How to Be a Successful Nurse Advocate

The key to thriving in a hospital, is the nurse who is able to understand patient needs, and can assist in communicating these needs to the health care team. In other words, the nurse needs to be successful in her role as patient advocate.

Entering a medical system as a patient is like entering a foreign country as a tourist. From the foreign clothes the patient must don, hospital gowns, to the language that must be discerned, medical jargon. For the patient, the medical system is disconcerting. As a patient, you want a guide to this alien culture to help you when you are sick or to maintain wellness. This is where the effective nurse advocate can help.

According to the American Nurses Association's, 'Code of Ethics for Nurses' a nurses primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, or community. The nurse