The Role of a Healthcare Team Member in a Nursing Home

The Role of a Healthcare Team Member in a Nursing Home

During the interview, the peer stated that her role was that of a registered nurse working in a nursing home, and her main task was to care for senior patients’ needs, she explained that she always ensures that her patients maintain acceptable personal hygiene levels, receive proper nutrition, their beds are clean, and that they take all their prescribed medications and treatment sought for any illnesses. Registered nurses in a nursing home are responsible for the supervision of other nursing personnel, care coordination, conducting resident surveillance, interfacing with other medical staff and overseeing infection control, among others (White et al., 2020). The ability of registered nurses to perform such roles is primarily influenced by the work environment in which they practice. She also stated that she oversees the activities of licensed practice nurses and nursing aides and assists in the nursing home. Emma went ahead and explained that she manages the medical histories of patients and the overall health of the patients, and she performs this to ensure that all patients meet their needs with the most excellent care possible and from the information provided by the peer, it is clear that registered nurses in a nursing home play a significant role in ensuring improved patient outcomes.

The Definition of Professionalism

Emma Davis mentioned that professionalism goes beyond politeness and wearing a uniform. According to Emma, professionalism encompasses a set of values enabling the elevation of the quality of patient care. The values improve the judgments, standards, and methods guiding her and the team on a daily basis. She explained that a professional environment helps her and the team to develop skills that prove to be valuable to the individuals as well as the team (Fukada, 2018). She has been influenced by professional responsibility in various ways, first, it has motivated her to go for a higher education level as she believes that pursuing higher education creates further opportunities to enhance her core values of professionalism. Secondly, her cognitive skills have been sharpened by professionalism as she focuses on continuous learning on professional conduct and proceeds to apply the same in her workplace, and it has enabled her to make decisions and prioritize what is essential in an effective way.

Leaders in Nursing Homes as Stewards

Davis, my peer, said she views leaders in a nursing home as healthcare stewards. Stewardship is an essential aspect of the field of nursing as it has numerous benefits. She pointed out that stewardship in nursing calls for new care delivery models and the evolving nature of the nurse’s work needs to be addressed in every aspect. At her workplace, leaders continuously work at cooperating with other professionals in the nursing home to improve the work environment not only for the nursing home where she works but also for other nursing homes in the United States (Rutten et al., 2022). She further explained that the management in her workplace performs benchmarking in other nursing homes in order to borrow ideas on how to improve patient outcomes and also improve the workforce in their nursing home. The leaders do not only do benchmarking, but they also attend and participate in conversations aiming to improve the safety of patients and their organizational staff, meet the needs of the crumbling workforce in the industry, and maximize respect for professional nurses’ contribution to the field.

The Importance of Leaders Exercising Professional Advocacy and Authenticity

In response to the question, Emma stated that influence could not exist outside of advocacy. For a leader to be constructive in change advocacy and for better communities, individuals and society must be engaged and engage with colleagues. Influence can prospect as a person’s power to bring about a change and a positive change affecting the nursing profession and advancing the importance of nursing in healthcare (Al- Hussami et al., 2018). She further pointed out that leaders need to hold up and advocate for a moral good voicing the needs and concerns of disadvantaged people. People with having authentic leadership styles bring their whole selves to their jobs by participating fully and honestly in their places of work. Organization fostering authentic behavior is more likely to have engaged, enthusiastic and motivated employees and psychologically safe cultures.

Conclusion