As a patient, you have many questions about the procedure or treatment that you are about to undergo. You may be wondering how your body will react to the procedures that are going to be performed on you and whether there are any risks involved.

One of the most important things that will help you feel comfortable and safe is knowing that there are professionals around who can address all your concerns. Nurses help you feel better by providing comfort and support during your hospital stay. They assess your condition, administer medication, and provide education about how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Nurses’ Role in Safety During Hospital Stay

In the United States, nearly 203,200 employment opportunities for registered nurses are estimated each year, on average, between 2020 and 2030, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This means a growing number of healthcare entities will look for nurses that help them provide superior patient care during hospital stays.

Provide Personalized Care and Attention

The nurses who work at the hospital are there to help you achieve better health and comfort. They will provide personalized care, which means that they will focus on your individual needs. The nurses will also treat you with respect, even if you are in pain or feeling stressed out.

In fact, 63.5% of patients reported nursing care provided during hospitalization as excellent or very good, as revealed by a study published on the website of the National Library of Medicine. This means that most people feel like the nurses are doing a great job.

Nurses are trained to handle all sorts of situations, so they know how to help when something unexpected happens. For example, if you have an IV line in place, nurses can make sure it doesn’t come out by putting tape on it or taping around it with gauze tape. This helps keep your blood pressure lower than it would be otherwise since you won’t have to worry about losing fluid through an open IV line.

In addition, nurses can help you manage your medical conditions, monitor your progress, and provide emotional support. They are also experts at helping you make important decisions about your care and treatment.

Offer Feedback to Help You Achieve Better Health Outcomes

Nurses remain at the forefront when it comes to patient care. They’re the ones who see you every day and provide the best help you achieve better health outcomes.

That’s why nurses offer feedback to you and your families so that you can achieve better health outcomes and reduce the number of unnecessary hospitalizations. But according to a recent study by OnePoll and connectRN, 90% of nurses feel nursing shortages adversely affect the quality of patient care.

The growing nursing shortages open up huge opportunities not just for aspiring nurses but also for established nurses who have just plunged into the profession. If you belong to the latter group, consider getting higher education to make yourself vital in this profession.

Registered nurses can consider enrolling in MSN-FNP programs online. Such online programs open up myriad career possibilities while allowing them to earn in their current job. They also learn about new methods for treating patients as well as gain invaluable knowledge about diseases that can be applied directly within hospital settings.

Finally, when nurses see that you’re not following instructions or taking your medication properly, they can offer suggestions on how to improve. This might be something like reminding you of what the doctor said about the importance of drinking fluids or having enough sleep at night. Or maybe it’s letting you know that what you’re eating isn’t helping your recovery process at all and giving advice on how to find healthier alternatives.

Help You Make a Smoother Transition From Hospital to Home

The nurses are the first line of defense in your recovery. They are trained to help you make a smoother transition from hospital to home, which is the most important step in achieving optimum health.

As per the study published in JAMA Network, the median readmission rate among hospitals was 17%. However, nurses can tackle this problem by helping you avoid readmitting in the hospital by teaching you how to manage your care at home. The nurses will teach you how to use devices like an ostomy bag or wound vac, as well as how to take medication correctly.

Moreover, they are there for you when it comes to making sure that you can manage the condition or illness that brought you to the hospital. They will talk with family members and loved ones about how they can support their loved one’s recovery at home and what signs they should look out for if they think something is wrong.

Collaborate With Other Healthcare Providers to Optimize Your Care

Nurses have a unique understanding of the medical profession, which means they are able to collaborate with other healthcare providers to optimize your care in a way that no one else can. This is why nearly 81% of Americans believe nurses to be the most honest and ethical professionals in the country for the 20th straight year, according to a new Gallup survey.

Nurses work closely with physicians and other specialists to provide you with the best possible care. They also communicate with family members, friends, and other loved ones to provide updates on your condition. In many cases, they are responsible for teaching patients how to perform self-care tasks after they have left the hospital.

Nurses also help patients meet their healthcare goals by coordinating their discharge plan and helping them prepare for it. If a patient is being discharged against medical advice (DAMA), it is usually because they have refused treatment or do not feel well enough to continue treatment at this time.

In these situations, nurses will work with their physician supervisor before discharging DAMA patients from the hospital. By doing so, nurses ensure that all parties involved understand why this type of discharge is occurring and what can happen next for both the patient and hospital staff involved in this process.

Summing Up

Nurses are an integral part of ensuring your safety during your stay in the hospital. They can help you achieve optimum health by providing you with the tools and knowledge necessary to take care of yourself, as well as look after your loved ones.

While it’s important to be aware of your own responsibilities as a patient, you should also know that nurses are there to help you during your hospital stay.