A full context paper covering the health care roles of medical proffessionals in the nursing world.
The roles of heath care workers are changing every day. Professionals in the medical field and workforce all have the challenge of adapting to an ever changing technological world meant to better help their clients. The same is true for medical clients. There are so many options when it comes to approaching healthcare compared to in the past. Craven & Hirnle (2009) suggests that “This maze is so complex, the average person needs an advocate to help him or her move through it”. That is where the roles of each healthcare worker are truly exposed. Everyone in the workforce has their own particular job when it comes to making patients’ lives easier.
Leiyu & Douglas (2008) state that the total employment in the heath care industry tops ten million people, with over seven hundred and forty thousand practicing medical doctors, and well over two million active nurses. With changing technology, communication among these workers is crucial when it comes to establishing healthy, safe, professional and effective relationships between clientele and professionals. These many changes in the medical world have brought about a change in the definition of health care.
Many people would say that it is the doctor’s role to take care of a patient. While that is his or her job, there is a much more complicated process that goes along with it. This process involves the cooperation between hierarchies of several people all working towards a common goal. The medical doctor and nurse practitioner are ranked highest in this hierarchy and are employed to diagnose, prescribe medicine for and field medical questions from patients and their families. Registered nurses are available to answer questions regarding patients and their families as well.
Nurse managers come next on the hierarchical totem pole. To achieve the role of nurse manager, one must usually complete a higher level of nursing school than just an RN (Registered Nurse) program. A MSN (masters in science of nursing) degree is most often needed to be eligible to be a nurse manager (The Healthcare Performance Institute, May, 2006). The nurse manager role is one of prestige, power, and responsibility. It is the nurse managers’ job to oversee all the other nurses working on the floor. A nurse manager must be a punctual, reliable person capable of overseeing a large group of people. It is said to be one of the most high stress jobs in the workforce today. “Due to the long hours of work and strenuous demand of the institution, one should be aware of the consequences of possible burn out, excessive stress and fatigue that may be suffered. A nurse manager should therefore have excellent skills in coping with such situations so that the role he or she is dutifully fulfilling is not only challenging, but also rewarding.” (The Healthcare Performance Institute, May 2006). As restated here by the Health Care Performance Institute, the nurse manager has a lot on his or her plate. As well as all the coping and organizational skills required to be in charge of a nursing staff, it is required that they make sure their staff is up to date on all the latest technological advances.