The primary role of a nurse is to care for patients, managing their physical needs, treating health conditions, and helping to prevent illnesses. This is all done as part of a team with other healthcare professionals, whether it be other nurses, those with specific clinical roles, doctors, managers, social workers, or counselors – the list of people who work to look after individuals within a health setting is wide and extremely varied. None of them works effectively unless they are part of an interprofessional healthcare team.
Nurses are front-line patient care providers and the first clinicians to understand how patients respond to treatment. As part of a multidisciplinary team, they will be required to coordinate care and give vital information to doctors, specialists, and other providers to ensure the patients are treated correctly. Therefore, nurses must develop teamwork skills as they are both team leaders and team members in their care of their patients.
The role of a nurse
Nurses work within many settings and can be expected to take on a wide range of tasks. Patient care is at the core and could involve observation and monitoring or recording information to assist in decision-making and treatment. Nurses may be expected to administer medications, conduct examinations, care for injuries, record medical histories, and monitor heart rate and blood pressure, among other duties. They will also be required to make sure patients are comfortable, document their activities, and change bandages. The jobs of a particular nurse depend on their location and specialization, but all nurses are expected to perform a variety of patient-related duties.
Wherever nurses work, they will follow their patients’ progress and act with the patient’s best interest in mind. They are often responsible for the holistic care of those they are looking after, which goes beyond the physical needs, expanding to psychosocial, spiritual, and cultural requirements.
Nurses also often provide emotional support for patients and their families, which could involve helping them understand and process their feelings about illness, educating them about healthy lifestyle options, and advocating for their general health and wellbeing.
They will also be involved in the decision-making process of treatments, critically assessing those in their care, identifying potential problems, and then making appropriate recommendations.
In every aspect of their job, they will promote healthy practices, provide education, provide referrals for services and classes, and share their experience to assist their patients.
Working within a team
Nurses can work in various settings, such as hospital wards, clinics, patient’s homes, and outpatient units. They will be an essential part of a team with other professionals, which could include radiographers, occupational therapists, and healthcare assistants.
According to a paper published in the National Library of Medicine, effective teamwork is now globally recognized as an essential tool to help build an effective, patient-centered healthcare delivery system. The need for teams that work well together is increasing because of the growing number of co-morbidities and the complexity of continuing care specialization. The evolution in healthcare demands parallel healthcare professional development with a focus on patient-centered teamwork approaches.
All team members will play a different but vital role in the patient care experience. For example, a nurse could provide hospital treatment in conjunction with a doctor, a pharmacist who provides the correct medicine, a dietician who orders the best food choices for that person, and a social worker who may help to arrange appropriate rehabilitation.
Teamwork requires excellent communication skills and a high level of collaborative care coordination, encouraging co-workers to ask questions, share ideas, and discuss possible solutions, outcomes, and next steps. The strengths and skills of each member of a team should be utilized to achieve the best patient care experience.
To work effectively, all interdisciplinary team members should ensure they are knowledgeable about each other’s roles, responsibilities, and levels of accountability both at the unit level and organizational level. This provides the framework required to make the most of each individual’s skills as well as promote a cohesive, teamwork-focused approach to care.
Getting the right qualifications
Finding the best place to study and earn qualifications is vital to everyone in healthcare, whether at the start of their careers or moving toward more specific goals.
Understanding the importance of being part of a team is also key to professional development. The accelerated BSN program online at Baylor University introduces the role of the professional nurse as a member of an interprofessional healthcare team by looking at concepts including the nursing process, standards of practice, and nursing philosophy from a historical and current perspective.
The curriculum also includes elements of professional nursing, the human needs framework, clinical competencies, and healthcare issues and policy. The ABSN program is an accelerated BSN online course designed for bachelor’s degree holders. The program can prepare students for a career in nursing in under one year.
In addition to academic and professional qualifications, anyone working within healthcare will be expected to take responsibility for some of their own personal development. This could encompass pursuing specific courses – both clinical and holistic – as well as keeping abreast of developments by reading a variety of publications. Those embarking on a career within healthcare will be assured of ongoing employment as they progress. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of registered nurses is projected to grow by six percent from 2021 to 2031, and it is predicted there will be approximately 203,200 openings for the role every year on average over those ten years.
