Nurses make up the largest healthcare group in the world. In the US alone, more than 2.7 million nurses are dispensing their duties in healthcare. They operate as frontline combat forces and stay with the patients during treatment and recovery. The critical care they provide is essential for treating, diagnosing, and recovering 36.5 million patients annually.
It is quite easy to understand how nurses work to provide the best care, including medication and food on time. But there are other things that nurses do to promote faster recovery of their patients. Below, you will have a glimpse of everything nurses do that results in more rapid recovery.
- Application of evidence-based practices
Evidence-based practice is the application of insight from the latest research and studies to improve patient care. Evidence-based practices reduce healthcare cost, improve patient outcomes, and results in faster recovery. Thanks to high-quality care and evidence-based practices, the average age of individuals is increasing. Nurses learn about these evidence-based practices through advanced education in their specific nursing area. The research-based practices of one nursing specialty can be quite different from the other.
Nurses strive to get higher education to ensure they know the best practices. They also learn the ways of care delivery that have become obsolete. You will find many nurses enrolling in BSN and MSN advanced learning programs. MSN AGNP courses are very famous among nurses since they prepare them to diagnose, treat and provide medication to a broader population, including adolescents and older adults. The more nurses enroll in such courses, the higher their knowledge about the latest medical research.
- Provide emotional care to the patients
Patients who come to a hospital with an illness are emotionally vulnerable, mentally stressed, and physically weak. No matter the disease, they have negative emotions such as fear, uncertainty, confusion, and anxiety building up in them. They want the best care that ensures quick recovery and hospital discharge. Physically treating these patients won’t suffice; you have to provide them emotional support and care too.
Nurses are the most frequent communication channel for patients. Besides caring for physical health, nurses also provide emotional support to these patients. Nurses sit with their patients, enquire about their health, discuss their grievances and ensure that their problems are solved. According to research, a good patient-nurse relationship reduces the patient’s hospital stay and increases the satisfaction of both.
- Helps patients adjust to hospital life
A change in environmental settings can impede recovery. Often patients feel that they are in an alien environment. As a result, they become restless, don’t take much interest in their treatment plans, become more stubborn, and get irritated.
Anything from food to noise and unpleasant smells or even an uncomfortable bed can add to a patient’s discomfort. But nurses’ kind and compassionate behavior helps them adjust to hospital life. They make patients realize their stay is temporary, motivate them to participate in treatment, and encourage them for early recovery and discharge.
From the point that a patient comes to the hospital till they leave the facility, the nurse’s job remains critical to their recovery. According to the Patient Engagement Hit, the attitude of nurses helps improve overall patient experience, psychological and emotional state, and satisfaction.
- Nurses listen to the patients
Listening is an underrated skill—many people lack it. Most people hear, and that too to answer only. Listening is when you try to decipher the meaning behind the words and understand the speaker’s emotions and the pain that led them to say those words.
When you pay attention to others, they feel valued, considered, and respected. Many people think that active listening can reduce the intensity of their issues. Nurses provide an ear for the needs and grievances of their patients; they make them feel heard. This small gesture helps a lot in patient recovery because it allows the nurses to respect the emotions of their patients and provide better care services.
- Prepare the patients for treatment
Proper treatment is an essential aspect of the speedy recovery of the patients. Nurses prepare the patients for the treatments by helping them take medications and follow a specific diet and physical activity routine. They explain the efficacy of these measures to their patients and try to get their support. Apart from that, nurses also answer patients’ questions about changes in their bodies. These efforts improve treatment plan implementation, aiding in early recovery.
- Communication with other healthcare professionals
Nurses don’t work solo to provide care to the patients. They join forces with other healthcare professionals such as doctors, administrators, pharmaceutical staff, and other nurses to provide above-par care services to patients. In this scenario, accurate and timely communication plays an essential role in speeding up the recovery of the patients.
Nurses fill patient charts, communicate changes in their condition with the on-duty doctor, and often suggest changes in the treatment plan. It is because of the effective and timely communication of the nurses that doctors can take prompt actions, detect problems and errors in their judgment and make changes in their treatment. For instance, on-duty nurses might see that a particular medication is not working or, worst, causing drug antagonism. They can discuss these issues with doctors and ask for quick changes in the treatment.
- Connect with the patient’s family
Nurses’ communication is not limited to the patients only. They interact with the patients’ families and encourage them to collaborate and help in the diagnosis and treatment. Family members provide information about the patient’s medical history with the disease and its evolution over time. Nurses can collaborate with the families to manage the patient’s illness more effectively and prevent future occurrences of the disease.
- Empower their patients for decision making
Patients come to the hospital with a medical condition, but they still have a say. Therefore, nurses must empower them to express their opinion and how they want their treatment. When nurses empower patients to take responsibility for their condition, they put in more effort for an early discharge and recovery. Nurses can help them learn to solve their own problems and support professionals in administering treatment plans.
Conclusion
Nurses can do a lot to speed up the recovery of their patients. They can improve their communication skills, provide more timely information to doctors and other professionals, and empower their patients to take charge of their health. Nurses can also collaborate with patients’ families to develop a holistic, coordinated care delivery plan. All these and more efforts of nurses help them deliver positive patient outcomes, improve satisfaction, and speed up their recovery.
