American Sentinel University Blog Series Examines Core Values of Nursing Patient Advocacy as Defined by American Nurses Association Code of Ethics

Nurses are in a unique and ideal position to advocate for patients on an individual basis because they have the most frequent and direct interaction with patients. Nursing used to simply be about delivering patient care, but the role of nurses today has greatly evolved beyond that notion, giving nurses a duty to advocate for their patients.

As part of American Sentinel University’s healthcare blog ‘The Sentinel Watch,’ a three-part blog ‘Patient Advocacy Series’ examines the three core values that form the basis of patient advocacy as defined by the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics. Nurses are educated about the health and safety of their patients and accept their role as advocates for their patients because they are best suited to the role. Because they are with patients around the clock and have the knowledge and skills to effectively translate diagnoses and procedures into understandable terms for patients and their families, it falls on nurses to be the advocate for patients beyond just the bedside.

The Patient Advocacy blog series covers three important patient advocacy topics for nurses:

Preserving Human Dignity: Recognizing patients as human beings, not just room numbers; Serves to keep patient dignity intact.
Promoting Patient Equality: Caring for underserved and vulnerable populations with a focus on practices to help end medical and healthcare access disparities.
Ensuring Freedom from Suffering: A holistic focus on nursing without focusing solely on patients’ physical conditions.

Effectively advocating for patients goes beyond passion and knowledge. It requires advanced education and training to help nurses develop better critical thinking, organization, and communication skills. This kind of advanced education enhances a nurse’s effectiveness, opening the door to opportunities in the expanded role of patient advocate. Nurses have an individual responsibility to advocate for their patients, and usually have more authority when they approach advocacy issues as a united group.