System theory and practical issues

System theory and practical issues

The area of my specialty is Family Nurse Practitioner. The increase in the number of clients who are in dire need of family health care services because of the continuous aging of the American population and increase in the number of people who are acquiring health care insurance is one of the main concerns. Primary health care services are essential because it helps in improving the safety and the quality of life and reduce the cost of health care services because of disease prevention and healthy lifestyle (Smolowitz et al., 2015). The patient health outcome also improves because of the efforts of the primary health care providers to ensure consistency in the provision of primary health care.

On the micro-level, the increase in the number of patients seen by the nurse practitioner has a significant impact because, as the number of patients increases with the constant number of nurse practitioners, there will be limited time scheduled for every patient. At times not all patients see the Nurse Practitioner. They are, therefore, resulting in low quality of care to the patient, which leads to poor health outcomes and job dissatisfaction among the nursing practitioners. Also, the limited time influences the patient-provider relationship negatively, leading to minimal patient education on their health status and healthcare needs meant to improve their health and wellness.

Enrollment of more registered nurses into the primary care nursing field helps in addressing the issue of concern. A limited number of RNs are working in the primary care setting, making a total percentage of 10% (Smolowitz et al., 2015). The RNs can work closely with the Nurse Practitioner as a team. They can also work as educators and managers to help in ensuring tracking of consultation reports, follow-up appointments, and conducting patient education on their health needs, health status, and health promotion measures. As such, the NP will have enough time to assess the patient, diagnose, and manage the disease condition, after which the patient will receive health education from a qualified registered nurse.

On the meso level, the health care providers at the primary health care setting should harmonize the number of patients who visit the health facility for appointments to limit the time the patient uses in waiting for their turn to see the Nurse practitioner. The patients can book appointments schedule for different days to help ease the task for the nurse practitioner and avoid lengthy queues for the appointments (Yu et al., 2017). Also, the nurse practitioners and the team members should organize the schedule such that we can have different staff within a day. Appointments time can run from 7 am to 7 pm with extra staff to serve the patient’s needs, therefore allowing for additional appointments slots for the patient and the health care team will have enough time to spend with their family members and friends.

At the macro level, there are patients in the community who have difficulty in reaching the primary health care facility because of their health condition or age. The Nurse Practitioner should ensure the delivery of health care services through mobile health clinics to the various parts of the community. According to Yu et al. (2017), the mobile clinic aims to provide preventive screening, urgent care, and chronic disease management promptly within the community.

Interprofessional collaboration can play a crucial in the delivery of care among high numbered patients. Sharing the responsibilities among the interprofessional team members helps in reducing the burden among the Nurse Practitioners while ensuring that all patients receive primary health care services at the time of their need immediately.

References

Smolowitz, J., Speakman, E., Wojnar, D., Whelan, E., Ulrich, S., Hayes, C., & Wood, L. (2015). Role of the registered nurse in primary health care: Meeting health care needs in the 21st century. Nursing Outlook, 63(2), 130-136. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2014.08.004

Yu, S. W. Y., Hill, C., Ricks, M. L., Bennet, J., & Oriol, N. E. (2017). The scope and impact of mobile health clinics in the united states: A literature review. International Journal for Equity in Health 16, 1-12.  doi: 10.1186/s12939-017-0671-2