Professional Paper

Professional Paper

Shawna Paul

Chamberlain College of Nursing

NR351- Transitions in Professional Nursing

August 2015

Patient-centered care promotes involvement of patients as well as families in the individualized treatment plan of care. It also improves the deliverance of quality care to each patient. “In patient-centered care, nurses provide the knowledge, resources, and support that each client needs to be involved in informed decision-making processes, assume important aspects of total self-care (if capable), and change behaviors to promote health and a better quality of life.” (Hood, 2014, p. 408). This competency is crucial to the practice of nursing because of it promotes the active involvement of the patient and family in the plan of care making it more individualized and effective. In this competency the needs of the patient come first.

Patient Is the Main Focus and Center of Care Delivered

More often than not patients feel as though they are just a room and bed number to hospital staff. They feel as though they are treated as any other person with their same condition and feel like they don’t have a say in their plan of care. There are also many times where families at the bedside are not included or even acknowledged. In patient-centered care, autonomy of the patient is strongly encouraged. “… The nurse teaches the patient and family, thus providing knowledge that will promote active participation in the treatment decision (encouraging autonomy).” (Lusk & Fater, 2013, p. 95) Though we are the professionals, no one knows the patient more than themselves or the family they interact with often. Incorporation of the family and the patient in the plan of care can drastically increase the effectiveness of it and make the patient feel as though it is customized just for them.

Develops Staff Collaborating and Improves Professional Competence

        We as nurses are patient advocates and as patient advocates we must ensure that the plan of care for each of our patients is holistic, effective, and individualized. Patient-centered care ensures that we are doing every single one of those tasks while also improving our interpersonal skills. We become better at active listening in order become better at communicating vital information to our collaborating staff in regards to our patients and their care. Patient-centered care also pushes for better staffing of nurses. The quality of care delivered to patients significantly rises when patient-centered care is used but if nurses are spread too thin amongst a slew of patients on any given shift, that quality of care is compromised. So proper staffing will ensure that quality of care is never compromised.