The Importance of Following Instructions in the Nursing Field

To Professor Campbell and fellow students

 

The ability to follow instructions is needed in any field of research. For nurses they need to make sure they follow the directions they are given and perform them perfectly. When nurses don’t follow instructions properly it could lead to harming the patient they are caring for and even themselves. I am going to talk to you guys today about how nurses should be identifying their patients and the certain steps they should be taking.

 

The Greeting

When a nurse and patient first meet, it is important for the nurse to greet the patient by his or her name for many reasons. And yes, I will be talking about them, which you probably already knew. If you don’t greet your patient by their name, how will you know if you’re in the right room with the right patient. This has happened in many situations. Where nurses treat the wrong patient with the wrong medication. This has resulted in lawsuits and nurses losing their jobs. Quick tip always check to make sure you are treating the correct patient with the correct medication. Would you like to lose your job just because you forgot to ask the patient their name? 

 

Introduction

The second step in identifying patients is introducing yourself to the patient and their family that may be with them. Always ask questions about your patient or what they may like to gain trust. Knowing that your patient trusts you and knows your level education gives you some reassurance. Having trust between your patient can help in many situations. For example, if your patient is a child and is scared, you can reassure them with topics they may like. This is where asking questions about the patient or talking about things they like helps. If the patient is an adult and is scared of the procedure you are going to do, you can simply talk to them. Having good communication skills with patients reduces their stress and yours.

 

Checking Identification Band

Before actually performing the care needed for the patient always remember to check the patient’s identification band. This band will tell the nurse if the patient has any allergies, if they may have any disabilities that need to be taken into consideration be treating them, and any illnesses they have had in the past. This can help nurses not get into unwanted situations. Not checking the identification band could result in giving the patient a medication they are allergic to or bringing back an illness from before. Nurses need to be aware that a little mistake like grabbing the wrong medication could be the end of their career in the medical field and lawsuits from patients. How about we just remember to check the patient’s band?

 

Explain the Care Before Treating

Explaining the treatment before actually performing it on the patient is an important step, but what am I talking about all of these steps are important. Knowing your patient understand the procedure can help get them get the care they need quicker. This help you to treat more patients and not having a patient freak out because they don’t know what you are doing to them. Having your patient understand the care you are going to be performing will help keep them calm while you are performing the certain care needed. When following these instructions given from personnel at a higher level always look for certain key words in the set of instructions. In the article from registerednursing.org they talk about key words you should be looking for and steps you should be doing at a certain time. 

 

Final Check

The final check given by nurses is an important step before discharging a patient. There are many ways to give a final check to patients, but I am only going to talk about a couple. Nurses can check the patient by asking them their address, phone number, or date of birth and then checking on the patient’s medical records to make sure they are correct. They are many ways that nurses can give a final check to patients, but I don’t have all day to talk about them. The final check is important because if the patient isn’t well enough to leave yet you can find out with a couple simple questions. This helps nurses limit what may be wrong with the patient if they don’t pass the final check. Following instructions in nursing is very important to make sure the care the patient is receiving and the care you are giving are correct.

 

 Final Question

Is this the only procedure nurses should be following instructions in?

 

Links

Writers, R. (2020, May 29). Following a Given Set of Directions: TEAS. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.registerednursing.org/teas/following-given-set-directions/

 

Posted:

October 30, 2020

 

Comments:

This was a helpful breakdown of the identification process – Martha K.

Didn’t they teach you this in nursing school – Carl B.

 

Category:

Pennsylvania College of Technology, Tips and Tricks