Essay Topic:

The studies on the growth of nursing productivity level and the contemporary demand on nursing.

Essay Questions:

Why is nursing considered to be a growing field of medicine? What role does nursing play in ambulatory patients care? What are the factors nursing productivity depend on?

Thesis Statement:

To provide professionals who can give special assistance to patients in areas related to their expertise. Their functions include addressing patient complaints, family concerns and working on different programs for the medical center in addition with providing on-call medical assistance to people

Growth in Nursing Care Essay

 

Introduction: Nursing has taking a big step now. And it’s growth shows that the number of people that get the necessary medical assistance grows too. Nursing is closely connected to ambulatory care. The main purpose of the ambulatory care is to provide ways of giving five star medical help to out patients. To provide professionals who can give special assistance to patients in areas related to their expertise. Their functions include addressing patient complaints, family concerns and working on different programs for the medical center in addition with providing on-call medical assistance to people.

Ambulatory care starts at the moment the patient calls and gets a continuation in the hospital, where the patient continues getting medical assistance but on a regular base. Ambulatory care is an integral part of the work of medical establishments, because it is an express mean of communication between the nurse and the patient who is not well at home. There are millions of people who would have died without it. The effectiveness of the ambulatory care has grown a lot for the past 10 years. Another important fact is that there also has been noticed a growth of home care in USA. We consider home care to be a system of control in the first place over patients who always need medical nursing assistance and have no supervision. Home care agencies of various types have been providing high-quality, inhome services to Americans for more than a century. And that fact has decreased the death rate, especially among the elderly. There is a significant growth of the number of home health care workers. The county is in a big need for people with professional nursing education to take care of people who need medical help at home. Nurses do a great job in monitoring the home health care system.

Several studies of nursing productivity reveal that nurses deliver an average of five visits per day. Nurses who specialize in pediatric care give average 3 visits per day, IV nurses average as many as other nurses. Home care is a cost-effective service, especially for individuals recuperating from a hospital stay but not only for the. It is also for those who, because of a functional or cognitive disability, are unable to take care of themselves. That is the main reason the medical field needs professional and effective nursing care. The best argument for home care is that it is a humane and compassionate way to deliver health care. In addition to that the fee paid per one home care visit will not be more than $150, in comparison with the cost a hospital charges per day – more then $3000. Even if a patient turns to a skilled nursing facility the charge will be significantly less than in the hospital - $500. Contemporary patients can chose the from of care from various places: nursing homes, residential health care facilities, assisted living residences, comprehensive personal care homes, adult day care, alternate family care and so on.The role of a nurse in taking care of patients is great. But he functional duties vary, depending on the kind care they are providing. Long-term care deals with providing a broad range of supportive medical, personal and social assistance needed by people who are not able to cope with their basic vital needs for a long period of time. The help is given systematically. The person’s troubles in dealing with his living needs may be caused by an accident, illness or frailty due to a cureless or hard to cure disease. The person’s frailty may include inability to avoid incontinence, move around, eat, bathe, dress, use a toilet, medicate and so on. Also long-term care deal with helping the disabled with household cleaning, preparing meals, shopping, paying bills, visiting the doctor, answering the phone and taking medications. Due to cognitive impairment from stroke, depression, dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and so on additional long-term care may be required.

The functional duties of a nurse in long-term care are more specific and more related to the functional duties of a social worker. Other words they are more social then in home care. The major base of home care is medical assistance provided in a humane and compassionate way. The cost of long-term care is still high. There are also numerous low-cost or free State programs to help with home care but still the cost of a nursing home ranges from $30,000 to $80,000 per year. Home care can range from $12,000 to $50,000 per year. Statistics show that after paying for 1 year of long-term care, 72% of elderly Americans are impoverished. The Department of Social Services deals with reimbursement process and amounts for all care given.The capitated reimbursement rate varies on the term, kind of care given and the person’s eligibility for it. The same department makes the evaluation of the reimbursement. The Division of Family Services is connected with cash grants for people on long-term care. An aging population, longer life spans and a lack of nurses are factors that are straining the current system of care. But at the same time it may become the leading strength for its development. The reimbursement system has to become more flexible, due to the number of people with special illnesses, like dementia.

Conclusion: Nursing care has developed mainly owing to the high level of professionalism demonstrated is the last couple of years. As nurses are indeed required professionals their duty is to focus on the kind of care they are giving. It especially concerns the people that have difficult and hard to cure diseases. They have to focus on the quality of the care they give. Their knowledge has to be narrower. Especially if it goes about a gerontological patient. The works of Janis Zalkalns would really help the studying nurses to find the right medical approach to the patient. The growth of home care indicates the growth of need of really professional nurses. The Government should make a bigger input into the development and spreading of the nursing programs among the youth.