Free Essay on Critical Role of Nursing in Enriching People's Lives

The nursing practice plays a major role in enriching the lives of people in different parts of the world, as its key role is to heal the entire person. The idea of caring for whole persons, as opposed to just the physical body makes nursing a vital profession to pursue, especially in the case of the people with a desire to assist individuals in coping with diverse health issues (Masters, 2013, p. 5). All nurses should exercise the devotion for caring for people who are incapable of handling their health effectively. The nursing environment also plays a crucial role in linking nurses and patients. Additionally, the nursing profession has witnessed significant progresses in the recent years mostly because of the diverse health issues that require nurses to exercise significant commitment in catering for the lives of individuals (Smith & Parker, 2015, p. 38). Hence, in this paper, I will discuss the critical role that nursing plays in enriching the lives of people based on the diverse health issues they experience.

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Body

In the medical world, it is worth noting that all people are prone to becoming sick, thus an indication that no person is immune. As a nurse, therefore, I believe that it is crucial to gain sufficient knowledge concerning the way an illness affects patients. For example, because of the growing patient load as well as intense time hindrances, it might be easy to just the deal with the physical state of a patient (Smith & Parker, 2015, p. 40). However, I believe that to deliver optimal care, it is worth focusing on the entire person rather than just emphasizing on the patient or the diagnosis process. In this sense, nurses can enrich the lives of people through concentrating on other areas, such as healing the patients body, mind, as well as soul (Masters, 2013, p. 52). As such, I agree that nurses should also focus on assisting the patients in dealing with the influences of illnesses to their mind, body, spirituality, emotions, personal relationships, and religion. In addition, they should lay emphasis on the cultural and social preferences and differences (Gawande, 2014, p. 18). This way, it would be possible to individualize the health care of the patients, hence assist them to recover from their illnesses in a way that allows them to return to their usual daily activities without any difficulties whatsoever (Smith & Parker, 2015, p. 61).

Nurses can also enrich the lives of people through finding a way of balancing the diverse duties and responsibilities they undertake. I believe that when nurses do this, their responsibilities and duties emerge as their privileges and successes. In this context, a nurse should exercise commitment to addressing the various needs of patents while at the same time treating each patient differently based on their health needs (Gawande, 2014, p. 23). In this case, although I do not see anything wrong when nurses are goal-oriented or task oriented when delivering care, they might be extremely rushed or exceedingly task oriented. In such kind of situations, the patients may end up feeling as if they are a burden to nurses (Masters, 2013, p. 27). Thus, I agree that each nurse is guilty of rushing tasks at some point mostly because they have to deal with many patients without sufficient time. For example, they may need to deal with many family members, doctors, fellow nurses, thus leaving them with diverse challenges to address. In these kinds of situations, therefore, nurses should focus on balancing their time with patient care to ensure the care they deliver is of optimal quality and geared toward addressing their unique health needs (Smith & Parker, 2015, p. 56).

In addition, in order for nurses to contribute toward enriching the lives of other people effectively, they should also lay significant emphasis in inspiring their individual lives as well. For example, based on my experience with the nursing profession, I have come to realize that it presents practitioners with numerous challenges. At times, nurses might experience moments or patients that remind them why they became nurses (Gawande, 2014, p. 44). Thus, one of the effective ways that nurses can increase the expectations of patients is through focusing on providing overall better care to patients and by improving their individual lives as well. This practice does not revolve around the duration nurses spend interacting with their patients, but how they use the time spent with the patient (Masters, 2013, p. 39). In this sense, I would recommend nurses to consider utilizing the limited time they have with patients optimally and always. They should focus on promoting the emotional and physical wellbeing of patients to support physical healing. When nurses do this, they manage to change the relationships they have with their patients, which become more promising than before (Gawande, 2014, p. 76). This initiative results to better patients health outcomes as well as increases purpose and happiness in a nurses future work.

Moreover, in the case of private life, the nursing profession guides nurse practitioners in improving the lives of the community and individuals. For example, I have realized that working in the nursing profession is an exceptional privilege. I am required to remember that patients place their trust in nurses to deliver optimal care always (Smith & Parker, 2015, p. 81). The experiences and skills that individuals gains in a nursing career play an essential role in enhancing the wellness and health of other people, while at the same time allowing nurses to grow as people. For example, I have recognized that nurses develop the stress management skills, especially when they deal with emotional situations of patients. They learn how to assist patients as well as their families quickly in dealing with diverse challenging health situations (Gawande, 2014, p. 47). They also develop compassion, which leads them to treat all people as important irrespective of their different backgrounds. Furthermore, when nurses refine their listening abilities, they can manage to assist their patients in understanding their healthcare requirements without understanding their own thoughts. Besides, nurses should want the best for their patients to allow them cope with various incidences of tragedy and sadness as well as provide the best care, which ends up improving the lives of patients considerably (Smith & Parker, 2015, p. 85).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is apparent that nursing plays a key role in enriching the lives of people irrespective of their diverse health care situations. To ensure that nurses make notable contribution to the lives of their patients, they should consider seeking sufficient knowledge concerning the condition of patients to allow them prescribe the best care. They should also devise ways of balancing the duties and responsibilities they undertake to assist them in handling diverse medical situations of patients adequately. With these in mind, practicing nurses, and others wishing to pursue a nursing career would realize opportunities of coping with various health issues patients go through as well as make their lives have meaning.

References

Gawande, A. (2014). Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End. London: Profile Books.

Masters, K. (2013). Role Development in Professional Nursing Practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice. Duxbury, VT: F.A. Davis.