Explaining the Process of Playing the Role of a Nurse As a Patient Advocate in the Emergency Department: Providing a Theoretical Model; [Explicacion Del Proceso De Desempenar El Papel De Una Enfermera Como Defensora Del Paciente En El Departamento De Emergencias: Proporcionar Un Modelo Teorico] Publisher



Kohan KS^{1, 2} ; Sabet FP³ ; Darvishpour A^{4, 5}
Source: Revista Latinoamericana de Hipertension Published:2023

Abstract

Introduction & Background: The primary mission of healthcare providers is to preserve life and provide comfort. The comfort of patients referring to the emergency department is undeniable. Since emergency departments receive patients with internal ailments such as diabetic ketoacidosis, hypertension, chemical poisoning, and multiple systemic traumas. The emergency department nurse is required to play the role of advocate for these patients at higher risk. The primary goal of this study was to explain the process of playing the role of patient advocacy. Methods: This study was conducted qualitatively and using the grounded theory method. Seventeen nurses working in the emergency department from 4 selected hospitals of Gilan University of Medical Sciences based on the primary emergency centers in Rasht city were included in the study purposefully and using a theoretical sampling method. Data were collected with semi-structured interviews and indirect observation. Data were analyzed simultaneously using the Strauss and Corbin approach. At first, Maxqd-19 software was used to organize the data. Results: In the data analysis, two primary categories of condition complexity and prudent comprehensive care were identified with 6 and 3 subcategories, respectively. Playing the role of a nurse in patient advocacy in the emergency department is a dynamic and repetitive process. The combined concept of “work creation and prudent care of a comfortable life” was the clearest concept revealed in the data. It was the most abstract concept that covered all the concepts. The complicated conditions of the emergency department are the primary barrier to playing the role of nurse advocacy in the emergency department. Conclusion: In emergency department conditions, it is necessary to provide the conditions for the realization of the concept of the role of the nurse as the patient’s advocate with work creation and comprehensive care of life and comfort. Fundamental legislation in the health system seems necessary in playing the role of the nurse as a patient advocate. © 2023, Venezuelan Society of Pharmacology and Clinical and Therapeutic Pharmacology. All rights reserved.