Skills Regarding Nursing Care Nursing

¶ … Skills Regarding Nursing Care

Nursing interventions are aimed at improving the overall health of the patient and to make him / her feel comfortable. Besides administering the medication as prescribed by the doctor, the nurse also has other interventions including regularly monitoring the patient's vitals, performing medical procedures, educating the patient and his family about the condition, etc. Nurses, being the main caregivers, are also involved in providing active counseling services for the family and the patients. In such cases where necessary the nurse refers the patient to other counselors. It is the responsibility of the nurse to ensure that the patient and his family are kept well informed and that they are not unduly stressed. The nurse has to manage all these without compromising the patient confidentiality. A brief overview of these important aspects of nursing care would provide better insight into the topic.

Patient Confidentiality

Nurses by nature of their profession have access to confidential information about their patients. However, professional ethics demand that nurses keep this information confidential. From the age old Nightingale pledge to the recent times when privacy acts such as the HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) are in place, it is clear that the nurse has a role to not only promote patient care but also to uphold patients' right to privacy and confidentiality. [Jeanette Ives Erickson,(2005)] In Australia too, the code of ethics for nurses provides the basis and the guidelines for ethical management of information. Nurses are also responsible for helping the patient take important decisions about his/her treatment. In other words nurses are fully aware of the legal as well as moral rights of the patients in determining their course of treatment action. [ANMC, (2005)] Confidentiality implies that nurses' share only pertinent health information with those directly concerned with providing treatment for the patient. As with all rules, there are some exceptions to the confidentiality provision as well and the nurse should evaluate the circumstances and do what is ethically right.

For instance, the nurse should exercise her discrimination to assess situations where confidentiality would cause harm to the society at large. A case in point would be a man diagnosed with HIV asking the nurse not to disclose the information to his wife. In this particular case, since maintaining strict confidentiality causes more harm, as the chances of the wife getting infected are high it is justified on the part of the nurse to disclose the information to the spouse. However, in other instances where the patient wants information regarding his prognosis withheld from his relatives, since there is no direct impact on others' health or safety, confidentiality acquires importance.

Informed Decision Making (Nursing Role)

The nurse has the utmost responsibility in educating the patient and his/her family about the proposed treatment plan, the availability of alternative interventions, and in general plays a vital role in promoting informed decision making. [ANMC], (2005)] The nurse being more familiar with the patient has a better understanding of the patient's understanding capabilities and can therefore decide as to what type of teaching method a patient is best suited for. While for some patients a simple printed information leaflet is suffice for others a more detailed presentation involving a video maybe necessary. This again helps the patient better understand the procedures and helps them in their decision making process. [Mark H. Beers, (2006)] In the case of new treatment modalities that are available with recent medical advancements, the nurse can greatly assist the patient in making well-informed decisions about the available treatment choices. Gene therapy, for instance, is a new and potentially life saving intervention for many conditions that are inherited. Genetic testing could also help in appropriate health planning for those who have a genetic predisposition to certain health conditions. The nurse should be aware and inform the patient about the ethical, social, psychological implications of genetic testing. [ISONG, (2005)]