Journal entry topic to reflect the nurse's role as an educator, counselor, advocate and change agent in the community you are interacting with.

Apply each of the roles mentioned above at your clinical setting. Write an example of each, and how you were able to convey each role.

 

Nursing journal: Reflection

In healthcare settings, nurses act as educators, counselors, advocates, and clinical agents. As an educator, it is the responsibility of a nurse to educate the patients on various interventions they require to live a healthy life. In my clinical setup, nurses have scheduled programs for patients suffering from lifestyle illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, and blood pressure. It is the responsibility of the nurses to advise the patients on the best diets to take depending on the illness they are suffering from. For example, they educate diabetic patients on the need for high fiber intake and regular exercise for hypertensive and obese patients. The nurses also offer education on the need for following medication guidelines and also on proper dosing. It is the responsibility of the nurses to educate the patients about the adverse effects of these medications and the contraindications. As an educator, I have severally interacted with diabetic patients. I have educated most of my patients about the medications, the dosing regimens, and dieting programs.

Considering some cases of lifestyle illnesses and terminal illnesses, the nurses play the role of counselors. They offer a guide to the patients regarding the best interventions and precautions to live longer and happier. For instance, in my clinical site, nurses have scheduled counseling sessions for mentally ill patients. The main areas they emphasize are the best practices for preventing mental health illnesses. Some of the areas covered help patients determine stressful factors in their lives that could be the possible cause of mental illnesses. Also, nurses offer to counsel patients with chronic illnesses such as cancer and HIV/AIDS. The counseling sessions help the patients regain confidence in associating with other members of society despite their conditions. I have been in the comprehensive care center department at my clinical site. My major role entailed counseling patients on the need for vitamin intakes and practicing safe sexual interactions to help the patients live longer and happier.

Also, Nurses act as advocates in areas that require lawful interventions. In healthcare practice, some areas are governed by law, and it is the nurse's responsibility to enforce that law to their best knowledge. In my clinical setup, nurses are responsible for ensuring that patients have the right to make health decisions independently. Sometimes, making an informed decision as a patient is cumbersome. As an advocate, the nurse provides detailed information about the intervention given by the physician and the choices that the patient has towards it. In case the patient doesn't understand any of the concepts, it is the nurse's role to make the best choice for the patient. I have been an advocate on many occasions in my clinical setting and especially in cases that required surgical treatments. My main role has been interpreting the message for the passage and making them understand the need for the procedure. However, I have always left the final decision to the patient unless it is an emergency and the physician considered it better without notifying the patient.

Nurses act as clinical agents in critical and complex medical conditions. A clinical agent's responsibility is to observe changes in the patients, interpret clinical data, diagnose and analyze complex health issues. In my clinical setting, clinical nurses are specialists in critical care, especially for terminally ill patients and injured patients. They are responsible for monitoring patients' progress and report directly to physicians. For example, in fourth-degree burns, the patients are assigned clinical nurses to act as agents for care. The nurse is responsible for managing the patient while also reporting any health progress or deterioration to the physician. In my case, I have acted as a clinical agent for a stage four cancer patient. I used to monitor the patient's progress, record his progress, and interpret any data requested.

Reflection outline

Paragraph one

The section explains the role of a nurse an educator and also gives an example of how I was able to convey the role

Paragraph two

The section describes the role of a nurse as a counselor in a clinical set up. The section also highlights an example of how I was able to convey the role in my set up

Paragraph three

The section describes the role of a nurse as advocates in a clinical set up and how I conveyed the role in the set up

Paragraph four

The section describes the role of a nurse as clinical agents in a clinical set up. The section also highlights an example of how I was able to convey the role in my set up