Consequences of Skipped Nursing Care
Nursing care omissions, which are any aspect of care that should be delivered to a patient but are not, either partly or completely, are a significant problem in healthcare. Implementation of care bundles is often associated with morbidity and mortality of the patient. Prior studies also show that with the execution of nurse-caring behaviors, the level of missed care is drastically minimized. It has been established that if caring behaviors are prioritized in nurses, then the needed care tasks are bound to be completed, thus preventing adverse consequences.
For instance, interventions recommended to enhance caring behaviors among the nursing staff were: the promotion of caring behaviors among the nursing staff was reported to greatly decrease missed care rates. This approach enables the nurse to avoid the dangers of care omissions by spending adequate time with the patient and listening to them. It encompasses a proactive strategy that ensures patient safety while also advancing the general standards and quality of patient care in the field of healthcare.
Poor patient outcomes, such as hospital-acquired complications and emergent conditions, are defined as adverse patient events from the quality of care viewpoint.
That is why it is proven that the nurse’s caring behaviors affect adverse patient events positively. Complications, including chiefly falls, infections, medication errors, and all the others, pose high risks to the patient’s health and healing process. Several studies have shown that excellent caring behaviors that nurses dispatch have the potential to minimize the occurrence of such incidences.
A cross-sectional study carried out among a sample of registered nurses revealed that the caring behavior of the nurses had a strong association with the quality of care, missed care, and patient adverse incidents. Highly caring behaviors of the nurses called for lesser omission of critical care tasks and increased likelihood of success in the quality of care rendered. This correlation supports the need for advocating for the development of a culture of care among healthcare facilities.
Psychological and Emotional Support
Psychosocial and emotional aspects are essential determinants of patient and recovery. Nurse-caring behaviors that directly impact these aspects can greatly improve a patient’s condition. However, offering encouragement and words of comfort reduces patient stress, which is always beneficial in the recovery process and patient satisfaction.
In one qualitative study, the author established that among the ten outstanding unmet needs stated by patients, two were emotional and psychological needs. To recurrently apply emotional care in practice, it is recommended that nurses embrace emotional care as part of their practice. In this manner, nurses can help construct a more therapeutic atmosphere conducive to patients’ recovery, which in turn results in their improved state of health.
Building Trust and Communication
Interpersonal communication is one of the most important elements of patient-caring behaviors among nurses. This process entails listening to the patient, explaining the information given in a comprehensible manner, and creating an avenue through which the patient is receptive to anatomic concerns and preferences. The topic suggests that trust management is bound to the issue of communication, as the patients tend to trust the nurses who are friendly and who communicate with them.
This blog says that communication can be used and has the potential to bring about positive results in a patient’s status. This is so because patients who receive validation feel involved and are willing to go through with the treatment plan and even participate. Such an engagement not only improves patients’ satisfaction but also leads to better health outcomes.
Generally, the coping strategies of nurses themselves directly contribute to the caring performances they can offer. For example, during the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown, working conditions and patient care issues remained unprecedented and were very demanding for nurses who were exposed to high-risk situations. Research also reveals that nurses with higher psychological resilience have better ways of dealing with stress and therefore offer quality care.
Thus, educational programs and organizational culture, support, and resources can create protective factors that would allow a nurse to sustain their caring attitudes amid challenges. This support is essential in maintaining the quality of patient care to mean that the nurses are capable of providing this care.
