Is the role of a nurse more important than the role a doctor play?

A nurse is a caregiver. He or she provides hands-on care to a patient. IT can be an elderly man or women, or a sickly child. A nurse also takes care of the physical needs of a patient, which can range from total care to aiding in illness prevention. This may occur especially for patients who are prone to illness because of weak immunity or they are recovering from a previous illness. This is also the case for terminal patients or patients with diseases like HIV/AIDS that are persistent and are for life. The nurse should always provide and maintain the patient’s dignity through knowledgeable skilled care.

Nurses work in hospitals or outpatient facilities. This may include small clinics and home for the elderly, as well as mental health institutions. They administer medication as prescribed by a doctor, they observe the patients’ condition by taking their temperature and monitoring their eating patterns. They also manage the intravenous lines of the patient and maintain their records and of course communicate with the doctor’s various changes in the patient’s conditions. Either by writing it down on their chart, through direct communication and in emergency cases, direct calls to their personal line when unavailable on their professional numbers.

A good nurse provides emotional stability even in the face of emergency and stress. As it is a stressful job; they constantly interact with terminal patients, encounter death, and sometimes dangerous contagious diseases, they need to stay calm and rational. They also need to be empathetic people. Feeling with their patients. Showing understanding and being attentive to their needs. They should also be physically fit because sometimes their work involves long hours making sure all the patients under their care are comfortable. It often involves shifts late into the night and early into the morning. When they are understaffed, they may be required to work mandatory overtime.

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This is when overall good health is required so that they are able to withstand unpredictable working hours. They are also generally expected to have a flexible schedule. Just like doctors, nurses can be called in unexpectedly. They are arguably more important than the doctors themselves. Doctors are rarely as attached to their patients. Especially doctors who are well sought after for being leaders in their fields. The nurses get to know the patients at a deeper level. Connecting with them on matters about family and career.

They do this to keep them entertained either at the hospital when they are admitted over a long period of time, or in homes for the elderly when they are away from their families. In such homes, the nurses become like family and they build and bond through friendships. They also have good interpersonal skills because being a nurse they often work with people with disabilities. They may be deaf or have difficulty speaking. They work with children and adults who suffer from the same diseases but they have to be treated according to their age. They also need to be sensitive to their needs, likes, and dislikes.

Communication is such an important role for a caregiver, who must be fully present with her patient, and this is why I feel their role is more important than that of a doctor. While it is important to diagnose and treat illness, caregiving is a vital role that cannot be undermined. Sometimes kindness is the treatment one needs, and nurses must exude a happiness at heart that comforts patients. Also, being professional, and avoiding discussing clients’ patients in front of them is mandatory. Some physicians have acted cruelly in the past to discuss patient results and diagnosis insensitively.

This has resulted in legal action against them for their unprofessionalism, and worse patients lose their fighting spirit and give up to have a quick death after having bad news delivered in an insensitive manner.