HOLISTIC PROFESSIONAL NURSING 6
HolisticProfessional Nursing: The responsibilities of a nurse
Abstract
Inthe matters of health care, holistic nursing is a philosophy adoptedfrom the concepts of Florence Nightingale whose goal is the completehealing and restoration of the health of an individual according toHayes and Alexander (2000). Holistic professional nursing is aspecial practice drawing on expertise and knowledge in nursing,intuition, and theories and acts as a guide for the nurses to betherapeutic partners with the people under their care. Basing onthese insights, this paper provides a discussion of the role andresponsibilities of nurses by elaborating the use of nurses, theirplace in increasing access to health care, the requirements of anurse practitioner, and their privileges on top of those of thegeneral nurses.
Holisticprofessional nursing: The role and responsibilities of nurses
Inthe United States, nurse practitioners are utilized in extending theaccess to the health care services by providing the basic care andspecialty needs services (Chapados, 2015). Ideally, nurses aredeployed in hospitals, out-patient centers, nursing homes, andprivate clinics where they are mandated to provide services and careto patients. The provision of care is mainly through theadministration of medication, carrying out observation and monitoringof the conditions of different patients, management of theintravenous lines, and maintenance of records and constantcommunication with doctors (Chapados, 2015). Nurse practitioners inthe United States are also tasked with the roles of supervising andgiving directions to home health and nurse aides.
Besidesthe provision of physical care and support, nurse practitioners arealso required to give patients and their family members’ moral andemotional support (Hayes and Alexander, 2000). Nurse practitionersare also expected to offer education to their patients and thegeneral public as well about the management of diseases and ailmentsand the proper diet plans for certain medical conditions. The nursepractitioners also give information about home care practices andhelp the patients with information on self-care and drugadministration (Chapados, 2015).
Nursepractitioners increase the access to health care services. Studiesshow that the use of nurse practitioners can effectively improve theaccess to health care services and thus an improvement in the healthoutcomes and a reduction in disparities in health among differentgroups. In some instances, for example in the rural setup, it is noteasy to access the services of the physicians or doctors. In such acase, there could be few doctors who are inevitably far in betweenmaking it hard for people to access primary health care services andneeds (Hayes and Alexander, 2000). However, with the availability ofthe nurse practitioners, people can easily get access to health careservices since the practitioners are readily available and large innumber making them accessible. Ideally, nurse practitioners do notincrease the work of the physicians. In any case, they reduce thework of physicians by undertaking some of the roles of the physicianssuch as the diagnosis and treatment of certain ailments and handlingemergencies as Chapados (2015) stipulates.
Therequirements of nurse practitioners.
Thereare various requirements of nurse practitioners in the United States.The nurse practitioners undertake roles which are almost similar tothat of a doctor. As a result, the nurse practitioners require astrong background in education so that they can undertake such dutiesefficiently. A nurse practitioner should have an advanced degree in apossession. The responsibilities of a nurse practitioner are widesuch as recording and analyzing a patient’s history, conduction ofphysical examination, and therapy prescription (Chapados, 2015). Theneed for an advanced degree is to ensure that they cover wide studyso that they are in a position to undertake such duties diligently.Nurse practitioners can also choose a specialty such as pediatric,neonatal, occupational therapy, the health of women, or geriatric.
Theprivileges of nurse practitioners
Becauseof the educational background and job description of the nursepractitioners, they enjoy privileges which are not available to thegeneral nurses. The nurse practitioners have an active participationin the admission of inpatients. Nurse practitioners can be enrolledas doctors, especially in rural areas where there is a lack of accessto physicians. Nurse practitioners have a good salary package due tothe extra duties they undertake which cannot be performed by ageneral nurse.
References
Chapados,C. (2015). Education, Roles and Responsibilities of NursePractitioners in Quebec, Canada: A Qualitative Study. InternationalJournal of Research in Nursing, 6(1), 10-16.
Hayes,K. & Alexander, I. (2000). Alternative Therapies and NursePractitioners: Knowledge, Professional Experience, and PersonalUse. HolisticNursing Practice, 14(3), 49-58.