Nurses as Health Educators, Essay Example

The pursuit of positive patient outcomes is the ultimate goal of any medical practice, nursing included. Part of the desirable results includes disease prevention and low relapse rates. These goals can be achieved through patient education and the creation of awareness. For oncological treatment whose demand is ever growing and the specialists may not be able to keep up, such preventative measures are the best course of action (Challinor et al. 2016). Health education disseminates information to patients enabling them to make informed choices about their lifestyles. It is also crucial in sensitizing people about the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of their health (Asuquo and Olajide 2015).

Nurses are usually the closest in contact with patients, and since there is personal interaction, they are in a suitable position to impart knowledge. First, they earn the trust of the invalid by showing that they are working in their best interest. This foundation makes the patient suggestible and willing to listen and implement the strategies that may be proposed to them by their caregiver. However, this does not mean that the nurse imposes their will on the patient nor manipulates them into a course of action o which they do not agree. Instead, there should be mutual understanding and open-mindedness as the educator listens to the feedback from the patient. This connection ensures clarity and less misunderstanding of the information that the nurse is trying to pass along.

Reaching out to the friends and family of cancer patients is also important as they may either provide a conducive or hostile recovery environment. Their awareness levels about the ins and outs of palliative care link directly to their attitudes and sensitivity in handling the invalid. Since they are the immediate community to which a nurse has access, they are the best platform for spreading education about cancer. By informing them about the signs, screening procedures, risk factors and treatment methods they are able to identify symptoms amongst themselves and other people with whom they interact (Steele et al. 2015). The result is that more people get tested and cancer can be detected in its earlier stages where it is easier to curb. They also make better lifestyle choices by avoiding causative factors. For instance, they may use sunscreen as protection against ultraviolet rays which are likely to cause skin cancer.

During the education process, the nurse serves as a primary data collector as they assess the impact of their education through tools such as questionnaires (Challinor et al. 2016). By collecting patient information and that of their loved ones, they can monitor trends such as the people who go for screening after having an interactive session. The statistics gathered in the course of the practice reveal trends which can be used to improve future education programs for maximum efficiency. For instance, the studies may reveal that the families of patients with later stage cancers are less likely to go for screening as a result of nurse education than those of earlier stages. The reasons behind such differences are established to enable future planning and refinement of methods of persuasion to take precautions against cancer.

Caregivers play a pivotal role in the healthcare system thus they have the power to impact patients and society significantly. Their one-on-one position of interaction gives them a better chance of passing information and convincing people to make better lifestyle choices. Therefore, there should be proactivity in exploiting this advantage in the fight against cancer

References

Asuquo, I.M., and Olajide, T.E. (2015). The Role of Health Education on Breast Cancer awareness among University of Calabar Female Undergraduates. Journal of Education and Practice. Vol. 6, No.  24, pp  151-161. 2015.

Challinor, J., Galassi, A., Al-Ruzzieh M., et al. (2016). Nursing’s Potential to Address the Growing Cancer Burden in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Journal of Global Oncology 2, no. 3 (June 1, 2016) 154-163. DOI: 10.1200/JGO.2015.001974

Steele, R., Robinson, C. and Widger, K. (2015). Families in Palliative and End-of-Life Care. Family Healthcare Nursing. Fifth Edition. F.A. Davis Company