This article highlights the various responsibilities undertaken by the nurses, which once were led by health professionals and general practitioners. One way this presents a symbol of success for the NHS since sociological health care is being increasingly placed under the spotlight. For many reasons nurses increased responsibility and role has been appreciated, of which one is that women are more comfortable to be examined by female practitioners. Improved quality by nursing professionals follow strict hygiene practices, however, there is a need that the roles performed by nurses must be scrutinized.
Since the inception of the NHS, traditional health care roles and scripts have been well-rehearsed and firmly established, leading to customary practices and working patterns and 60 years of NHS have held center stage, but this is now being challenged by acknowledgment of the contribution that others can make to health and social care.
Nurse practitioners in all generations have emerged to play discrete nursing roles within health care and since these roles are in different stages of formalization and are all concerned with the adjustment of boundaries for the development of future practice, they require a higher level of judgment than the one which is used right now. Newly performing nursing roles are encouraged by NHS, to the extent where practitioners’ shortage is prompted by nursing staff. Even in situations where an adequate nursing workforce is there, communities believe that as a solution to assume that the majority of nurses want to take on medical activities.
Many trusts having nursing directors on their boards feel pressurized so that they consider no other option than to restructure themselves, by cutting down costs and downgrading or alleviating higher posts of nursing. These self-managing trusts must keep in mind that the model sought to engage clinicians in the management process follow a combined role of clinician-manager which uses independent cost centres and devolved budgets.
NHS must look forward to the workforce constraints likely occur in the next 60 years that may reflect on the availability of trained medical and non-medical personnel to work in intensive care. To meet the need for specialised training in Intensive Care Medicine, recommendations must be made by the authorities for Training in Intensive Care Medicine. Proposals must be made to advocate nursing students, practitioners in hospital specialities and those wishing to pursue a full-time career to receive a structured exposure to this clinical area.
NHS must acknowledge the substantial advantages these recommendations uphold, for the delivery of health care educational support and resource is required to meet the curricula demands of such programmes. Besides the advantages there is a need to consider the notion that senior medical staff must not only be committed to education and training, but also places increasing demands on nursing staff to support junior medical staff in the principles of managing critically ill patients.
The role played by general practitioners (GPs) is also criticised for often the GPs put entire responsibility on the shoulders of nurses which continues to be strongly driven by the knowledge and roles held by medicine, thereby affecting clinical decision making. Since clinical decision making involves the contribution of both doctors and nurses, therefore nursing must not be considered as the main recognising authority in decision making.
Reference
‘North East Nurses Lead the Way as the NHS Turns 60; NURSING UPDATE’, Evening Chronicle. 2008, p. 8.