Patient Advocacy In Nursing Care

Making decisions is a part of everyday living. Brecke and Garcia (1995) describe decision-making as “a course of action that ends uncertainty.” Mrs. Smith, an 85 year old that has suffered from a stroke and requires ventilation for life support. She is unconscious and unable to consent for any of her own medical treatment because she does not have an advanced directive. Without an advanced directive, medical decisions will fall to Mrs. Smith’s children, Sara and Frank. Each of whom have different views regarding their mother’s plan of care. Her daughter, Sara, believes Mrs. Smith should continue medical treatment in hopes of recovery; however, her son, Frank, imagines that she would not want to live like this and that medical management should be terminated. Everyday healthcare professionals are …show more content…
67). Patient advocacy is crucial to nursing practice and the vulnerability of patients is often why nurses speak on behalf of their patient’s medical interventions. Mrs. Smith is a vulnerable patient because she is unable to speak for herself and make her own decisions about her plan of care. Anyone can advocate for patients and the care they receive. Frank and Sara are both advocating for their mother’s care, but they do not agree on what is the best course of action to take with her care. Graner proposes (2014), “the nurse needs to be aware of her impact on the situation. To be successful in advocating, one needs well developed emotional intelligence” (p. 4). In any emotionally heightened situation such as this, the nurse caring for Mrs. Smith has to use her clinical judgment guided by ethical principles, such as advocacy, when aiding the family in deciding Mrs. Smith’s plan of care. Although it is necessary to advocate in the decision for Mrs. Smith’s future care, incorporating nonmaleficence into the decision is also essential to educate the family