Nurses: Types and Responsibilities

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Table of Contents

Labor & Delivery
Community Nurse
Prison Nursing
Military/Veteran Nursing
Long Term Care Nursing
NUR 307 Clinical Experiences
References

Labor & Delivery

Nurses play a critical role of providing continuity of care as well as establishing strong ties with patients in an effort to create a safe and conducive environment. More specifically, Labor and Delivery nurses play an important role in perinatal bereavement. According to Fernández‐Basanta et al. (2022), these nurses “understand the specific needs of the bereaved mother and can help create a supportive environment providing comfort and building a caring and trusting relationship” (p. 15). The same is evidenced in the “Birth Scene” of The American Nurse, where Nurse Naomi is seen working as part of a team of highly trained healthcare professionals (Lorber, 2022). She maintains that as the Labor and delivery nurse on the team, she often spends most of her time with patients during the entire process. As a consequence, Naomi is in a better position when it comes to helping mothers navigate through the bereavement process. For example, she acts as friend to grieving mothers by being there for them – she understands their pain after having experienced loss before.

In line with the above, nurses also have a vital role to play in the epidural procedure. This type of procedure is often administered to relieve pain during the labour and birth process. As explicated in Bjornestad and Haney’s (2019) research, nurses must ensure patients achieve optimal pain control. Similarly, they help identify and, at the same time, manage adverse reactions and complications such as haematoma.

Epidural procedure is critical especially in women undergoing caesarean delivery. Here, nurses’ roles in the operating room revolve around circulator, scrub and baby. Firstly, circulating nurse helps a lot with retrieving additional equipment that may be required in the operation. Secondly, scrub nurse’s role in this case is to support the surgeon while, at the same time maintain patient safety (Bjornestad & Haney (2019). Lastly, nurses who work in the operating room are responsible for providing immediate care to newborns. In the film, for instance, the baby’s well-being was critical (Lorber, 2022). The care providers did not place the baby skin-to-skin with his mother immediately after birth because the month had ovarian cancer.

Community Nurse

Primary nurses play an important role in the community health care. According to Heumann et al. (2022), these nurses “focus on vulnerable populations, including low-income families, people living in rural areas, immigrants, and individuals with disabilities” (p. 28). There specific responsibilities include promoting healthy living and providing appropriate medical treatment and disease prevention. After watching the film, it emerged clearly that the community is important to every nurses. This is demonstrated well through Jack Short’s scene – he easily connects with patients by virtue of being a member of their community. As evidenced in the film, Jack’s role as a primary nurse, involves working with patients and family members where he educates and trains them in the basic care giving procedures (Lorber, 2022). However, the main challenges of this type of nursing relate to the need to provide care that is culturally appropriate and that the process of implementing evidence-based care is not easy. For instance, in the Jackson’s first scene, he is seen stepping outside with the patient wife to discuss his prognosis. In this culture, the care provider is required to speak privately with a family member.

Prison Nursing

Prison nurses are involved directly in delivering high quality and safe care to prison population. In the film, Tonia Faust is responsible for providing care to inmates in one of the largest maximum security prisons in the U.S (Lorber, 2022). Through Tonia’s discussions, one is able to see some of the challenges this population encounter despite previously having committed serious crimes. Tonia notes that inmates deserve to be treated well because they are in prison doing their time (Lorber, 2022). Nurse’s role is not to judge them but to provide high quality and safe care. I must admit that working in this setting will definitely affect my perspective on the world and on the nursing profession. For instance, through Tonia’s experience with inmates, I believe that everyone deserves a second chance and as such should receive care as everyone else. In essence, nursing as a profession must focus more on upholding the integrity of caring nursing practice as well as maintaining the safety of both patients and care providers.

Military/Veteran Nursing

Community nursing is important to veterans, especially those who live in the rural areas – they encounter challenges when it comes to accessing healthcare services. Therefore, some of the benefits that community nursing offers this population relate to keeping them well and managing acute illness and long-term mental health conditions such as depression (Jutkowitz et al., 2019). Similarly, nurses may support them to live independently in the community. These benefits are brought out clearly Brian McMillion’s scene where his main role is to ensure veterans do not slip through the cracks. Most of his patients, as explicated in the film, do not get sick in the same way other patients in the ICU – most of them get injured in the line of duty (Lorber, 2022). His role as a care provider is to work with homeless veterans at San Diego’s Stand Down. Here, the focus is to ensure they receive the necessary services.

Long Term Care Nursing

Long term care nursing targets those patients that require extended care. In The American Nurse, all the five nurses are directly involved with caring for the patients at the end of their lives. It is important to note that patients and families depend largely on these nurses to guide them through the entire journey. Therefore, there are several things that I could do to make a difference for a long-term care patient. Firstly, since most of them encounter difficulties when transitioning to long-term care, my focus will be to help personalize their rooms to ensure it feel like home. For example, I will work closely with the patient’s family members in setting the room before the individual moves in. Secondly, I will strive to ensure each patient has an individualized care plan because their respective conditions, needs and goals are different.

NUR 307 Clinical Experiences

The NUR 307 clinical experience has really changed my perspective about nursing as a profession. In fact, it is one of the best experiences I have had since joining the nursing school. I did my clinical rotation for Maternity at Huntington Hospital and my paediatrics at Cohens Hospital on the eating disorder floor. During this period, I interacted largely with kids and families by providing them the care they needed. Similarly, together with my team members, we were able to perform three C- sections. I applied the knowledge learned in classroom to the clinical setting. Therefore, one way in which my perspective has changed is that I now understand how small things make huge impact in patients care. Whether having small conversation with the kids or playing games with them, it made a huge difference in their lives. In addition to this, the film informed me on the need to create a positive environment for my patients.

References

Bjornestad, E. E., & Haney, M. F. (2019). An obstetric anaesthetist—A key to successful conversion of epidural analgesia to surgical anaesthesia for caesarean delivery?Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, 64(2), 142–144. Web.

Fernández‐Basanta, S., Coronado, C., & Movilla‐Fernández, M. J. (2020). Multicultural coping experiences of parents following perinatal loss: A meta‐ethnographic synthesis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 76(1), 9-21. Web.

Heumann, M., Röhnsch, G., & Hämel, K. (2022). Primary healthcare nurses’ involvement in patient and community participation in the context of chronic diseases: An integrative review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78(1), 26-47. Web.

Jutkowitz, E., Halladay, C., McGeary, J., O’Toole, T., & Rudolph, J. L. (2019). Homeless veterans in nursing homes: care for complex medical, substance use, and social needs. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67(8), 1707-1712. Web.

Lorber, K. (2022). The American Nurse | Full Documentary Movie [Video]. YouTube. Web.

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