On International Nurses Day 2023, Sr Mohini Chandrashekhar, Chief Nursing Officer, Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi highlights that as nursing professionals advance in their work experience, they tend to pursue roles that are beyond bedside care. A nurse needs to take important steps to take up roles beyond bedside care such as acquiring knowledge and upskilling which are key steps in taking up leadership responsibilities
Nursing is an art and the heart of the healthcare system. To achieve excellence, we require the dynamic role of nurses not just at the bedside, but beyond that. The nursing workforce is extremely versatile and has evolved to many more roles other than traditional patient care, like quality & infection control, research, education, forensics, informatics etc. Bedside care continues to remain the primary and traditional function of nurses, but with changing times, nurses have also adapted to filling many more roles.
Bedside nursing involves direct patient care, compassion, support and understanding the patients during their most vulnerable time. This includes assessment, planning, monitoring, implementation of treatment, nursing care and evaluation of outcomes. Patient welfare beyond the bedside is not a new concept and has been the cornerstone of Florence Nightingale’s principles. To provide fully holistic care to a patient, a nurse must not only attend to the patient, but also consider other factors which transcend traditional nursing care.
As nursing professionals advance in their work experience, they tend to pursue roles that are beyond bedside care. A nurse needs to take important steps to take up roles beyond bedside care such as acquiring knowledge and upskilling which are key steps in taking up leadership responsibilities. Nurses who handle administration are responsible for managing operations. This includes managing patient cases, coordinating training programs, hiring new talent, and ensuring employees comply with company policies & government regulations. Clinical research specialists undertake research for various medical facilities and organisations in an attempt to improve patient care and outcomes. Educators are responsible for educating the staff of the medical facilities of the hospital or clinics. These nurses build techniques and programs for administrators’ education by evaluating health providers. Legal consultants work for insurance companies to maintain records related to medical cases, avoid potential legal risks, and uphold compliance standards. Informatics specialists manage data, optimise digital record-keeping for healthcare facilities and implement new technology systems. Nurses play many such roles in the healthcare setup.
Nurses observe and understand the patient much more than anyone else in the hospital. The nurse will incorporate the maximum extent of patient centricity in each role beyond bedside care. Each service of the hospital the patient receives is through the nurse. Hence, the nurse will prioritise the patient and address their specific needs in each role. Quality improvement projects, and audits are carried out by nurses, while considering patient safety and care requirements.
In conclusion, the role of the nurse is much more involved than it seems to be. The balance between care at the bedside and beyond the bedside determines patient satisfaction and the overall functioning of the hospital. To quote the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale herself, “… And what nursing has to do in either case, is to put the patient in the best condition for Nature to act upon him.”