30 Reasons Why Nurses Are So Important To The Healthcare System
Written By:
Darby Faubion
Darby Faubion RN, BSN, MBA
Darby Faubion is a nurse and allied health instructor with over 20 years of clinical experience. Darby lives in Louisiana and loves exploring the state’s rich culture and history. Darby has a passion for caring for veterans and a special interest in those affected by post-traumatic stress disorder. In her quest to make a difference for veterans, she founded a non-profit called “Operation Battle Buddy.” Read Full Bio »» RN, BSN, MBA
When it comes to patient care, there are many people who play active roles, but perhaps none as much as the nurse. Healthcare systems rely heavily on nurses of all educational levels for many reasons. Have you ever wondered why nurses are important to the healthcare system?
I have been a nurse for more than 20 years, and I can tell you nurses are a vital part of successful healthcare systems. In this article, I will share 30 reasons why nurses are so important to the healthcare system and share some of my experiences with you. If you have ever questioned the need for, or importance of nurses, this article will help shed some light on why we need good nurses in every healthcare system.
Why Nurses are Important to the Healthcare System?
(The following are the 30 reasons why nurses are so important to the healthcare system.)
REASON #1: Nurses Provide Vital Services
One of the main reasons nurses are important to the healthcare system is that we provide vital services to people in need. From monitoring signs and symptoms of illness and disease to administering medications and providing wound care, nurses play very active roles in direct patient care. Nurses collaborate with other health professionals to develop, implement, and evaluate treatment plans for patients. Nurses are typically involved in every aspect of patient care from the time a patient arrives at a treatment facility until they are discharged home or transferred to another facility.
REASON #2: Nurses Advocate for Patients
Perhaps one of the most important roles of nurses is being a patient advocate. Nurses advocate for the best interests of patients in many ways. At times, you may speak on behalf of a patient by communicating their wishes to other team members or the attending physician. You may advocate for patients by lobbying for changes in healthcare services that could make access to more affordable healthcare easier. Anything you do on behalf of, or in the best interest of, your patient is an act of advocacy and is one of the top reasons nurses are so important in the healthcare system.
REASON #3: Nurses Are an Excellent Source of Patient Education
Anyone who knows me knows I love learning new things. No matter what I am involved in, whether it is work or something personal, I try to look for ways to learn new things. Most nurses do have a thirst for knowledge. It is part of what drives us, and because of that, our patients and their loved ones benefit.
One of the many reasons nurses are so important to the healthcare system is that we are excellent sources of knowledge and education. We educate patients about their health conditions, ways to promote wellness, and suggested treatment plans. We are often the link between physicians and other team members, translating complex medical information in a way our patients and their families can understand more easily.
REASON #4: Nurses Can Specialize and Provide Care to Specific Patient Populations
Another great thing about nursing, and a reason why nurses are so important to the healthcare system, is the versatility of our role. Whether you earn an associate's or bachelor's degree or decide to pursue an advanced practice nursing degree, there are so many options for
certification and specialization for registered nurses. Some RNs specialize in cardiac, pediatric, or emergency nursing care. Others pursue an advanced role and become nurse practitioners or nurse midwives. Our ability to learn specialized skills is important, making us assets not only to our interdisciplinary team but to the entire healthcare system as we know it.
REASON #5: Nurses Are the “Backbone” of the Healthcare System
Something I love about nursing is the fact that everything we do can positively impact our patients, teams, organizations, and the nursing profession overall. As nurses, we have the unique opportunity to provide hands-on care to patients, collaborate with members of the healthcare team, and lobby for changes to healthcare. Nurses are important to the healthcare system because everything we do impacts our patients, teams, and the healthcare system as a whole.
REASON #6: Nurses Are Well-Trusted
When I am not feeling well or need medical attention, I seek out practitioners that I know and trust to provide care and help me get on the path to wellness. One of the reasons nurses are important to the healthcare system is that
patients feel they can trust us.
In fact, according to a
Gallup poll, nurses remain the most trusted professionals, with nearly 80% of adults in the U.S. stating they believe nurses have high ethical and honesty standards. Being honest and ethical helps build good nurse-patient relationships, which makes communication, education, and patient care easier. As a result, patient outcomes improve, which should be the goal of everyone on the healthcare team.
REASON #7: Nurses Are Great Critical Thinkers
Nurses are often the first person on the healthcare team to see a patient who presents for care. Whether you work in a doctors’ office, an emergency room, intensive care unit, or another healthcare facility, each patient encounter involves some type of assessment or care. One of the reasons nurses are so important to the healthcare system is that we are critical thinkers.
