on your journey. You can write about it or you can share a created video (you-tube) expressing your navigation through the Role course. Model from the scripts in this week, but be specific to your experience.

Evaluate how you have achieved course competencies and your plans to develop further in these areas. The course competencies for this course are as follows:

1. Explore the historical evolution of the advance practice nurse.
2. Differentiate the roles and scope of practice for nurses working in advanced clinical, education, administration, informatics, research, and health policy arenas.
3. Analyze attributes of the practice arena such as access and availability, degree of consumer choice, competition, and financing that impact advanced practice nurses and their ability to effectively collaborate with other health professionals.
4. Integrate evidence from research and theory into discussions of practice competencies, health promotion and disease prevention strategies, quality improvement, and safety standards.
5. Identify collaborative, organizational, communication, and leadership skills in working with other professionals in healthcare facilities and/or academic institutions.
6. Synthesize knowledge from values theory, ethics, and legal/regulatory statutes in the development of a personal philosophy for a career as an advanced practice nurse.