Like any other profession, nursing requires all practitioners have to uphold and maintain certain levels of behavior and professionalism. Besides the code of conduct that always dictates the behavior of nurses, nursing calls for individual professional standards in order to fulfill the dream of becoming a renowned practicing nurse. Effective leadership attributes are therefore essential in translating theoretical nursing skills into practical performance (Cook, 2001). In other words, nurses ought to see themselves as leaders in the medical field, ready to exercise their mandate beyond the wards and hospitals. A good nurse is expected to be a problem-solver and able to make strategies that are viable in helping healthcare institutions to achieve set goals.
In my practice as a nurse, I ensure that my conduct and actions are acceptable by the American Association of Nurses. This allows the thorough and effective performance of assigned duties without colliding with colleagues and the management (Cook, 2001). By adhering to the set rules and standards, I am able to attend to patients perfectly and carry out other duties assigned by the management. Additionally, I remain accountable in everything that I do as a practicing nurse by keeping records and updating doctors and senior nurses on what could be happening. As a result, it is possible to keep track of daily events within the hospital and monitor the performance of different patients. Through feedback and evaluation, the management is able to make improvement decisions based on the nature of documented records and evaluation processes (Cook, 2001). Lastly, I collaborate with colleagues to protect the rights of vulnerable patients and members of society in order to avoid discrimination that could be founded on individuals’ handicapped status.
Healthcare Settings
Healthcare refers to the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of health complications like diseases, injuries, and all forms of impairment in human beings. It encompasses a wide range of services such as public health, primary, secondary and tertiary services. As such, people receive healthcare services in various settings which offer unique services. For instance, hospitals offer total medical care which ranges from diagnosis of diseases to surgery, to nursing care services. Some hospitals offer specialized services like cancer treatment, dental care, treatment of the mentally handicapped, or child care (United States Department of Labor, 2010). Hospitals require a high level of quality as they attend to people with diverse complications. On the other hand, nursing care facilities give rehabilitation, in-patient nursing, and personalized health care to patients who may require nursing care outside the hospital. Moreover, convalescent homes attend to patients who require less attention. These services are provided by nurses with the assistance of specialized practitioners.
Offices of physicians also offer specialized medical services as a number of physicians and surgeons prefer operating privately or as a group of practitioners. They emphasize quality service delivery since group members are always specialists (United States Department of Labor, 2010). Nurses may also be hired to facilitate these services. In addition, offices of dentists account for twenty percent of healthcare facilities. They employ fewer nurses and other workers to provide cosmetic, preventive, or emergency care. Offices of other practitioners include offices of podiatrists, chiropractors, dietitians, optometrists, alternative medicine doctors, and speech-language pathologists (United States Department of Labor, 2010). These services have been necessitated by the ability of patients to pay bills through insurance or directly to providers. The last segment is ambulatory healthcare services which comprise laboratories and outpatient care centers. They include blood and organ centers, substance abuse centers, kidney dialysis, and other tests.
Causes of the rising cost of healthcare
There has been a continuous increase in medical costs over the years in the United States and other parts of the world. It is believed that medical services, drugs, and other medical advances top the list of these factors that American leaders continue fighting. This is due to the fact that medical advances are known to cause inflationary effects. For instance, significant growth has been realized in radiology with the number of annual imaging procedures rising to about nine percent. Furthermore, this increase mainly occurs in the most expensive modalities of imaging like MRI and PET (Price Water House Coopers, 2002). To deal with this problem, medical practitioners ought to consider other disease management techniques which could be used as affordable options compared to commonly recommended procedures. Additionally, stringent legislation could be adopted for the purpose of restricting the use of certain medical procedures that lead to high medical costs.
An increase in provider expenses also contributes to the current trends in healthcare services. This makes it impossible for the majority of patients to afford such services (Price Water House Coopers, 2002). In dealing with this problem, there are several legal processes that could be explored. For instance, the U.S government may choose to regulate medical services such that service providers operate within certain boundaries that are realistic depending on existing economic conditions. In addition, health insurance policies could help the public to meet part of the expenses through Medicare or Medicaid.
Lastly, the high cost of medical services has been caused by global inflation. With prices of all essential commodities rising, medical service providers have no option other than to raise charges. This trend is expected to continue as long as the world economy is not stable (Price Water House Coopers, 2002). It is the role of the government to implement measures to deal with inflation as this would lower the cost of important commodities and make the cost of healthcare services more affordable.
Impact of economy on healthcare
Unlike other forces, the economy of the United States shapes the interplay among several phenomena like the financial ability of patients, employment, and medical cost. In a system where employment plays a major role as a source of income, any economic surge would result in significant effects (Bernstein, 2009). According to economic research, there are three recessions that have had a significant impact on the U.S economy and the world at large with the 2007 recession has been quite momentous.
What impact has this recession and downsizing of the economy had on medical professionals and recipients of healthcare? Like other sectors of the economy, healthcare has been severely affected, leading to several negative effects. For instance, employer-sponsored insurance which has been common for the last several have become inefficient with most employers either being unable to offer coverage or offering it partially (Bernstein, 2009). Before this period, government policies were quite successful in promoting healthcare with a number of private organizations ensuring that people earning low income had access to medical services.
With unemployment being a major effect of a dwindling economy, it is obvious that both medical practitioners and healthcare recipients have been affected. Several practitioners have lost their jobs with others opting to move to better countries where they feel that they could be well paid (Bernstein, 2009). The impact of this has been a decrease in the number of specialized medical practitioners, making it difficult for patients to be fully served. Additionally, high rates of inflation and unemployment make it impossible for most citizens to pay for medication as employers are not willing to offer full medical coverage. Low-income rates for the majority of people further strains resources as earned wages do not meet the needs of people.
References
Bernstein, J. (2009). Issue Brief: Impact of the Economy on Health Care. Changes in Healthcare financing and organization.Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Academy Health. Web.
Cook, J. (2001). The attributes of effective clinical nurse leaders. Nursing Standard, 15(35), 33-6.
Price Water House Coopers. (2002). The Factors Fuelling Rising Healthcare Costs. Price Water House Coopers. Web.
United States Department of Labor. (2010). Career guide to Industries 2010-2011 edition. United States Department of Labor. Web.