Choosing for himself the path of a medical professional, a person should always possess certain special moral and psychological qualities. Few people imagine all the pressure experienced by health workers, the difficulties they have to face. Often, patients in hospitals and clinics express their indignation at the lack of attention to them, lack of professionalism or negligence of doctors, nurses and other specialists. Most often it goes to the junior staff. What are the actual responsibilities of a nurse?
General rules for organizing work in a medical institution
There are clear and comprehensible instructions developed by the Ministry of Health, according to which procedures are performed in medical institutions. The so-called protocols are a set of rules. Adhering to them, medical personnel must provide their services. It is worth noting that Western countries have come much deeper and more carefully to the systematization and organization of the entire treatment process. In addition to the protocol denoting the responsibilities of a nurse, doctor, and orderlies, the work and modern equipment and the availability of medicines are greatly facilitated. In our country, the formation of such practices is still at the level of origin, and patients have to deal with obsolete technologies and methods of work of medical institutions.
History of Nursing
The first data on assistants to physicians practicing patient care are dated to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Women were hired for very modest remuneration in military hospitals, leper houses, monastery hospitals that provide all possible assistance to the afflicted. The responsibilities of the nurse of that time were very limited due to the low qualifications of women. They received their first knowledge already from doctors and, most often, their help consisted in dispensing medicines, food, dressings and maintaining cleanliness and order. A big push in the development of nursing occurred after the Crimean and Russian-Turkish wars. It was during these periods that dramatic changes were observed regarding the appointment of women as medical assistants.
Before starting duties, future sisters underwent training for a whole year, after which they were certified. In addition to practical knowledge, it was very important to have a strong character and mercy, because it was not for nothing that the first nurses were called precisely “sisters of mercy”. At that time, such medical facilities treated either people wounded during the war or very severe patients who received the last refuge in hospitals. The job responsibilities of the nurse of that time were not limited to help with treatment. The ability to support the patient, to listen to him was important. Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov, a famous surgeon, once revealed very clearly the essence of the work of a nurse: “It has already been proven by experience that no one better than women can sympathize with the suffering of the patient and surround him with the cares of unchanging and, so to speak, unusual for men.”
What should a nurse do?
The current responsibilities of a nurse are much more extensive and require the ability to provide first aid, knowledge of pharmacology, and the basics of medicine. But at the same time, each place of work defines absolutely specific tasks that the sister faces.Work in the department requires practical skills in providing assistance, while clinic staff are oriented towards counseling and monitoring patients' compliance with the treatment process. According to the latest standards, on the shoulders of nurses of all specializations lies the control of the drugs under their jurisdiction, as well as reporting.
Work in the clinic, outpatient clinic
The functional responsibilities of a nurse working in a clinic are very extensive. First of all, its task is to speed up and facilitate the process of receiving patients. To provide better medical services, the nurse should interview patients before the doctor begins her work. This will help to collect preliminary data, adjust the queue, depending on the health status of different people. Directly in the office, the sister helps the doctor in everything. This is expressed in extracting prescriptions, maintaining a patient card, issuing certificates, in maintaining cleanliness and order. It is very important that the nurse monitors the equipment, equipment and necessary preparations for work, timely cleanses and corrects the flaws. At a time when admission is not carried out, the tasks of creating information boards, conducting consultations both in the clinic and individual work with certain groups of patients (pregnant women, people with chronic diseases) rest with the nurse.
And now little bitch!
The responsibilities of a nurse in a hospital are a completely different spectrum of actions. The hospital provides direct treatment, not consultation. Therefore, in addition to maintaining documentation, tracking and monitoring the drugs, distributing them to the patient, the nurse must be able to put a dropper, give an injection, or provide first aid. To constantly monitor the compliance of the sisters' qualifications with the required ones, they periodically undergo certification and professional development courses aimed at both refreshing the forgotten and studying new methods and drugs.
The implementation of procedures in the cabinets is the work of a nurse
Each department of narrow specialization is also assigned to specialists. In addition to the doctor, this is the nurse of the office. The responsibilities of such a health worker are to receive patients, conduct certain procedures, and keep records. This item contains entries in patient cards about the procedure, reporting. The normalized work of the office is the result of the competent actions of a nurse. She must monitor compliance with the rules, when using the equipment, keep it clean, disinfect and carry out preventive measures to avoid infection with diseases such as hepatitis and HIV infection, staff and patients. Any force majeure cases require immediate notification of senior medical personnel.
Orderlies - nurses
The duties of a junior nurse relate to the comprehensive maintenance of patients, their wards and the entire department clean, waste management. She can also carry out simple procedures, but only under the supervision of qualified nurses. This list does not include the introduction of drugs, dressings or other manipulations of a similar nature. The junior paramedic can change the compress, put mustard or jars, change bedding or help transport the patient.
