Healthcare workers hold a huge significance in our lives. They fulfill their responsibilities in different positions to provide us with quality healthcare. From doctors to nurses to specialists, they perform duties in different roles but with a similar goal: to ensure stability for patients. The pandemic of COVID-19 is the biggest example of the heroics of the healthcare workers. They worked day and night to serve people who were in critical condition.
The unsung heroes of the healthcare industry deserve special appreciation because, during the pandemic, nobody was willing to take a risk to go outside. But these professionals put their lives at risk and fulfilled their duties efficiently. Although healthcare professionals get paid to perform their duties, it is essential to acknowledge their service that has positively contributed to society. Many healthcare professionals work extra shifts according to in case of emergency situations just to ensure the safety and stability of patients. Let’s find out how healthcare workers are vital to society without further ado.
- Spending Time with Patients
Nurses are known to be closer with patients than any other healthcare staff. They mainly coordinate with patients and understand their issues by interacting with them. Competent and qualified nurses know how to treat patients.
Therefore, it is important that healthcare administrators and relevant policymakers acknowledge nurses’ services in the healthcare landscape. It is important to create such policies that can encourage nurses to deliver better patient care. By doing this, nurses will be motivated and strive to serve patients more efficiently.
On the other hand, the role of doctors is also crucial for the stability of patients as they come for routine checks ups to analyze the condition of patients. But nurses spend the most time with patients. They better understand patients’ conditions and provide doctors with useful insights by uncovering valuable health information.
According to a study, intensive care patients spend around 86% of their time with nurses. It shows the significance of nurses in patient care handling. When nurses do overnight duties in hospitals, they even got more time to spend with patients.
- Nurses as Patient Advocates
When nurses spend more time with patients, they get to know their needs and behaviors better. It allows nurses to observe their health habits efficiently, which makes them their health advocates. The advocacy role of nursing holds particular importance in healthcare settings.
In this role, nurses have to get in touch with the family members of patients to find out the patient’s details related to past medical history. It helps nurses to find out whether the patient is taking the proper medication or not. When nurses work as patient advocates, they also have to keep an eye on patients’ overall treatment to ensure that everything is moving forward in the right direction. It shows the significance of nurses while patients are in the recovery process in hospitals and medical centers.
- Monitoring Patient’s Condition
When it is about monitoring a patient’s condition, nurses fulfill this duty efficiently. It is not easy to keep an eye on every patient’s condition in today’s fast-paced healthcare environment. It was a daunting task to keep an eye on every patient during the pandemic. But nurses successfully fulfilled their responsibility to take care of patients’ needs during this deadly pandemic.
Doctors cannot observe patients 24/7. Nurses work in long and tiring shifts to ensure that condition of every patient is stable. They inform doctors instantly if they have doubts about the state of any patient. It puts a significant responsibility on the shoulder of patients because they have to act immediately according to the patient’s condition.
- Helping Patients in Recovery
All patients are admitted to the hospitals in the hope of recovery. And it heavily depends on the efforts of clinical staff, nurses, doctors, surgeons, and all medical staff in the healthcare facilities. All healthcare staff works day and night to play their part in the recovery of patients. Whether it is a lab technician or ward boy, the job of every single person is somehow associated with the patient.
Doctors and nurses being the primary service providers, hold a major responsibility for the recovery of the patient. They analyze, diagnose, and make recommendations according to the condition of the patient. Nurses are responsible for keeping track of the daily schedule of patients, which includes their meals, medicine, and sleep timings.
- Spreading Awareness
One of the ways that healthcare workers serve society is by creating awareness among people. COVID-19 pandemic is the best example where nurses, doctors, and all healthcare professionals made collective efforts to educate people. They guided people on how they have to maintain social distancing and follow hygiene practices to ensure the safety of people.
Similarly, healthcare professionals also play a key role in making people aware of how they can maintain healthy lifestyles. Many people face health issues due to substance abuse and drinking habits, so doctors and nurses warn people to avoid such habits before it’s too late.
- Nurses have Greater Autonomy
Currently, nurses have greater autonomy in the healthcare industry. The pandemic of COVID-19 has indeed played a pivotal role in making everyone realize the significance of nurses. It has made everyone understand that nurses have greater autonomy because they are first responders to the patients in an emergency or any situation. They often first recognize the problem and take the standard protocol accordingly to stabilize the patient’s condition.
There are certain situations where nurses have to make decisions on their own. For example, if the patient’s magnesium level has dropped down, nurses can do the needful without seeking permission from the doctor. This autonomy requires nurses to have a broader understanding of their scope of practice. They need to build reliable and strong relationships with physicians and other staff members to work efficiently in healthcare settings.
The significance of healthcare workers holds special importance in society. We cannot thank these heroes enough, as they play a key role in ensuring quality patient care. From spreading awareness to playing a role in patient recovery, healthcare workers help to add real value to society in different roles. Whether it is nurses, doctors, or any other healthcare staff, all these professionals deserve appreciation and respect from the people and government as well.
