ambulatory care nursing assignment help

ambulatory care nursing assignment help

The Importance of Ambulatory Care Nursing

1. Introduction to Ambulatory Care Nursing

The Ambulatory Nursing Society (2007) defines ambulatory nursing as “all nursing practice in low settings where healthcare auditing is conducted on individuals, their families, or communities experiencing actual or perceived health alterations in their home or in the nurse’s personal practice site, where federally licensed services exclude standards.”

The aim of ambulatory care nursing is to deliver patient-focused, cost-effective care to those in need. The goal is to address the exclusions and barriers to accessible healthcare, including the diagnosis and treatment of specific health conditions, prevention of disease and disability, and support for coping and adapting.

Ambulatory care nursing encompasses efforts to provide cost-effective and accessible high-quality healthcare services for all ages. The scope of accomplishing this in a steady and advancing healthcare environment requires the knowledge and use of informatics, such as telephone triage nursing, electronic health records, technological aids, and quality control programs.

Ambulatory care nurses treat and educate patients in a variety of settings and make them capable of taking care of themselves. They provide an umbrella of services and a wide range of particular practice services, such as primary care, specialty care, and emergency care for acute episodic illness and accidents. They also serve as case managers and care coordinators for individuals with chronic disease.

Ambulatory care nursing refers to the nursing care that is rendered in a community-based setting. Ambulatory care, as well as outpatient care, is a type of medical care which is not provided in a hospital on an inpatient basis. Rather, it is rendered to the patients on a daily basis, either by appointment or on a walk-in basis. Such patients are called ambulatory patients; that is, they are able to walk and do not need to be admitted to the hospital.

2. Role and Responsibilities of Ambulatory Care Nurses

Ambulatory care nurses work in a fast-paced environment. These types of nurses have various duties that they need to complete within a given day. The main job of an ambulatory care nurse is to take care of patients in outpatient settings. This means that they serve a hospital or facility and do not have any overnight stay of patients. One of the roles of ambulatory care nurses is to support the local doctors. These doctors will often turn to a laboratory for patient samples and treatments. As the doctors’ offices work directly with the nurse, a cohesive team is formed. Good communication is very important in any patient care, and the doctors and the nurses are aware of all aspects of the patient’s treatment. The nursing community in general has regarded this field as a smaller, less-demanding version of hospital care nursing. However, in recent years, ambulatory care nursing has become the new wave for nursing in general. This is largely due to the rapid growth of healthcare and the rising costs of hospital care. Ambulatory care is meant to be an easier, more cost-effective alternative to emergency care. These are things to keep in mind and ambulatory care nurses may notice over time. In a large facility, some ambulatory care nurses may be in charge of the management of other nurses. However, this area is open-ended as the scope of work for ambulatory care nurses can be different from facility to facility.

3. Benefits of Ambulatory Care Nursing

Switching to ambulatory care nursing has a lot of benefits. Firstly, the working hours of ambulatory care nurses can be more flexible. Most ambulatory care centers have evening and weekend hours, which allows nurses to adjust their work schedules and work at hours that best suit their lifestyles. This is especially helpful for working parents or for those who plan to further their studies while working. In addition, most ambulatory care centers do not operate 24 hours, 7 days a week like hospitals. As such, the nurses are not required to work on night shifts as frequent as those working in the acute care settings. The average salary for ambulatory care nurses is relatively high, around $60,000 to $70,000 per year. While more and more patients opt for the ambulatory care services over acute care services, there is a growing demand for ambulatory care nurses in the healthcare job market. This ultimately leads to job security, as ambulatory care nurses will be less likely to be laid off due to shortage of nursing staff or closure of the healthcare facility. Last but not least, working in an ambulatory care setting can be quite rewarding, as nurses get to build long-term relationships with their patients from treating chronic illnesses. Because these patients visit the ambulatory care centers on a regular basis, nurses have more opportunities to collaborate with the same team of healthcare providers and to develop close working relationships with colleagues. This in turn will contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of patient care given by ambulatory care centers. It is also fulfilling for nurses to see how their efforts in providing care that emphasizes patient education and disease prevention can significantly improve the health of people and the community in the long run.

4. Challenges in Ambulatory Care Nursing

Ambulatory care nursing is a complex, multifaceted field of nursing that is rapidly evolving in response to the constant changes in the healthcare industry. Although there are many advantages to ambulatory care – like the ability to build strong therapeutic relationships with patients and an increased variety in the clinical work – there are also many challenges that can be difficult to overcome in this type of work setting. For example, in the book it is highlighted that the latest technology and research findings are more easily integrated into clinical practice in ambulatory care environments, which can increase the quality of care that patients receive. However, another challenge noted is that “ambulatory care nurses have to be jacks of all trades and masters of most. With a diverse patient population and a wide range of conditions seen, the nurse must be skilled in early recognition of when a condition is deteriorating, which may quickly escalate to a life-threatening situation, and be able to work on his or her own.” This indeed is a significant challenge for ambulatory care nurses, who often enjoy the greater degree of autonomy in the decisions affecting patient care that they can make autonomously in these types of settings, compared to nurses working in more traditional hospital environments. Additionally, the book also refers to continually changing and increasingly complex healthcare needs as a challenge for ambulatory care nursing. For example, it is mentioned that “A change in healthcare delivery, with an increased number of nurse-led and nurse-managed clinics – and decreased length of hospital admissions – means that patients with the greatest care needs are now discharged into the community.” The book suggests that, as a result, both the healthcare needs of the patients in the community are increasing.

5. Conclusion: Advancing Ambulatory Care Nursing

Ambulatory care nursing offers identifiable patient outcomes which are facilitated by expert nursing care, informed by the latest research, and initiated by nursing professionals. Now more than ever, the healthcare industry is in need of a skilled workforce capable of meeting the growing demand for services that can be provided outside of the traditional hospital setting. It is important for nurses in this field to seize new opportunities and take up the challenge of leading and participating in research and development in ambulatory care nursing. They should also play a vital role in shaping the healthcare policies of the future, ensuring that the needs of patients who seek ambulatory care services are met quickly and effectively. Like other scientific fields, nursing should be a dynamic profession, with professionals who are on a lifelong journey of discovery in both the theoretical and practical aspects of their work. More leadership skills programs should be made available to nurses in ambulatory care and healthcare providers must find ways to give frontline care providers as much dedicated time with patients as possible. As the trend toward more ambulatory care continues, the resources that can help these nursing professionals advance themselves and their field are crucial. Ambulatory care nursing is not just important as a sensible and effective means of providing nursing care to increasing numbers of patients. It is a field that is wide open to nursing research and the discovery of new, evidence-based treatment methods. Through work in such areas and by drawing more attention and support for the nursing professionals who work directly with patients outside of hospital and long-term care environments, ambulatory care nursing can also become a key proving ground for new nursing models and leadership in the healthcare industry. With an increasing emphasis on prevention and early treatment of illnesses – not to mention the rising cost of inpatient care – the field has never been more relevant or necessary. In the years to come, it is my hope that all nurses will take a moment to advocate for the importance of ambulatory care nursing in today’s modern, cost-conscious and patient-focused healthcare industry. Thus, advancing ambulatory care nursing will continue to take a focused effort, strong leadership, and recognition of the potential for great patient-centered outcomes through expert care in the right setting.