There are so many nurses in the country, so people might think that their voice would be clear and heard out loud. However, that is not the case. It is not always easy to talk about issues, especially if it would have a direct effect on your job. I have to agree with Garon. According to Garon, it is important that nurses realize the need to speak up and be heard at work. It is important not just for the satisfaction at work, but also to have better team work and to provide outmost patient safety. (Garon 2012). I think nurses are being intimidated to their nurse managers and the physicians that they are afraid to speak up their minds. They feel that their opinions would be rejected and they are afraid of discipline (Brown 2013). Probably they are underestimating their abilities because they think they are just secondary to the physicians. They feel that the doctors and their managers know better than them, so all they have to do is to follow their lead. I agree that there must be an open communication in the hospital to provide better care to the patients. Nurses must realize that they are capable of providing the best care possible to patients, especially if they would share their knowledge and opinions to the team. I think the results of the study would help the nursing and medical field in improving care, safety, and teamwork in their workplace. Open communication must be promoted and everyone must be given a chance to speak up their minds. Nurses must learn to advocate for themselves as well as their patients. Their day to day actions and decisions can bring health care changes. Advocacy is the act of speaking up for others in order to meet their needs and this is an expectation of professional nurses (Giddens 2013). Since they are the ones who are in the front line, they know what is really happening. If they don’t speak up, then no one would know what is going on. It is important to speak up, especially if there is a possibility of a potential breach in the safety of patients. Nurses must realize that it is their responsibility. If a patient is vulnerable or at risk and the patient knows something, he must learn to speak his mind.
References:
Brown, Lorie. (2013). Health Care is Waiting for Nursing Professionals to Speak Their Minds. Retrieved from http://www.nursetogether.com/health-care-waiting-nursing-professionals-speak-their-minds
Garon, Maryanne. (2012). Speaking up, being heard: registered nurses’ perceptions of workplace communication. Journal of Nursing Management. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Pp 361-371.
Giddens, J. (2013). Concepts for Nursing Practice. St Louis Mo. Mosby/ Elsevier.
