Preeti Kaur
We see several developments in the healthcare industry and a lot of credit for the nursing staff serving in these facilities. They are constantly coming up with innovations to improve quality care and develop a refined healthcare structure. Their responsibilities range from looking after the patient to collaborating with their physicians, and their efforts are commendable. One of the most prestigious posts in this career is an advanced practice registered nurse, who we usually see working in a community-based setting. In the healthcare facility, their role is to run diagnoses and treat diseases. In addition, they work in primary care and preventive care, focusing on anesthesia, birthing, and mental health. While completing their clinical hours, they are often the supervisors of a team of RNs and have more autonomy in the center. But their roles in healthcare facilities limit their duties; they are continuously working towards improving patients’ experience and hospital environment. For this, they need educational expertise just as much as clinical experience, and hence they prefer studying alongside their work. Fortunately, online education in the nursing field has helped them a lot in this case. It allows them remote learning with the independence of choosing flexible academic hours. Nurses looking forward to applying for leadership positions in healthcare facilities can opt for online DNP programs to help them acquire the required skill. Such courses help them advance in their responsibilities as an APRN.
Let’s have a look at some of the roles of advanced practice registered nurse in a healthcare facility:
1. Quality of Care
APRNs are capable of continually providing a steadily improving quality of care. Since they have spent so much time studying diseases and their treatment, they are more aware of quality care requirements in a healthcare facility. However, their educational expertise is not the only contributing factor. They know how to coordinate and still maintain an empathetic connection with the patients professionally. The healthcare industry is engaging in practices to implement holistic patient care. APRNs help the cause with their demonstrative medical focus on patient’s physical and mental health. It is how they contribute to refining the quality of care provided in a healthcare facility.
2. Increasing Patient Satisfaction
Healthcare leaders are concerned about the growing competition in the industry. They require their facilities to hire staff who directly contribute to increasing patients’ satisfaction. From attending to their visitors, families, and friends to providing them preventive care – they expect their nursing staff to take immediate control of all these roles. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses have autonomy in the center, allowing them to take such matters into their hands. They have, reportedly, shown more patience and expertise in running tests, performing investigation, and increasing consultation time than general physicians. The patients trust their APRNs more than their physicians and expect empathetic treatment from them. This role expands when even doctors and physicians rely on APRNs to collaborate with them and prepare reports which are easy and quick to read.
3. Betterment in Clinical Outcomes
Betterment in clinical outcomes helps in setting an improved benchmark of future performance in a healthcare center. Fortunately, with the help of experienced and well-informed APRNs, it has become more than possible to improve clinical outcomes. For example, continuous research and studies have suggested that patients under the care of physicians are usually under unnecessary emergency room visits than those under an ANRP. It is more focused on providing complete care that guarantees more minor hospital remissions and prevents hospitalization. In addition, they enable their patients to practice self-care, which allows them to become more independent and control their condition. For instance, a patient with a low sugar level will have their APRN guide them through a dietary plan for diabetes and teach them how to measure their sugar levels. They would also walk them through using insulin, if necessary, and include their close family in such instructions.
4. Educating the Staff
Since coronavirus spread, the demand for educated and practiced nursing staff in a healthcare facility has shot up. With the number of patients increasing exponentially, the hospital requires its staff to always control the situation. Healthcare leaders have shared their concerns over the shortage of nurses and encouraged trainees to improve clinical skills actively. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, having a much better grip on leadership qualities, have taken it upon themselves to educate the staff under them in the best way possible. From teaching them to work ethics to patient care and instilling a healthy work environment to implement strict supervision, they do whatever they can. They have excellent decision-making skills, which helps them take necessary measures and show independent yet critical and quick thinking. They are continual leaders and have their staff looking up to them, which is why they are always on their best behavior and display constant vigilance. Lastly, their communicative and networking skills help them carry forward a team of RNs and complete healthcare operations effectively.
Conclusion
It wouldn’t be wrong to say the patient-centric care has become more than a trend and a key focus of healthcare operations. Advance RNPs are the most significant contributor to this cause in today’s world because of their immense patience with the job and empathetic streak. Their role in the healthcare industry is not something we could underestimate.
