Biomaterial Database

The nurse's role as patient advocate: obligation or imposition? 1996

C Willard

Manchester College of Midwifery and Nursing, England.

In order to secure professional standing, nursing has sought to discover and prove the value and uniqueness of the nursing contribution to patient well-being. A prominent feature of this quest has been the assertion by nurses and nurse writers that the nurse has a specific and special function as patient advocate. There is a substantial amount of literature to support this view, which is further reinforce by the United Kingdom Central Council (UKCC) for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting which states that advocacy forms an integral part of the nurse's duty to patients. This paper provides a critical analysis of some of the features central to advocacy in order to promote clarification of the concept. These include the patient's rights and interests in health care, the moral status of patient autonomy, the obligations owed to patients by nurses and the work of independent advocacy schemes. It is suggested that the literature tends to confuse advocacy with beneficence which dilutes the significance of advocacy in health care, and that nurses have no special function as patient advocate. Furthermore, due to the rigorous demands of the advocate role, the UKCC neither can nor should impose such an obligation on its members, who would be better served by improved support when they endeavour to discharge the full range of beneficent obligations owed to patients within their care.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007587	Job Description	Statement of the position requirements, qualifications for the position, wage range, and any special conditions expected of the employee.	Position Description,Description, Job,Description, Position,Descriptions, Job,Descriptions, Position,Job Descriptions,Position Descriptions
D008008	Licensure, Nursing	The granting of a license to practice the profession of nursing.	Licensures, Nursing,Nursing Licensure,Nursing Licensures
D009732	Nursing Care	Care given to patients by nursing service personnel.	Care, Nursing,Management, Nursing Care,Nursing Care Management
D010344	Patient Advocacy	Promotion and protection of the rights of patients, frequently through a legal process.	Patient Ombudsmen,Patient Representatives,Clinical Ombudsman,Patient Ombudsman,Advocacy, Patient,Ombudsman, Clinical,Ombudsman, Patient,Ombudsmen, Patient,Patient Representative,Representative, Patient,Representatives, Patient
D004993	Ethics, Nursing	The principles of proper professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of nurses themselves, their patients, and their fellow practitioners, as well as their actions in the care of patients and in relations with their families.	Nursing Ethics,Ethic, Nursing,Nursing Ethic
D006113	United Kingdom	Country in northwestern Europe including Great Britain and the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland, located between the North Sea and north Atlantic Ocean. The capital is London.	Great Britain,Isle of Man
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D017009	Professional Autonomy	The quality or state of being independent and self-directing, especially in making decisions, enabling professionals to exercise judgment as they see fit during the performance of their jobs.	Self Regulation, Professional,Autonomy, Professional,Professional Self Regulation,Regulation, Professional Self
D017410	Practice Guidelines as Topic	Works about directions or principles presenting current or future rules of policy for assisting health care practitioners in patient care decisions regarding diagnosis, therapy, or related clinical circumstances. The guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by the convening of expert panels. The guidelines form a basis for the evaluation of all aspects of health care and delivery.	Clinical Guidelines as Topic,Best Practices,Best Practice