Question

Patient Advocacy During a Pandemic

Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements

● In 2015, the American Nurses Association enacted a non-negotiable ethical practice standard

● Provision 2 states: “the nurses primary commitment is to the patient”

● Provision 5: “nurse owes the same duty to self as to others” *these equally important obligations can and will most likely conflict during pandemics when nurses must care for critically ill, infectious patients with limited resources*

How Do I Keep My Patient and Myself Safe?
● Internal Conflict

● Times where an RN must make a choice based on morality to maintain professional integrity.

Other providers in the hospital must understand employee/employer expectations during this time

● The patient comes first

○ Make sure the patient’s needs are met

○ Build a relationship with the patient - picture of yourself

Self Advocacy
● During COVID-19, the patient cannot have any family members with them during a hospital stay

● If a patient wishes to have family there to help advocate for them, it is in the nurses & patient best interest to take on the role of being their informal advocate on behalf of the family

● Patients have to find the strength to be their own advocate, despite these uncertain times

○ Nurses job is to stay as informed as possible since the patient is relying on them for the bulk of information

■ *How is this possible when interactions are limited?*

● Reading materials, bullet point notes, building trust

employee/employer expectations during this time

● A patient comes first ○ Make sure the patient’s needs are met ○ Build a relationship with patient - picture of yourself

Individual Advocacy
● Formal advocacy ○ Policy groups have a bigger role than ever ○ Legally, hospital-acquired conditions are a bigger concern than ever ○ Resources are fewer, staffing is shorter, new teams are working together, more preventable errors bound to occur
● Informal advocacy ○ Use of video chats and phone calls with family if the patient needs family input ○ Designate one family member to be the main communicator of the family ○ The nurse need to develop a clear communication by explaining the risk of the pandemic

Systems Advocacy
. Advocate for patients without medical insurance to be treated and protect the most vulnerable.
. Stand for equality treatment When it comes for the pandemic.
. If the hospital does not have a PPE, the nurse need to speak up for themselves.
Citations
Young, R., & McMahon, S. (2020, April 15). Patient Advocacy Group Offers Advice For Sick Loved Ones

Reflective journal

QUESTION: How the pandemic COVID 19 can affect a nursing job when it comes to advocating for patients. Please at least 2 paragraphs with 7 sentences

Answer 1

Covid 19 pandemic will have major impacts on all aspects of nursing.The unique challenge that most nurses will face is how they can continue to deliver care from behind our personal protective equipment,but I have no doubt that we will be up to the challenge.nurses in hard hit Areas are facing not only shortages of personal protective equipment,but also an increasing and potentially overwhelming number of patients.stay true;advocate for yourself,Focus on your training - you know how to prioritize,even under these stressful situations,and be persistent.A major role of a nurse is to advocate for patient safety.even under these stressful and confusing times.

Patient Advocasy consisted of the two themes of empathy with the patient and protecting the patient,commitment to the completion of the care process.without effective communication,patients cannot be moved through a hospital And yet,with a highly infectious virus,the simple act of communicating using conventional tools puts caregivers at risk.In this challenging time,it has never been more critical to keep staff and patients are safe and in touch with each other.Nurses are handling increased infection risk,paucity of protective gear,and even assault.apart from heightened risk of infection , anxiety and being separated from their families.There aren't enough kits and masks for every nurses they are interacting with patients with higher risks ..