Introduction
Nursing is a demanding career that requires commitment, empathy, and a strong work ethic. Nurses deliver patient care in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities. Ensuring patients receive the best treatment possible, they play a crucial part in the healthcare system (Nursing Pulse: Colliding with COVID: Implications for Nursing Practice, 2023). However, there are several obstacles that nurses must face to succeed in their line of work.
Challenges Faced in the Nursing Profession
One of the most significant challenges associated with nursing is the long hours and demanding work schedule. Nurses often work 12-hour shifts or longer and may be required to work nights, weekends, and holidays (Craig & Dowding, 2020). Such factor can influence their physical and mental health and personal lives. Nurses must learn to manage their time effectively to balance their work responsibilities and personal obligations.
Dealing with challenging patients or families presents another obstacle for nurses. It may be difficult for nurses to give care successfully when patients are uncooperative or resistant to treatment. Additionally, family members could have unreasonable demands or expectations that drive nurses to offer more than they can (Craig & Dowding, 2020). Nurses must develop good communication skills with patients and families while upholding ethical standards.
There are also difficulties for nurses with technology and paperwork. Nurses must be adept in using electronic medical records (EMRs), which are becoming more common in healthcare settings. Nurses are required by EMRs to rapidly and adequately record patient information while safeguarding patient privacy.
In addition to these challenges specific to nursing, broader issues facing the healthcare industry impact nurses’ ability to provide quality care. One such issue is staffing shortages due to an aging population and increased demand for healthcare services. This factor puts pressure on nurses with larger caseloads than they can handle effectively.
Challenges Faced in the Med-Surge Nursing Field
Despite these challenges, nursing remains essential to patient care outcomes. Med-surge nursing is one area where these challenges are particularly acute. Med-surge nurses work in medical-surgical units, caring for patients with various medical conditions (Iheanachoet al., 2022). These nurses must be able to manage multiple patients simultaneously while ensuring that each patient receives the appropriate level of care.
Nurses who work in med-surge settings must also possess a broad knowledge base and rapid situational adaptation skills. Nurses must be skilled at identifying and meeting the complicated medical needs of patients in med-surge units since these patients may have these demands (Iheanacho et al., 2022). To guarantee that patients receive the best treatment possible, they also need to be able to connect with other medical specialists, including physicians and pharmacists. Med-surge nursing solves these issues in part by providing continual instruction and training.
To give their patients the best care possible, nurses in this sector must keep current on the newest diagnostic and therapeutic techniques. It necessitates options for continued education and professional growth. Another way that med-surge nursing addresses these challenges is through teamwork and collaboration. Nurses work closely with other healthcare professionals, such as doctors, pharmacists, and physical therapists, to ensure that patients receive comprehensive care (Hopia & Heikkilä, 2019). It requires practical communication skills and a willingness to work collaboratively towards common goals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, nursing is a challenging career requiring commitment, empathy, and strenuous effort. Long hours, demanding patients or families, technological needs, paperwork requirements, and other general problems affecting the healthcare sector, such as staffing shortages brought on by an aging population, are just a few of the difficulties nurses must face. However, despite all these difficulties, nursing is still a vital profession that contributes significantly to the success of patient care, particularly in medical-surgical nursing.
References
Craig, J. V., & Dowding, D. W. (2020). Evidence-based practice in nursing. In Clinicalkey.com (4th ed.). ClinicalKey. Web.
Hopia, H., & Heikkilä, J. (2019). Nursing research priorities based on CINAHL database: A scoping review. Nursing Open, 7(2). Web.
Iheanacho, P. N., Opara, H. C., Ifezulumba, J. C., Omotola, N., Ingwu, J. A., & Anarado, A. N. (2022). Nurses’ perceived challenges in the management of hospitalized cancer patients in a comprehensive cancer center in Southeastern Nigeria. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention: CINHAL, 23(10), 3587–3593. Web.
Nursing Pulse: Colliding with COVID: Implications for nursing practice. (2023). EBSCO. Web.