Being a critical thinker makes nurses essential to the healthcare team because, with strong
critical thinking skills, we can make time-sensitive decisions based on our patient's current status, anticipate changes in our patient's condition based on a statistical analysis of their history, and contribute to collaborative care planning to improve patient outcomes.
REASON #8: Nurses Make Excellent Leaders
Another reason nurses are vital to the healthcare system is because of our great ability to become strong leaders. In nursing school, we learn about different types of
leadership styles in nursing. Then, as we begin our careers and work in clinical settings, we develop and hone those skills on a deeper level. We learn to effectively communicate, promote teamwork and accountability, and advocate for patients, our teams, and our profession. Our ability to demonstrate strong leadership makes nurses an essential part of the healthcare system.
REASON #9: Nurses Play Critical Roles in Fostering Strong Patient-Provider Relationships
The patient care team is comprised of many people. From nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, primary care providers, specialists, and social workers, patients have several people working together to care for them. One of the reasons nurses are important to the healthcare system is because we often act as mediators between patients, their families, caregivers, and other members of the interdisciplinary team.
Having worked in both clinical and administrative roles, I have seen firsthand the role nurses play in promoting good relationships between patients and their care teams. Because patients often feel more at ease talking to nurses, we can help open lines of communication between them and other team members/providers. Building strong patient-provider relationships is important because it helps promote therapeutic communication and understanding and compliance with treatment plans, which lead to better patient outcomes.
REASON #10: Nurses Are Often the First to Identify Changes in Patients
Nurses are important to the healthcare system because they have direct contact with patients and can often identify even the slightest changes in patients before someone else does. As a healthcare instructor, I always stressed to my students that one of the most essential responsibilities of nurses is to be observant.
Attentive nurses assess patients and monitor for changes in their statuses and are typically the first to notice important changes. The ability to identify changes and establish and implement appropriate interventions to address those changes can have a significant impact on your patient’s overall care and outcomes.
REASON #11: Nurses Help Advocate for Changes in Healthcare
Another thing I love about nursing and a top reason why nurses are so important to the healthcare system is that we can use our knowledge and experience to advocate for changes in the healthcare system. As a nurse, you can engage with legislators, participate in lobbying efforts, and provide expert input on proposed bills that affect healthcare quality and access to services. You may review proposed legislation to see how new laws may impact nursing practices and patient and professional outcomes. Additionally, as proposed bills move through legislation, some nurses testify before committees or subcommittees, sharing their insight, which is often instrumental in shaping healthcare laws.
REASON #12: Nurses Are a Great Source of Emotional Support
Illness and disease can create a whole new level of stress or fear. Even patients with strong support systems may feel uncomfortable talking about some things with their family or friends. In situations like this, nurses become a source of compassion, empathy, and support, which is crucial in helping ease patient anxiety and creating a healing environment.
Several years ago, while working at a large hospital, I became very ill. I was admitted to the intensive care unit because my doctor suspected I had a pulmonary embolism. Although I was a nurse at the time, I felt overwhelmed because I was now the patient. Since I was in the ICU, visitation was limited. My nurses became my source of encouragement and support, making my stay bearable. I was very thankful to have such good nurses to provide care for me!
REASON #13: Nurses Contribute to Advances in Healthcare
One of the awesome things about nurses is that we have opportunities to gain firsthand experience and insight into what makes a healthcare system work. When we engage in learning opportunities and observe the impact of policies and procedures within our facilities or on a broader, profession-wide scale, we can use what we learn to contribute to advances in healthcare. The knowledge and experience we have and our ability to leverage them to improve healthcare policies, create systems change, and redesign nursing education are some of the reasons why nurses are important to the healthcare system.
REASON #14: Nurses Are Instrumental in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
If there ever was a catalyst for healthy lifestyles, it is nurses. By educating and encouraging patients to make healthy lifestyle choices, we can help promote better overall health and reduce the risk of illness and disease.
One of my responsibilities when I worked in case management was to prepare patients for discharge from hospital services. Part of that role meant setting up outside services, such as counseling, referrals to other doctors or specialists, and scheduling follow-up appointments. Additionally, I educated patients and caregivers about their diagnoses, treatment plans, and expected outcomes and how they could have positive outcomes by participating in healthier lifestyles. Every time I made a follow-up call to a patient and got a positive report on their health and wellness, it made me feel like I truly made a difference for them!
