The Role of the Nurse as Patient Advocate
The purpose of this paper is to look at the role of the nurse as patient advocate; as well as some barriers they may face while partaking in this role. The term advocate does not have just one definition or meaning. Various areas of study such as psychology, sociology, and law all perceive the definition of advocate in a different way. Some of “the nursing literature relies on a legal definition of an advocate as someone who defends the patient against ‘infringements of his or her rights’” (Mahlin, 2010). Patient advocacy is a central role that nurses have adopted and conformed to over many years. The role is extremely important in the nursing discipline, but it is not without controversy.
The nurse’s role as patient advocate can trace its …show more content…
The extended time the nurse spends with the patient, leads to the development of a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship and certain amount of trust which other providers might lack or may not have the time for. “Through this therapeutic relationship, nurses are assumed to develop closer bonds with patients than physicians, and thus patients may be more likely to ask questions and express concern to nurses” (Mahlin, 2010). Nurses more often than other healthcare providers meet and spend time with a patient’s family, because of this “nurses may be more privy to additional information within the context of the caring relationship, they could be more sensitive to negotiating family boundaries and relationships, patients may feel more comfortable with confiding in nurses” (Mahlin, 2010).
“The process of patient advocacy may be considered in four stages: assessing the need for patient advocacy, identifying the goals of patient advocacy, planning and implementing advocacy actions, and evaluating the outcomes of patient advocacy” (Choi,
The purpose of this paper is to look at the role of the nurse as patient advocate; as well as some barriers they may face while partaking in this role. The term advocate does not have just one definition or meaning. Various areas of study such as psychology, sociology, and law all perceive the definition of advocate in a different way. Some of “the nursing literature relies on a legal definition of an advocate as someone who defends the patient against ‘infringements of his or her rights’” (Mahlin, 2010). Patient advocacy is a central role that nurses have adopted and conformed to over many years. The role is extremely important in the nursing discipline, but it is not without controversy.
The nurse’s role as patient advocate can trace its …show more content…
The extended time the nurse spends with the patient, leads to the development of a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship and certain amount of trust which other providers might lack or may not have the time for. “Through this therapeutic relationship, nurses are assumed to develop closer bonds with patients than physicians, and thus patients may be more likely to ask questions and express concern to nurses” (Mahlin, 2010). Nurses more often than other healthcare providers meet and spend time with a patient’s family, because of this “nurses may be more privy to additional information within the context of the caring relationship, they could be more sensitive to negotiating family boundaries and relationships, patients may feel more comfortable with confiding in nurses” (Mahlin, 2010).
“The process of patient advocacy may be considered in four stages: assessing the need for patient advocacy, identifying the goals of patient advocacy, planning and implementing advocacy actions, and evaluating the outcomes of patient advocacy” (Choi,