Introduction
In modern nursing programs, there has been an extension of the course to offer some managerial skills to nurses in their preparation of taking leadership role in nursing departments and other parts of a medical facility; nurses are trained to be managers, administrators, finance managers, and human resources managers alongside their main course. Nurse administrators are supposed to uphold professionalism as nurses as well as managers of their units; the decisions they make and the way they handle situations should portray a high level of professionalism; from the micro level of nursing department, their effect will be felt in an entire medical facility. When undertaking their role as nurses and administrators, there is need to understand the four metaparadigms of nursing and work within their limits. This paper discusses the advanced practice role of nurses as administers (Clark, 2005).
Four metaparadigms of nursing
In her speech in a seminar with nursing professionals Jacqueline Fawcett, coined the concept of nursing metaparadigms; the metaparadigms are as follows:
Metaparadigms of person
According to this metaparadigms, health care customers, patients, should not be referred as patients but should be given a better term that defines not only their health condition but the social economic situation they are living in; the metaparadigm called patients Subjects. The notion of subject meant that the sick affects other people like their families, society, and friends. The metaparadigm suggest that a person should not be seen as an object of professional care and surveillance but should be treated with dignity and care. When referring to patients as subjects, they are thought to be unique and autonomous demanding to be treated with due respect and care
Health
The concept of health considers nurses as professionals who can handle issues as they arise; the metaparadigm clears the notion that nurses are mere object of doctors and only needed to follow instructions. The definition of health from the subject is that health is not absolute but it’s subject to the prevailing situation in an individual. Nursing includes direct interaction of patients; they play a vital role in the delivery of quality and timely health services. The nature of their work demand that they uphold high level of professionalism and integrity: they are people who need to make sound decisions and make objective reports and recommendations to medical practitioners to help them offer quality service. Professionalism in any departments starts with the managing team; they should manage and lead their department professionally if they expect professionalism from their staffs. Other than being competent and having the heart to serve people, nurses are required to uphold nursing ethics and maintain high moral standards when on duty and when looking into their private affairs. It is a profession where the society looks upon the players and imitate their way of life especially in areas of health. Professionalism is one of the most pressed issues in the nursing professionalism for both nurse practitioners and their leaders.
Environment
The metaparadigm involves the larger society and the situations that are likely to affect the rate of recovery of a patient; when dealing with patients, nurses are advised to consider among other home life, mental state, addictions, physical pain and chances of relapse as these are factors that can affect the rate of recovery of a patient. When dealing with a patient it is required that high levels of professionalism and integrity be practiced as they will assist in boosting the rate at which a particular patient will recover.
Nursing
The main objective of a medical facility is to offer adequate, timely and quality service, nurses are directly involved in the provision of service thus when they uphold high levels of professionalism, then the sector of the economy is likely to benefit. The quality of service depends with the competence and willingness to serve that the medical teams have; when nurses hold high professionalism then they will offer appropriate advice to other, medical practitioners to the benefit of the healthy industry. Nurse Managers are on the forefront guiding and offering counseling to their juniors on the way to follow so as they can offer quality services. When an economy has quality medical care, then the population is more productive and the expense on medical bill will be reduced. One hindrance of development in some countries is huge medical bill that governments have to handle, this expense can be reduced by provision of quality medical services that a patients get not only to be treated but is trained on how he/she can prevent future occurrence of such a disease. When nurses hold high levels of confidentiality, patients will be more willing to disclose their health status; the initial stage in curing a disease is recognizing the disease that a patient is suffering from; so when patients feel free to disclose they will be playing part in improving medical service provision.
It is also important to note that a patient, especially those admitted, spend most of their time with nurses than doctors; a professional nurse can be able to learn the treads and response rate of patient and advice doctors better; this further will improve medical care quality. Psychological comfort of a patient plays a vital role in patients recovery, when nurses treat patients well, they their rate of recovery will be facilitated. Patients need some warmth, love and hope; this can be given by the people around them, nurses thus have a role in that (Eellwood, 2008).
Nurses as administrators
Managerial decisions are the driving force in any organization; nurse administrators are responsible of making administrative decisions in the nursing department: the decision made must be responsive to the needs in the organization. When a professional makes decisions, they are better and yield good results. Professional nurse leaders will make quality decisions for their department and the entire medical facility. The quality of decision that managers make give their organization direction and focus. The growth and competitiveness of an organization are influenced by the quality as well as acceptability of decisions made by managers at all levels. Some of the major decision that nurse leaders make are project financing decisions, human resource management, resources distribution among staffs, evaluating staffs and motivation of nursing staff. All these decision plays part in fulfilling the noble goal of a hospital facility that is offering quality and timely service. To come up with a good decision there are three main stages that a manager should follow they are, defining the problem, data collection and choosing the best alternative (Bennet, 2008)
Conclusion
Nurse administrators handle administrative issues within their departments: they need to act professionally and lead by example. The way they handle the department influences how the quality of service offered by the facility. Other than having nursing academic qualification and experience, nurse administrator need to have managerial skills acquired through learning and participation in hospital management; they should always act within metaparadigms of nursing. When nursing units are managed professionally, the world is likely to benefit from quality medical care, affordable medical care, proper utilization of resources and an increased number of nurses.
References
Bennet, J. (2008). Nurse executive: If the shoes fit, wear them proudly. Long-Term Living: For the Continuing Care Professional, 57(6), 56.
Clark, J. (2005). improving hospital budgeting and accountability. hfm (Healthcare Financial Management), 59(7), 78.
Eellwood, S. (2008). Accounting for Public Hospitals: A Case Study of Modified GAAP. Abacus, 44(4), 399-422.