Patient-Centered Care in Professional Nursing

Introduction

In the beginning of the 21st century there emerged a need for a dramatic improvement in the approach to service provision in the sphere of medicine. The invention of patient-centered care philosophy seems to have marked a new era in nursing. It allowed for a whole range of techniques and strategies that are aimed to improve quality of care. Discharge planning rounds became one of the areas for professional growth and invention that will potentially greatly improve patient outcomes and their satisfaction with provided services. According to Wrobleski, Joswiak, Dunn, Maxson, and Holland (2014), there are serious quality considerations for implementing new approaches in bedside discharge. Thus, there is a necessity for a closer look at discharge planning rounds in the context of the patient-cetered care model.

Patient-Centered Care in Professional Nursing

The reassessment of value and role of patient experiences seems to bring positive changes to applied medical care. As a result of such shift in values, patients from recipients of medical services became active participants of shaping them. The transition was made possible due to the emergence of the new theoretical and practical framework such as patient-centered care. This paradigm encorporates several key values that contribute to the understanding, acknowledgement, and implementation of this approach into practice. One of the fundamental values is the respect for patient’s needs and wishes. This includes caring not only for the health of a person requiring medical attention but also being concerned and responsive to cultural, religious or other needs. Another valuable concept in patient-centered care is the enrichment of a patient’s knowledge on treatment. It has been acknowledged by many researchers that being aware of all the procedures, medications, outcomes, and implications of their condition could substantially increase the level satisfaction and influence the mental health and wellbeing of patients (Friberg, Granum, & Bergh, 2012). Another important value in patient-centered care is the involvement of family in the process of care. The quality of emotional support and physical help that they can provide for the patient is highly reliant on the ability of a nurse to educate them.

Discharge Planning Rounds Using Patient-Centered Care

The above-stated principles, according to Wrobleski et al. (2014), could substantially decrease readmission rates among patients provided an adeqate discharge planning stage is in order. One of the possible ways to facilitate the process of patients’ release from a hospital is to prepare them beforehand, getting all the necessary documents in order and communicating vital information. Most importantly, a nurse has to actively participate in guiding a patient on the measures and procedures they have to follow to successfully pass the recovery stage and avoid readmission (Wrobleski et al., 2014). Participation of family and relatives could also be of assistance in case certain procedures cannot be performed singlehandedly by a patient. The possible downside of this approach is little amount of control over the behavior of a patient and his or her relatives outside medical facilities. The information they were given may be neglected, which can lead to readmission despite the efforts of medical staff.

Conclusion

Patient-centered care is a well-developed paradigm that seems to open up huge possibilities for advancing medical practice. Some of the main values of patient-centered philosophy are respect for patient’s will, focus on education, and involvelment of patient’s family into facilitating his or her rehabilitation. The implementation of these values in the process of discharge planning seems to be beneficial for health outcomes in various settings and decrease the rates of readmission.

References

Friberg, F., Granum, V., & Bergh, A. L. (2012). Nurses’ patient‐education work: Conditional factors–An integrative review. Journal of Nursing Management, 20(2), 170-186.

Wrobleski, D. M. S., Joswiak, M. E., Dunn, D. F., Maxson, P. M., & Holland, D. E. (2014). Discharge planning rounds to the bedside: A patient-and family-centered approach. Medsurg Nursing, 23(2), 111-116.