Nurse Role as Advocate

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As nurses, we have an important role as patient advocate. There is no doubt that patients need nurses’ care and support, therefore, they expect the nurses to meet their demands and protect their best interests. As one of the patient’s most trustworthy healthcare providers, nurses are expected to advocate for all patients regardless of their condition. Hence, nurses should advocate patient’s rights through the way of maintaining a safe environment, which includes the protection of confidential information. According to Taylor, Lillis, LeMone, and Lynn’s book Fundamentals of Nursing, “Nurses should respect patients’ will and be loyal to them at any time as well as carefully evaluate the competing claims of the patient’s autonomy” (Taylor p.103). Even under the pressure of other healthcare faculty, as nurses, we should find out the optimum ways to follow patents’ thought rather than decide right or wrong for them. Therefore, nurses should never sacrifice patients’ rights to ease ourselves. In order to advocate patients’ rights, nurses should question improper acts. Hence, nurses have the responsibility to advocate patients and help them out.
Nurses engaged in professional activities should have the manner that protects patients’ autonomy in order to advocate for patients. According to Mahlin’s article, “Individual Patient Advocacy, Collective Responsibility and Activism Within Professional Nursing Associations”, “Patient autonomy is an essential part of patient advocacy” (Mahlin, 2010). Every patient has the right to choose whether to be involved in planning their health plan or not, because patients have autonomy to make the decision. As nurses, we should seek available resources to help patients to formulate decisions to utilize their rights and achieve their expectations if they confront a dilemma or they have inadequate health knowledge. “Nurses are in a unique

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