REASON #15: Nurses Help Improve the Well-Being of Communities
Often, when we hear the term “healthcare system,” we think of a hospital or large clinic. A healthcare system is actually so much more. It is an organization of several people, institutions, and diverse resources working together to meet the healthcare needs of specific populations. Nurses are important to the healthcare system because we reach beyond the walls of a physician’s office and outside the hospital units.
One way we do that is by working with healthcare professionals and educating communities about important health issues. Some nurses work in public health, developing strategies to reduce the risk of injury or illness and promote the safety, health, and well-being of large populations or communities.
REASON #16: Nurses Know How to Respond in Emergency Situations
Whether it's critical thinking, decision-making, leadership skills, or a combination of them all, one thing that makes nurses so important to the healthcare system is our ability to respond appropriately in emergency situations. Granted, we all have times when emergency or critical situations cause stress or anxiety. However, with experience, most nurses develop a calm demeanor, quick thinking, and clinical expertise that is invaluable when emergencies occur.
My friend, Tasha, is one of the most easy-going, “never-gets-too-excited" people I have ever met. When she told me she decided to start working in emergency nursing, I was surprised. We used to joke because she never seemed to get in a hurry about anything. Tasha’s level-headedness, ability to respond rationally in critical situations, and excellent leadership skills eventually led to her becoming the nurse supervisor in the emergency department!
REASON #17: Nurses Help Coordinate Care
Another important role of nurses within the healthcare system is care coordinator. You do not have to be a team leader, supervisor, or administrator to coordinate care. In fact, one of the reasons nurses are so important to the healthcare system is that we work closely with other team members to collaborate and coordinate care. By coordinating care, we get input from each department or unit providing services to our patients, ensuring we all work together to accomplish the most successful outcomes for them.
REASON #18: Nurses Are Great Multitaskers
Some people may think that being a good multitasker is not important, and in some cases, that may be true. However, the ability to multitask is one of the things that makes nurses valuable members of the healthcare team and important to healthcare systems. Nurses use multitasking skills to manage patient care, communicate with healthcare providers, and work collaboratively with their teams.
While knowing
how to multitask is important and sometimes the only option, it is important to acknowledge that taking on too many tasks at once can be counterproductive and may cause a disruption in workflow. As a nurse leader and educator, I learned to value nurses who are willing to multitask and help things run smoothly within the unit. However, I also learned that it is crucial that each of us acknowledge when we have too much going on and need some help. If you are a multitasker and begin to feel overwhelmed or like you have too many tasks or responsibilities, talk to your charge nurse or manager. It is always better to ask for help than to take on more than you can handle, which could result in errors or patient harm.
REASON #19: Nurses Are Awesome at Solving Problems
If I have learned anything in my many years as a nurse, I have learned that nurses are excellent problem-solvers! The ability to use critical thinking and decision-making skills to address patient problems and challenges, which is known as
problem-solving in nursing, is essential to providing quality care, reducing risks, and improving patient, organizational and professional outcomes.
A few examples of ways nurses solve problems is by delegating tasks to accommodate for short staff, working with patients and team members to overcome communication barriers, and prioritizing care to ensure patients are seen in a timely manner.
REASON #20: Nurses Are Often the Main Source of Information in Patient Care
A patient's healthcare team may be comprised of nurses, doctors, therapists, social workers, and unlicensed assistive personnel, depending on their individual needs. In most cases, the team member who has the most contact with patients is the nurse, which means we are often the main source of vital information gathered from patients and shared with the rest of the team. Patients often form bonds with nurses before other team members because of their frequent contact. Because bonds are often more easily formed, patients often disclose information to nurses that they may not disclose as easily or quickly to other team members. The ability to develop solid nurse-patient relationships based on trust is one of the main reasons nurses are so important to the healthcare system.
REASON #21: Nurses Are Versatile
Versatility is an important quality of good nurses. Versatility reflects the nurse's ability and willingness to adapt to different responsibilities, activities, and roles as needed. While the ideal workday for a nurse would be predictable, things don't always go that way. Nurses are important to the healthcare system because, despite our desire to have things running smoothly, we are known to adapt well to diverse situations. Versatility in nursing makes it easier for us to have an open-minded approach to each scenario or patient situation while still working within our scope of practice and always with the patient's best interest in mind.
