Required qualifications for a Nurse to become a patient’s advocate

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Patient advocacy is one vital practice undertaken by advanced nursing (Davoodvand, Abbaszadeh & Ahmadi, 2016). Therefore, nurses require education and experience to illustrate their professional prowess in practice and deliver effective care. Education and experience are important qualifications for nurse advocates because it presents an opportunity to reflect on evidence-based practice and emerging changes in the healthcare system (Lucatorto, Thomas & Siek, 2016).

However, besides education and experience, nurses should be articulate in their scope of practice and take accountability in providing patient care that is consistent with the standard of practice and state regulations. Furthermore, Lucatorto, Thomas and Siek (2016) suggest that in patient advocacy, nurses should be able to define their practice for healthcare teams, patients and healthcare systems. Such an understanding provides nurses with the power to enact healthcare policies.

Required qualifications for a Nurse to become a patient’s advocate

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Another qualification is personal attributes; thus, nurses advocating for home health, elderly care, and young children’s medical should be patient and people-oriented. Patience may help nurse advocates to appreciate demographical differences. In addition, nurses interested in advocating for billing and insurance issues should comprehend the functioning of payer reimbursements, co-pays, deductibles and con-insurances. Recognition of government payment structures, including Medicaid and math for Medicare skills, is also necessary.

Evidence also shows that nurses who wish to become patient advocates should get a registered nurse (RN) license (Nursing Journal, 2019). Implicitly, nurse advocacy must comply with the licensing requirements. While each state is regulated by the Board of Nursing (BON), it also ascertains that patients are safeguarded from medical inability. Generally, nurse advocates should have good communication, organizational and time management skills, be compassionate, research-oriented and possess the ability to solve issues. Additionally, they should be innovative in addressing challenging issues and get along with other healthcare professionals, patients and their families.

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References

Davoodvand, S., Abbaszadeh, A., & Ahmadi, F. (2016). Patient advocacy from the clinical nurses’ viewpoint: A qualitative study. Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, 9. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4958925/

Nursing Journal. (2019). Requirements to become a nurse advocate. Retrieved from https://nursejournal.org/nursing-advocate/what-to-know-to-become-a-nurse-advocate/

Lucatorto, M. A., Thomas, T. W., & Siek, T. (2016). Registered nurses as caregivers: Influencing the system as patient advocates. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 21(3). DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol21No03Man02

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