Jackie

Advocating for patients is a crucial part of a nurse’s job. Some important things to remember are to holistically respect every patient's dignity, treat all patients equal, commit primarily to the patient and remember to protect their rights. I have found that you have to be brave and speak up for your patient to make sure that their entire care team is informed of the patients’ needs or preferences. As the patient’s direct care nurse, you have the unique opportunity to learn and interact with the patient. Another important patient advocate step is to ensure that family and other associates do not interfere with the rights of the patient. Sometimes this includes providing the patient with information about resources that can help them socially or financially. One of the most important part of being a patient advocate is to keep the patient informed, make sure that the patient understands and is educated about their health care and to teach them about how to advocate for themselves because you will not be there all of the time. By teaching a patient to advocate for themselves it gives them the tools to take power of their own health (Skilled Communications in Shared Decision Making, 2019). For example, I had a patient that was older and did not hear well. I advocated for her by rounding with doctors to ensure that I could explain things to her and ask questions for her. I have found it useful to talk to patient’s prior to rounding and have them or myself write down any questions that they may have. This helps to ensure that their questions are answered, especially when doctors round quickly. To ensure that this patient was continually advocated for, I included her family with her care plan so that they also knew her wishes, even if they did not agree. This is important because to be a good patient advocate your have to make sure that everyone is supporting the patient’s care plan. Finally, one last excellent tool that I have found to be a patient advocate is the care plan meeting. This allows the patient to meet with family and all of the member of their care team. Generally, at my facility this will include doctors, nurses, pharmacy and supportive care personnel such as, physical therapy, speech therapy, case worker and social worker. References Skilled Communications in Shared Decision Making. (2019). Retrieved from NPAF: https://www.npaf.org/patients-and-caregivers/skilled-communications/