Exploring the Professional Role of a Registered Nurse Today

This essay examines the multifaceted professional roles of registered nurses in today's healthcare system, emphasizing patient safety, leadership, quality standards, advocacy, specialized care, communication, research, and holistic care. Nurses ensure patient safety, administer medication, and coordinate with other healthcare providers. They also assume leadership roles, promote quality standards, and advocate for patients' needs, considering their socioeconomic status. Furthermore, nurses provide specialized care in various departments, communicate treatment options, and offer emotional support to patients and their families. Research and continuous learning are integral to their role, and they provide holistic care, respecting patients' religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds. The essay concludes that nurses play diverse and crucial roles in the healthcare sector, all centered around the patient's best interests.

Running head: The professional role of a registered nurse 1
The Professional Role of a Registered Nurse in Today’s Healthcare System.
Student’s name
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The professional role of a registered nurse 2
The role of nurses in the healthcare system has had several changes over the years.
However, caring for patients has remained one of the integral roles of a registered nurse in any
healthcare system. The role of nurses initially had a technical outlook but the outlook has
continually shifted to being more inclusive of artistic skills which include critical thinking,
decisional making and psychosocial support to patients. This paper focuses on the professional
roles of nurses in a healthcare system.
One of the major roles of nurses is ensuring patient safety. This is made possible by the
fact that nurses spend most of the time around the patient. Nurses are also the primary care givers
to patients. Nurses therefore see to it that patients are safe from external threats, falls and
fractures that may arise from the various conditions they are having and the nature of their
wards. Nurses also see to it that patients get the necessary medication and in time and all other
needs that they require to give them a comfortable time in the ward. Nurses also ought to be
paranoid to identify any side effects of drugs and recommend other drugs to solve the issues.in
addition, nurses are also required to co-ordinate with other care providers in providing care to the
patient.
Wilkinson, et al (2016) explains that nurses also assume leadership roles in the healthcare
system. In order to fortify the role of leadership in a healthcare system, nursing curriculum has
been revised to include lessons on leadership in a healthcare system. Nursing requirements and
education qualifications are also slowly adapting in order to strengthen the role of nurses in a
healthcare system. With increased technology, nursing leadership roles have also included giving
instruction on the use, care and maintenance of various appliances. Nurses instruct patients on
how they can use technology to monitor various processes in the body such as diet, blood
glucose levels and blood pressure among others.

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Promoting quality standards in the hospital is also a role of the registered nurse. While
other health officers focus on leadership roles. Nurses work on the ground to ensure that these
leadership roles are implemented for the good of the patients. The nurse also ensure quality
standards in all aspects of healthcare such as the quality of services the patients receive, the
hygiene and sanitation levels in the wards and the toilets. The quality of interaction between the
patients and health workers is also regulated by the nurses since they are concerned with most of
the technical roles and psycho social support that is given to the patients (Phillips, et al 2016).
Nurses also undertake the role of advocacy in the health sector. The fact that nurses
interact with patients more than other health workers, they are able to understand what patients’
needs are and what they go through. Nurses report cases of abuse and mistreatment of the
patients, they are also able to assess and repot any risks of conditions that may threaten the life of
patients. Nurses take into account the social economic status of the patients and therefore
advocate on the possible alterations in the overall cost of medication the patient receives. It is
therefore necessary to include nurses in the formulation of policies that regard patients and in
order to highlight places where the policies may be inappropriate.
Wilkinson, et al (2016) argues that nurses provide quite a wide range of specialized care
services in the hospital. The roles are distributed in the various areas such as the emergency
department, in the surgery rooms, in the wards, the renal unit, in the maternity and palliative care
departments among other departments. In all these departments, the nature of special care
services keep changing depending on the roles. For instance, in the surgery rooms and the
maternity, nurses provide anesthesia to patients who are undergoing operation. In certain cases
nurses also diagnose and treat various diseases and also identify the co-morbidities of disease to
reduce risk factors and further infection to the patients.

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Communication in the health care system is also done by the nurses. In communication,
nurses inform patients on the care and treatment options for the patients to make a choice on the
treatment option they need. For the sake of children, nurses also consult the parents to provide
the necessary information regarding care and treatment. Nurses also collect patient’s medical
history and take record of any advanced care practices and previous medication. The role of
communication in nursing also extends to offering social and emotional support to patients and
the family.
Nurses act as the intermediary between the patients, their families and the significant
others such as community health workers. Communication is therefore necessary and a very
important part of the treatment process as they try to identify the root cause of illnesses and the
co morbidities. Nurses also document patient information and the discussions they make with
patients to make them available to other health workers. Lastly, a nurse should also be able to
communicate the existing legal and ethical frameworks that relate to the patient’s condition.
Research at the hospital is also conducted by the nurses. The purpose of the research is to
either clarify on a certain issue, solve a problem or to provide several alternatives to be taken in
case of a dilemma. The nurses also attend various seminars and workshops to get trained and
update other hospital staff on the information they gather. In addition, nurses perform laboratory
work and experiments and assist doctors in surgery and treatment of diseases (Registered nurse
responsibilities, duties and job prospects.)
Finally, according to Phillips, et al (2016) nurses provide holistic care to patients. The
holistic care is centered on the patient’s religious beliefs, culture and any information that
patients are sensitive about. The nurse is expected to observe these key areas in order to meet the
expectations of the patient without compromising the clinical interventions and the work

The professional role of a registered nurse 5
policies. By doing this, the nurses are able to appreciate the diversity of the patient. Appreciating
diverse needs of the patients boosts their esteem and makes them to have a positive attitude
towards treatment. This may make the patients to heal faster especially those with mental and
psychological disorders.
In conclusion, it is clear that the nurse plays various important roles in the health care
sector. These roles revolve around the patient and are provided in the best interests of the patient.
The roles range from patient safety, esteem needs, smooth flow of communication, patient
advocacy, leadership and promoting quality of services in the hospitals.

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REFERENCES
Phillips, J. M., Stalter, A. M., Dolansky, M. A., & Lopez, G. M. (2016). Fostering future
leadership in quality and safety in health care through systems thinking. Journal of
Professional Nursing, 32(1), 15-24. http://www.professionalnursing.org/article/S8755-
7223(15)00076-9/abstract
Registered nurse responsibilities, duties and job prospects. Retrieved from
https://www.topregisterednurse.com/registered-nurse-job-description-and-duties/
Wilkinson, J. M., Treas, L. S., Barnett, K. L., & Smith, M. H. (2016). Fundamentals of nursing:
Vol. 1. Theory. concepts, and applications. (3rd ed.) Philadelphia, PA: F.A Davis.