Introduction
People have a responsibility of ensuring they live healthy lives, interact positively and do what society expects from them. Responsible people make life easy for others and themselves because they are less likely to have conflicts and when they occur they can solve them easily. Nurses have various responsibilities that ensure the welfare of patients and operations of health care facilities are managed properly (Grace 38). This paper presents the personal responsibilities of nurses and how they shape their daily activities.
Definition
Responsibility is a duty that an individual must perform to ensure there is accountability and transparency in various activities. The personal responsibilities of a nurse involve issues that are concerned with the provision of quality health care services, positive interaction with colleagues and patients, and promotion of disease prevention interventions(Grace 44). This means that the responsibilities of nurses extend beyond the ordinary routines that are known by many people. Nurses must have personal responsibilities to ensure they perform their work according to the rules and expectations of their careers.
Meaning of Responsible Human Being
People have various roles to play to ensure they perform their duties according to their professions, gender, age, and location. A responsible human being knows what is supposed to be done and does it properly. Responsible human beings do not wait to be told what they are supposed to do; instead, they plan their routines and ensure they spend their time wisely. In addition, they do not need supervision before they do their work and this means that they have self-discipline (Grace 71). Therefore, responsible people know what is supposed to be done and do not wait for others to perform their roles before they do theirs.
Personal Responsibility
Nurses play three significant roles that ensure the health and safety of patients and their families are guaranteed. First, they have a duty of ensuring they manage diseases and all health conditions that affect the lives of people. They must use professional interventions to ensure they offer proper diagnosis, medication, and advice to patients. This role cannot be substituted with ignorance, laziness, and negligence because this will risk the lives of patients. Responsible nurses must be qualified and to manage the welfare of patients to ensure they offer quality health care services.
Secondly, it is necessary to explain that nurses do not feel happy when they see many patients visiting health care facilities for treatment. They must develop interventions that will educate the public on the ways and need to be healthy. Nurses must ensure they educate the public on how to maintain proper health practices that will promote good health in society. This includes education on food poisoning, first aid, disease outbreaks, and how to detect early symptoms of diseases. Nurses have a responsibility of creating awareness about disease management and ensuring the public is educated on the ways of maintaining good health.
Lastly, my responsibilities extend beyond class and family limits. I am supposed to offer care to patients suffering from a terminal illness at the comfort of their homes. Home visits and routine checkups on patients’ progress are a responsibility that nurses cannot ignore. In addition, they are supposed to make frequent follow-ups on all patients’ progress to ensure they are taking proper doses and diets according to the prescriptions given to them. This enables nurses to monitor the progress of patients and identify any weakness that may affect their quick recovery.
I take seriously all issues that are stipulated in nurses’ codes of conduct and constitutional policies that guide this profession. For instance, it is my responsibility to ensure that I do not develop unprofessional relationships with patients and protect their records from unauthorized access. I do not feel responsible for actions that other people do and risk their lives. This means that I am committed to ensuring that my advice is as precise and adequate as possible without forcing others to do what they do not like.
Extension of Nurses’ Responsibilities
The roles of nurses are diverse because of the need to ensure diseases are prevented or managed properly. It is necessary to explain that most people think that nurses are supposed to work within the walls of health care facilities but this perception is wrong. The need to ensure that the public is healthy pushes nurses to take other responsibilities like community awareness campaigns and initiatives to ensure they educate and demonstrate to the public the importance of keeping the environment clean (Grace 80). For instance, nurses can participate in campaigns aimed at educating the public on the need to store food properly to avoid poisoning.
This campaign may be organized by ministries like agriculture and social development but this does not mean that nurses are locked out of participating in it. The responsibility of nurses is diverse and covers all issues that affect the health of a population. In addition, nurses advise patients and their families on how to manage diseases to ensure there is quick recovery and reduce the possibilities of new infections.
Conclusion
People have various responsibilities that ensure their lives are complete. Responsibility should not necessarily benefit the doer, but other people to ensure everybody gets what they want. The personal responsibilities of nurses extend beyond the services they offer in health care facilities and this means that they must work hard to ensure they do their best to keep the public healthy.
Works Cited
Grace, Pamela. Nursing Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Advanced Practice. Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2013. Print.