How a nurse's attendance can affect professionalism, pt. outcomes, etc Essay

How a nurse's attendance can affect professionalism, pt. outcomes, etc - Essay Example The availability of nurses during their shift is essential in a number of sectors in the hospital, and for this reason a glitch in this attendance may lead to various problems that may occur as a result. Areas Affected by a Nurse’s Attendance There are a number of areas within medical facilities that can be affected by the lack of proper attendance by a nurse, some of the more essential sectors that are affected include: Doctors Nurses can be considered to be a doctor’s right hand as they assist greatly in a large number of the activities they are involved in. Nurses in some cases have actually been known to do most of the work when compared to doctors in cases that do not require issues such as surgeries (Chin, 2008). A doctor will come in and evaluate the patient to determine what their ailment is and prescribe the required medication that is needed but a nurse will usually take over the responsibilities henceforth. This will include duties such as administering the p rescribed medicine, ensuring the dosage is as per the doctor’s instructions, handle any further complications that may occur such as ensuring the patient is comfortable as well regularly checking up n them to ensure that there are no unexpected changes. If a nurse does not have a proper attendance record, this may in effect cripple the doctor’s activities as it is hard to operate without the assistance of a nurse by their side (Chin, 2008). The lack of an available nurse may mean that a doctor will faced with extra responsibilities that they will have to handle themselves leading to interference in their schedule, which would mean they may not be capable of attending to as many patients as they usually would in cases where a nurse is available. Doctors handle all the responsibilities on their own which would in return reduce the effectiveness of the hospital in general as activities will be crippled as a result (Chin, 2008). The tardiness in a nurse may lead to the nee d for another to take up extra responsibilities, which would also reduce the quality of work that is done as the said nurse struggles to keep up with both their and their fellow nurse’s duties. Patients This group of people can be considered to be the ones that are mostly affected by a poor attendance by nurses as their wellbeing relies heavily on them. A patient wound not be able to have sufficient service offered to them without the availability of a nurse as a doctor is not accountable for a large number of things that are required by inpatients as well as outpatients and the lack of a proper attendance by a nurse will lead to this innocent group of people suffering as a result (DeWit, 2009). Nurses can be considered to be the ones who take care of the patients once the doctor has finished examining them and given their verdict of what needs to be done and thus without the availability of a nurse this care would not be attainable especially by inpatients. Nurses can be con sidered to be the groups that interacts the most with patients and perform a large number of duties such as the administering of medicine that has been prescribed to them (DeWit, 2009). In some cases, a doctor may examine a patient and write down a prescription leaving it for a nurse to come and read then administer it as per the instructions. A poor attendance may lead to situations where a patient does not receive their medication within the