Over the past decade, I have started my journey as a medical professional by graduating and trying several nursing positions in state hospitals. Undeniably, the sphere of medical technology has evolved unprecedentedly over the past years, especially when it comes to telemedicine, the introduction of artificial intelligence to the clinical context, and diagnosing equipment. However, the phenomena that strike me the most are related to the socio-cultural trends taking place in medicine. First, over the past years, the perception of nurses has gained more positive connotations because nurses are now recognized as professionals and not the ones assisting professionals. The rapid evolvement of nurse leadership and management has catalyzed much research on the matter of interventions to facilitate the nurses’ workload and distress (Grand Canyon University, 2018). Clearly, more research is required in order to present tangible results, but the consistently growing interest in the issue is already a half of the battle for respect and recognition of the nursing profession.
Another important vector of modern health care’s development concerns the reconsideration of communication with patients from diverse backgrounds. The amount of support in terms of both physical and psychological health support offered to the LGBTQ+ community, racial minorities, and adolescents continues to grow compared to the previous decade. Moreover, the notions of empathy and emotional intelligence as important constituents of cooperating with patients have now become a full-scale part of the health care agenda. Thus, nurses are now paying much attention to the aspect of emotional support, collaboration, and active listening. For me, medicine has always been something more than treating people. Medicine is also about healing people, and healing presupposes that professionals do their best not to make their patients leave physically and mentally wounded. Undeniably, when dealing with the responsibility of being emotionally supportive and compassionate, the job becomes more challenging. However, the challenge is worth the reward we receive from healed patients.
Reference
Grand Canyon University. (2018). Nursing leadership & management: Leading and serving [E-book]. Web.