Every day, nurses change and save lives by detecting over two-thirds of safety-related medical errors before they affect the patient. They play a decisive, critical role in healthcare, and their contributions often go beyond what meets the eye. They are not only caregivers but also advocates, educators, and sources of comfort and support for patients. The impact of nurses on the lives of their patients is immeasurable, and their efforts are vital in saving lives and improving outcomes.
Do Nurses Save Lives?
Examples go from responsibly following up on patients with phone calls to preventing errors in medication administration, such as the wrong patient or dosage, and even in cases when medical errors actually do reach the patient, nurses still manage to avert physical harm in nearly half of the cases.
Orderliness and Diligence: Dialysis Nurse's Life-Saving Phone Call
In a dialysis clinic in Woodstock, Georgia, a remarkable nurse's rigorous adherence to protocol saved two lives in one single year. When patients failed to show up for their treatments, the nurse followed the protocol and made immediate phone calls. In one instance, a patient had slipped and fallen in his driveway on an icy cold day and couldn't get up. Thanks to the nurse's call, his family rescued him in time. In another case, thanks to the nurse’s quick and certain action, the family found the patient who had passed out just before heading to treatment, and again, the nurse's call prompted life-saving assistance.
Research and statistics provide evidence that nurses indeed save lives. Adding one full-time registered nurse (RN) to a unit can significantly reduce hospital-related deaths: In intensive care units (ICUs), deaths can be reduced by 9%; in medical-surgical units, deaths can be reduced by 16% among surgical patients and by 6% among medical patients. Specifically, the presence of an additional nurse leads to lower rates of hospital-acquired pneumonia, respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, and shorter patient lengths of stay.
How Do Nurses Change Lives?
Nurses integrate encouragement, empowerment, reassurance, dignity, meticulous care, physical comfort, innovation, and unwavering emotional support into a strong transformative capacity, at the service of patients and their families.
Sharing and Connecting with the Patient: The Power of a Song
Nurse Brenda in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has been quietly singing to patients for 14 years. One patient, Robert, was admitted to the hospital due to difficulty breathing. While watching a show on Pat Boone, Robert commented that he liked a song by Boone's daughter, and Brenda looked up the lyrics and started singing his favorite song, "You Light Up My Life." The heart-to-heart connection through music comforted the patient and gave him a lift, contributing to his improved health and discharge from the hospital.
In another case, when a family member asked what to say to a patient who did not recognize him, the nurse suggested that they sing together, changing an uncomfortable situation into a happy time for both.
In the words of Leo Buscaglia, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
Emotional support and simple sharing, which nurses are well-positioned to provide, encourage patients and their families, arouse latent strengths, and contribute to positive outcomes and high patient satisfaction.
Dignity: End-of-Life Care
In the midst of Betty’s Alzheimer’s haze, a bad fall left her frail with multiple fractures. Meanwhile, her steadfast husband of 68 years, Arthur, suffered a heart attack. Initially placed in separate units, the compassionate nurses went above and beyond to secure a hospice room the couple could share. Betty passed away one day before Arthur. They were side by side right up to the end of a long life together.
Nurses prioritize dignity, particularly during end-of-life care, by providing comfort and respect.
Innovative Solutions: Practical Inventions
Additionally, nurses tend to patients' physical comfort, utilizing their skills and knowledge to alleviate pain and promote healing. They also play a role in inventing and implementing new technologies and techniques to improve patient care. Facing the challenge of healthcare needs, nurses came up with many very practical inventions, solving common and embarrassing problems for both patients and healthcare professionals:
- The crash cart—to have everything you need in one place for a code blue
- Feeding tubes, originally for war veterans left paralyzed or for arm or hand amputees to be able to feed themselves
- The Wong-Baker pain rating scale, which uses facial expressions that children can understand
- Color-coded IV lines that can be easily and quickly distinguished in an emergency and reduce IV medication errors
- Ostomy pouches that do not leak, release much less odor, and are disposable, saving patients from embarrassment and saving precious time for nurses
Teaching by providing information and knowledge is another crucial aspect of nursing, empowering patients to make informed decisions about their health.
They lead rapid responses, double-check physicians' work, and diligently monitor patients for crucial changes. These daily actions have a direct impact on patient safety and contribute to saving and improving lives. Nurses change lives by providing hope and understanding, instilling confidence and courage in patients and helping them navigate difficult health journeys.
What Are Some Challenges to Being a Nurse?
Nurses creatively struggle with formidable problems in their profession, and as the year 2023 unfolds, healthcare is witnessing even further intensification and compounding of ongoing issues regarding the vicious cycle of stress, fatigue, and the still unbeaten nursing shortage.
- Across generations, a higher percentage of nurses—increasing from 62% to 77%—report dealing with greater stress than in previous years.
- Stress, fatigue, and burnout drive the mass exodus of nurses seen in 2022 and 2023 and highlight the critical need to pay greater attention to nurses' mental health. A recent scholarly study shed light on the concerning prevalence rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (47%), anxiety (38%), depression (41%), and high emotional exhaustion (60%) among these dedicated healthcare professionals.
- The nursing shortage, a challenge in itself, directly intensifies stress, burnout, and mental health issues among nurses themselves and jeopardizes patient care.
As the supply of nurses dwindles, the demand continues to rise. The growing demand for nursing staff to care for patients with complex healthcare needs, coupled with a decreasing supply of nurses, has led to the largest nursing shortage in the United States, expected to worsen in 2023.
Growing Demand for Registered Nurses
In a study updated in 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that over 275,000 additional nurses are needed by 2030, with the nursing job growth rate projected at 6% for registered nurses, 9% for nurses in general, and 40% for nurse practitioners through 2031—much faster than the growth rate for other occupations.
In the face of critical gaps, healthcare institutions rely on per diem nurses as a vital lifeline, ensuring swift and capable coverage and keeping the system resilient in times of crisis. Nursa helps nurses and hospitals connect with each other to make this strategy work.
Nurses are indispensable, saving lives and making a significant impact on the well-being of their patients. Their contributions extend beyond their medical expertise, encompassing emotional support, advocacy, and education, and Nursa makes sure they can be well-positioned to follow their calling.
