Two differences in how an advanced professional nurse advocates for an at-risk population in the community versus how an advanced professional nurse advocates for an individual patient in the clinical practice setting.

Two differences in how an advanced professional nurse advocates for an at-risk population in the community versus how an advanced professional nurse advocates for an individual patient in the clinical practice setting.

As compared to other healthcare professionals, nurses tentatively spend more time
with patients. They are in constant and continuous direct and personal contact with the patient
while carrying out bedside procedures. Nurses are expected to be patient advocates in their
different work settings. Advocacy is at the core of nursing and is also included in the training
of nurses. The majority of nurses are well conversant with advocacy and have in one way or
another been involved in advocacy activities and movements. Advocacy can be both at the
patient level and also at the community level. The advanced professional nurse is more suited
and trained for these advocacy roles as compared to other junior nurses.
There exist differences between advocacy at the community level and the patient
level. At the patient level, the advocacy is patient specific. The nurse assesses the need for
advocacy and the required stakeholders to be approached and involved. For instance, in a
case of hospital-acquired infections, the nurse can involve other nurses in the care of these
patients at risk of contracting nosocomial infections and also consequently engage the
hospital management on supporting the same. At the community level, the affairs of
advocacy are different from those of patient advocacy. In community advocacy, the nurse has
to investigate the shared needs, especially relating to the social determinants of health that
need advocacy involvement. This means that the nurse will have to conduct comprehensive
research on the community which is more time consuming and large scale as compared to
patient advocacy. The other difference between patient and community advocacy is on the
necessary stakeholders. While, at the level of patient advocacy the concerned stakeholders are
the hospital management, at the community level, advocacy may involve legislators,