GENUINE CARE IN NURSING By: Maria Kristina D.

Siuagan, RN Various frameworks had provided a set of standards on provision of care for patients in the health care setting. Such standards are governed and justified with logical rationale derived from research-proven advancements in medical science, particularly in nursing. As a nurse professional, founding the methodologies of care implementation on the nursing fundamentals is deemed necessary in order to ensure safe nursing practice. It is always a requisite for all nurses to know and practice these nursing care standards whenever dealing with their patients. It is their main responsibility to ensure the provision of individualized and safe care in order to meet their patients health needs. While it is expected of all Filipino nurse professionals to give intelligent and safe care to their patients, still, most of them are forgetting one aspect of care that should be considered with high regard. No matter how efficient your assessment, planning, and care implementation could be; a nurse must never neglect practicing their profession with a genuine heart. Genuineness is not something one can easily acquire from attending graduate school or reading profound reference books or manuscripts. It is rather something nurses should feel highly of and be enthusiastic to explore upon. It is one thing a nurse should engage on and keep up with. Genuineness is deeply rooted upon willingness in response to a call of service. Some might find it an overstatement but beli eve it or dont, it is highly relevant to the essence of becoming a true nurse. As someone coming from the same profession, I opt to mention three factors I have seen and observed during my clinical practice as a nurse. They all have a relative interplay with one another and great influence on the state of genuineness of a contemporary Filipino nurses professional practice. THE PATIENT AS A DISEASE ENTITY Nowadays, many nurses are considered proficient in all their respective fields, especially in terms of their knowledge and skills in performing and assisting various routine and special procedures. However, it is sad to find out that after attending to their respective patients, the care often stops right there. Say for example, a nurse turns his patient to a different position because he knows that maintaining him in the same position for prolonged periods of time might give him pressure sores. Then after doing so, he simply walks away never bothering how the patient is feeling or if the patient has other aspects of needs. As long as he performs acts of nursing care that could be written on the patients chart at the end of every shift, he thinks everything is fine. While implementing standard nursing interventions are necessary, a lot of nurses are forgetting that they are dealing with human beings and not with their diseases. That aside from checking on their vital signs and maintaining their contraptions, they need a genuine care that would make them feel that they are not alone; that even if their family members may be away from them, there is always someone on a white cap and uniform that is ready to give a hand; somebody who makes them feel more human amidst all these feelings of adversities endured during a long period of treatment. As nurses, you shall be able to treat your patients in all sense of holism. Every aspect of a patients persona should be taken in great consideration and respect.

PROVISION OF PATIENT CARE Many patients nowadays would say, If you want a great and caring nurse, do your best to have your admission at a PRIVATE facility. Isnt care should be expected from ANY nurse professional there is? Regardless of patient assignment, genuine care (apart from professional, empirical, and skilful methodologies) is one important component of nursing practice. Nursing care do not discriminate whether the recipient is a billionaire or amongst those thriving below poverty line. Delivering expert care should be the same for all types of clientele. There shall never be a difference between nursing in a high-end and private facility from a public and general hospital. But now, the innate norms in the health care setting permits otherwise. A number of nurses in public hospitals are seen dealing with patients in unpleasant sorts of ways. PRIORITIZATION AND ALLOTMENT FOR NURSE PROFESSIONALS For someone who is a professional, he is always entitled of a rightful degree of compensation for the provision of his expertise. Nursing is a profession from which individuals are moulded to provide expert care to any client receiving it. Therefore, nurses are also entitled to a decent and rightful degree of compensation. Ideally, a registered nurse shall be receiving a salary not lower than grade 15 as prescribed in Section 32 of the Republic Act 9173, also know as the Nursing Act of 2002. However, nurses had been inappropriately compensated over the years. Instead, nurses had been receiving a much lesser amount as compared to the mandated salary grade for nurses. A nurse professionals way of providing expert care is not solely funded on monetary figures. However, a rightful compensation should always be given on each member of the Philippine nursing labor force to ensure the general welfare of themselves, as well as their own families. The allotment of unjust salary to these nurse professionals is somewhat influential on their decreased motivation to execute their utmost professional expertise in their respective settings. At present, there is an obvious struggle and impediment in the part of nurse professionals particularly on these major issues affecting the practice of their profession. However, these should not hinder a Filipino nurse to exemplify genuineness in providing expert care to his patients. As a nurse, one has vowed to dedicate his practice on genuine service for others. No matter what happens, they should be able to live by it. Continue embodying the persona of a true Filipino nurse. Always become the genuine and caring professionals we are all known for.

Copyright by MARIA KRISTINA D. SIUAGAN