Introduction
This paper reviews the article by Atallah, Hamdan‐Mansour, Al‐Sayed, and Aboshaiqah (2013) that studies the reasons behind patients’ satisfaction with the nursing care quality and reveals the areas for quality improvement of medical assistance. This critique paper provides an evaluation of the mentioned research, including its purposes, methods, and results. It also offers information on other studies in the field. The work concludes by a reflection on the research’s significance for my nursing practice.
Article’s Overview and Critique
The chosen material represents a detailed study that can contribute to the development of nursing care. The title corresponds with the content of the research paper and describes it accurately. The abstract presents the purpose of the study and reveals its results, giving a short but informative summary of the article. The authors’ purpose is to identify the level of patient satisfaction and the aspects they perceive as significant to healthcare. The key terms are clearly defined. The results of the research are practically important as they reflect the significance of nurses’ role in treatment.
The cited sources are pertinent to the study. Notably, the authors utilize extensive reviews on the topic to develop their thesis, which reflects that their work is one of the first researches on the subject. Most of the literature they reference is not recent. However, the authors use their findings to support the relevance of the topic and provide background information on modern healthcare implementation. The chosen sources do not reflect any evidence of bias.
For their study, the authors used a cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational design. The study utilized the following variables: nurses’ professionalism, nurses’ communication, teaching, which included providing information about procedures, nurses’ availability and attentiveness, admission evaluation, and discharge process. In my opinion, all elements of criterion are valid as they represent the significant components of professional behavior. The information on patient satisfaction was collected through self-evaluated questionnaires. The research included 100 individuals above the age of 18 (Atallah et al., 2013). The patients that we’re unable to read the questions or register their answers were provided with assistance. The data were collected using the questionnaire in Arabic and later translated into English. In my opinion, the authors used a reasonable approach to their study, which is proven by the preliminary confirmation by the ethical research committee.
The authors used the Statistical Package for Social Science software for data review, entry, and storage. To describe the obtained samples, they used descriptive statistical analysis, including frequency count, standard deviation, and percentage (Atallah et al., 2013). In my opinion, the report is valuable as it represents the received data in a detailed form. The findings support the purpose of the study, reflecting the levels of patients’ dissatisfaction regarding various aspects of nursing care.
Other researches support the results of the study. For example, Farahani, Shamsikhani, and Hezaveh (2014) also report that one of the significant factors of patient satisfaction is related to easy access to nurses’ assistance. Another cross-sectional study proves that missing nursing care can result in negative feedback from patients (Lake, Germack, & Viscardi, 2016). Papastavrou, Andreou, Tsangari, and Merkouris (2014) insist that patient satisfaction is linked to the rationing of medical practices. Indeed, communicative methods nurses use to interact with their clients have the most substantial impact on their perceptions of healthcare staff’s work (Shirley & Sanders, 2013). Physicians should be available to their patients and assist them with respect and responsibility.
There are a few limitations related to the study. In my opinion, it lacks suggestions on the improvement of nursing practices. Although the purpose and the problem of the study are clearly stated, it is not evident what goals the authors wanted to achieve by conducting it. I believe that the work addresses many aspects of care and only lacks information on how its results can be applied to practice. The article fails to state particular research questions as well. Nevertheless, the research can be a significant contribution to the development of nursing care.
The conclusions of the study are related to the original purpose. They revealed that for 86% of patients, nurses’ expertise is a highly valuable trait (Atallah et al., 2013). Unexpectedly, medical professionals’ communication skills were not rated as a significant component of their performance. However, many patients were not satisfied with nurses’ language skills. The research showed that people expected medical staff to be well-dressed, respectful to cultural diversity, and courteous (Atallah et al., 2013). Further study can investigate the topic regarding the solutions nurses can implement to meet patients’ needs.
Conclusion
I would use this article in my practice as it gave me a valuable insight into several aspects concerning nursing. I have realized the significance of a culture-oriented approach to patient care as many of the interviewees reported dissatisfaction in this aspect of medical assistance. I will also work on my professional domain’s improvement as it has the highest satisfaction rate among patients. The study also provided valuable information on the difference in patients’ perspectives related to their educational level and the number of admissions to the hospital. I think that I would use this information to improve my performance as a caregiver.
References
Atallah, M. A., Hamdan‐Mansour, A. M., Al‐Sayed, M. M., & Aboshaiqah, A. E. (2013). Patients’ satisfaction with the quality of nursing care provided: The Saudi experience. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 19(6), 584-590.
Farahani, M. F., Shamsikhani, S., & Hezaveh, M. S. (2014). Patient satisfaction with nursing and medical care in hospitals affiliated to Arak University of Medical Sciences in 2009. Nursing and Midwifery Studies, 3(3).
Lake, E. T., Germack, H. D., & Viscardi, M. K. (2016). Missed nursing care is linked to patient satisfaction: A cross-sectional study of US hospitals. BMJ Quality & Safety, 25(7), 535-543.
Papastavrou, E., Andreou, P., Tsangari, H., & Merkouris, A. (2014). Linking patient satisfaction with nursing care: The case of care rationing – A correlational study. BMC Nursing, 13(1).
Shirley, E. D., & Sanders, J. O. (2013). Patient satisfaction: implications and predictors of success. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 95(10), 584-590.