Introduction
The services provided by nurses in the community are very crucial in the continuity of man kind. One special group of patients that entirely benefit from these services are pregnant and the nursing mothers. The nurses take care of them from the onset of their pregnancy until they give birth and carry on until the children born are out of great health risks. Children below the age of five years are prone to diseases and the nurses see to it that their fatality is kept at minimal levels. The doctors are there to treat patients but once their duty is finished, they leave the rest to the nurses. The latter plays a very important role in the recovery process of the treated patients (Masters, 2009). Without them, the society would continue loosing many lives which would have otherwise not been lost in their presence. Therefore, they should make sure that they work to their level best to ensure that the people get the best health care services.
How to help the family nurse practitioner
Ms. R is a special type of a patient because she is developmentally disabled and at the same time pregnant. Apart from that she is also very young and therefore needs a lot of assistance both physical and psychological. At nineteen years of age she has not come into contact with many life experiences and needs people to be there for her. The best thing that can be done to such a patient at this very moment is to be shown love and compassion (Masters, 2009). This will only be possible through assisting the family nurse practitioner in taking care of her. This way the patient will be able to deal with the situation with much ease. The disability of the victim makes her not to obey the directions given by the medical practitioners. The statement also requires the nursing supervisor to make the right judgment in the process of delegation. As a nursing supervisor, I will make sure that the family nurse understands her role in meeting the needs of this client. She should not at any one moment be annoyed with the actions of this patient because the latter does not act that way out of her own will.
Ms. R should receive a special kind of attention now and after she gives birth because she does not seem to have someone close to her. Even her own mother is not part of her life and in addition to that, her boyfriend is busy with his work. As the nursing supervisor I will make sure that the family nurse practitioner gets the best support from the clinic. According to the American Nurses Association and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing joint statement on delegation, a registered nurse is responsible and accountable for the provision of nursing practice (Kelly, 2010). The life of the patients lies on the hands of the nurse and therefore the FNP should be helped to employ the right strategies to ensure that the clients recover within the shortest time possible. I will also make sure that the nurse get the required assistance from within and utilize it in the best way possible. In order to provide the best care, the nurses should put themselves in the shoes of the client. This way, they will know how best to treat the patients and that will work well towards their recovery process. In most cases, a patient needs the services of different health practitioners to speed up the process of their recovery. If situations demand help from outside, I will help the family nurse practitioner get all the services needed for his client.
Staffing plan
As a nurse supervisor, one has the responsibility to make sure that all the needs of the patients are attended to. The nurse should be able to make the right judgment in the delegation of a patients care (Kelly, 2010). As the supervisor I will make sure that I delegate duties concerning the care of Ms. R to the most competent health practitioners. I will employ the services of the nutritionist to ensure that this client receives the right nutrition during the gestation period and after. I will also make sure that the licensed vocational nurse gives her the education needed during pregnancy and after birth. This way, the client will have knowledge on what awaits her and how she should conduct herself in the whole process.
Due to her condition, a social worker will be made use of to manage her. This is because she may not understand the importance of all what she is told and may at times fail to act as advised. The social worker should keep reminding her every now and then to make sure that it gets stuck on her mind. Though acting on a call bases, the presence of the obstetrician is an added advantage to this client. I will see to it that she is attended to by the obstetrician on and after the pregnancy and more so during parturition. During birth anything can happen and complications arise; therefore the services of the obstetrician will be very important at this specific time (Masters, 2009). The client is now in the hospital because a urinary tract infection she had has reoccurred since she did not complete the antibiotic dosage given to her. She did not inform the concerned authorities that she had stopped taking the medication for the necessary measures to be taken. Because of all this she needs constant supervision to make sure that she complies with all the advice given.
Outside consultation by FNP
Consultation from outside the clinic needs to be made use of whenever necessary. This can be done when it becomes apparent that the available personnel are not in apposition to handle the situation in question. The nurse should critically analyze the situation to determine whether the patient needs the services of external health caretakers (Kelly, 2010). Sometimes even when the nurses available can be able to handle a certain issue regarding a patient, it may be best to involve external services. The FNP should be able to determine when such services should be employed. If situations get out of hand, it is always good to seek external advice and help.
Why a nursing supervisor is accountable for the process of delegation
A nursing supervisor is accountable for the process of delegation even when she does not have control over the process. This is because he or she is responsible for everything that happens to the patients. The nurse ensures that, all the other nurses and other health care givers carry out their duties in the right way. When external help is needed he or she will be responsible for informing the necessary authorities. Sometimes a member of the staff may be absent due to unavoidable circumstances. In this case, the supervising nurse makes sure that the duties of that member are carried out by someone else (Masters, 2009). This will make sure that some areas, patients or any other related issues are not left unattended to.
The importance of delegation skills in nursing supervisor
It is important for a nursing supervisor to develop skills associated with the authority of delegation. This is because situations demand it in order to maintain a good relationship with the rest of the staff. He or she should master the people with the proper knowledge and experience in relation to different matters. This will help in the process of delegating duties. The nurse also needs to have good communication skills to ensure that no one feels offended at the end of it all.
Reference List
Masters, K. (2009). Role development in professional nursing practice. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Pub.
Kelly, P. (2010). Essentials of nursing leadership & management. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning