Best Practices For Nurses To Provide Patients Better Care

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 Productive and satisfactory patient care management ensures positive healthcare outcomes and a seamless working environment. In many developing countries, one of the main reasons for accelerating mortality rates is poor patient treatment. Providing better care to patients is not a catch-22. It takes only a few simple practices to get the job done, consequently guaranteeing a productive healthcare system.

However, maintaining a competent healthcare system is challenging mainly because of the diversity in the patient population and their problems. As the world evolves and scientific discoveries come forward, new illnesses are also emerging. Therefore, it is essential to implement strategies to ensure that patient care practices run parallel to ever-changing healthcare needs.

Nurses, alongside all the other healthcare professionals, play a crucial role in providing patients better care. Their responsibility is to engage patients with a more natural and holistic approach to treatment, allowing them to have a speedy and safe recovery. Thus, they have a profound impact on patient satisfaction levels and how healthcare systems can deliver positive outcomes. So, if you’re a nurse looking for some quick tips to improve patient care, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve listed a few below.

1. Acquire higher education

One of the most straightforward ways for nurses to provide better care to patients is by acquiring higher education. With more medical know-how comes the ability to use the latest methods to treat patients and ease their pain. Hence it would be best to consider going back to nursing school to enhance your nursing practice.

Fortunately, the internet makes it easy for nurses holding a bachelor’s degree to pursue advanced degrees of their choice. Nurses can enroll in online post masters DNP programs and hone their expertise by creating a flexible learning schedule around shift hours. These qualifications help nurses in developing and sustaining healthcare policies and practices designed for better patient care. Also, these programs teach strong leadership qualities, allowing nurses to switch into diverse job roles.

2. Respect your patients

Patients deserve respect, regardless of their medical condition or socioeconomic background. The moral ethics of nurses require them to be respectful to their patients. Respecting patients also includes appreciating and welcoming their desires. Often patients are not satisfied with their treatment, so you must listen to their complaints and respect their opinion. Moreover, respecting patients also includes treating the patients like humans and not objects without feelings. If you want to be a professional nurse, you must never demean or ridicule your patient ever.

Respect can help to build a trustful bond between you and your patient. If you respect their concerns, ideas, and desires, they will respect your opinion too. Patients will listen to you and follow the instructions you give them because they trust you. Therefore respecting your patients can lead you to take better care of them.

3. Practice evidence-based nursing methods

Evidence-based practice involves blending evidence from research with clinical knowledge and patients’ preferences. It includes identifying a problem, gathering evidence, analyzing it, and applying it to clinical practice.

EBP helps nurses to incorporate scientific research when finalizing their decisions. This practice allows them to treat patients in an individualistic manner to improve the outcome of the treatment. Moreover, the use of evidence-based techniques can update nurses about innovative medical protocols regarding patient care. Such practices allow nurses to fully evaluate the advantages or the drawbacks of carrying out a specific treatment or diagnostic test on their patients.

4. Be clear when communicating

The exchange of information between you and your patient must be clear and concise. Effective communication can remove potential misunderstandings that can otherwise harm the patient’s well-being. Poor communication may result in patients taking the wrong medication or not understanding an essential component of their treatment plan. These situations can damage the relationship you have with your patient. Good communication helps in enhancing the patient experience and reducing complaints and errors.

5. Build a relationship with the patient’s family and friends

To secure a good relationship with the patient, nurses must also make an effort to develop a healthy relationship with the patient’s family and friends. When making any decision regarding the patient, it is always good to consult the patient’s loved ones. Moreover, when you entrust the patient’s family with all the medical information regarding the treatment, there are increased chances of a better experience. Family and friends form an integral part of a patient’s support structure, especially those battling a chronic illness. Therefore, getting them in the loop will improve pain and symptom management when patients aren’t in a healthcare facility.

6. Learn from your mistakes

Nurses are human beings, and human beings are inherently prone to make mistakes. Being a nurse does not require you to be flawless in your work. But it does entail being cautious and vigilant. During emergencies, you may lose clarity and make unhealthy decisions for your patients. Mistakes are no unusual thing, but you must know how to tackle similar situations in the future. Mistakes are the fastest path that can lead you to become better at what you do. However, it is crucial to react to those mistakes quickly to save a situation from becoming worse. Wallowing over spilled milk can land you into more trouble.

Hence, you must learn from such experiences so that no future patient incurs harm because of a similar mistake. All nurses go through a phase when their decisions become disadvantageous for their patients. Still, the real winners are those who learn and evolve from that situation.

Conclusion

Patient satisfaction is crucial to evaluate the success of a healthcare system. Apart from doctors and surgeons, nurses play a key role in fulfilling patients’ satisfaction criteria. Online DNP programs can help nurses to make their professional journey more result-bearing. Small practices like taking care of the patient’s emotional and physical well-being make their hospital experience more pleasant. Such methods help to enhance the overall reputation of the hospital or clinic. So, if you’re a nurse trying to create a positive difference in the world of healthcare, follow some of the tips we’ve mentioned above.