REASON #22: Good Nurses Are Quite Resourceful
I have worked with many nurses over the years, and one thing that stands true about most of them is that they are all resourceful. I have seen nurses who found some of the most clever ways to communicate with aggressive patients and helped to calm them. We have worked short-staffed and, somehow, found ways to ensure all our patients were cared for in a timely manner with the best care possible. Resourceful nurses are an asset to the healthcare system for many reasons. From finding ways to provide patient care that are most beneficial to patients, helping plan or implement interventions to reduce waste and lower healthcare costs, and making the best use of supplies on hand, resourceful nurses are so important to the healthcare system.
REASON #23: Most Nurses Seem to Have a High Level of Endurance
No matter where you work or what position you hold in nursing, being a nurse requires hard work and a high level of endurance. One thing that makes nurses important in healthcare is our ability to endure emotional and physical strain brought on by the job while providing quality service to the patients in our care. Employers, coworkers, and patients respect the fact that nurses are willing to shoulder responsibilities and endure through challenging times to ensure patient care and safety.
REASON #24: Nurses Are Known for Being Selfless
An important quality of successful nurses and another reason nurses are so important to the healthcare system is that most nurses tend to be selfless. Selflessness or
altruism in nursing is characterized by demonstrating compassionate care and concern for patients, even if it means getting out of your comfort zone. The willingness to empathize with patients, show compassion, and make others’ needs a priority is one way nurses build rapport with patients and their loved ones, which is crucial to providing effective patient care and promoting positive outcomes.
REASON #25: Nurses Are Great at Paying Attention to Even the Smallest Details
Nurses seem to have this uncanny ability to notice the most minute details, which is one of the many reasons nurses are important to the healthcare system. The ability to pay attention to small cues in a patient’s behavior or recognize even slight changes in lab or other diagnostic test results could make a significant difference in how the team cares for a patient.
REASON #26: Nurses Create Safe Environments for Patients to Receive Care
Patient safety is the responsibility of everyone on the healthcare team, and nurses play an especially vital role in creating and maintaining safe care environments. Nurses promote safety by educating patients and caregivers about fall prevention measures, safe medication administration, and signs and symptoms that indicate changes in their health. Additionally, nurses create safe environments by advocating for patients and ensuring patients that their health, wellness, and safety are a top priority. Creating safe environments is essential when it comes to developing trusting nurse-patient relationships and promoting positive health outcomes.
REASON #27: Nurses Are Excellent Communicators
The key to providing top quality patient care is communication, and one of the reasons nurses are so important to the healthcare system is that we tend to be
great at communicating with others. Nurses communicate with patients, families, direct care and ancillary staff to develop and implement care plans to meet patient needs daily.
Knowing how to effectively communicate is vital for all members of the healthcare system, especially those of us who have direct patient contact. In my years as a nurse, there have been many times I have seen nurses act as a go-between or mediator between patients and loved ones when situations became tense or uncomfortable. Often, nurses act as advocates for patients, working closely with social workers and other interprofessional team members. Every communication with a patient or on their behalf can have a significant impact on the patient’s outcome, and that is why nurses being great communicators makes us such valuable members of the healthcare system.
REASON #28: Nurses Have a Way of Helping Patients Feel at Ease
There are many excellent
qualities nurses possess and endless reasons why people appreciate them. One thing I have witnessed both as a nurse and a patient is that most nurses have this way about them that seems to help ease stress and anxiety. This is especially important because anxiety and stress can lead to patients being noncompliant, refusing treatment, or experiencing worsening symptoms. Our ability to show empathy and compassion and help ease our patients’ troubled minds is one of the things that makes nurses such an important part of the healthcare system.
REASON #29: Nurses Contribute to Research
Nurses are important to the healthcare system because they contribute to healthcare research. As a nurse, you can add valuable insights to research efforts designed to improve healthcare practices and patient care. You may analyze data, conduct studies, or share research findings through educational platforms. Nursing research is crucial in helping to inform health policy decisions, develop evidence-based practices, and enhance healthcare equity and quality.
REASON #30: Some Nurses Can Become Primary Care Providers
One of the awesome things about the nursing profession is that you can earn advanced degrees and certifications. Some nurses become nurse practitioners and open independent practices, acting as primary care providers for their patients. The reason this is so important to the healthcare system is because there is a
nationwide physician shortage, one that is expected to continue through at least 2033. Nurses who choose to become practitioners are instrumental in filling the gap in available healthcare services caused by the physician shortage, making it possible for more people to receive healthcare.
My Final Thoughts
Nurses are typically at the center of everything associated with patient care, but there is so much more to the role of a nurse than many people realize. I have had people ask me, “Can you tell me why nurses are important to the healthcare system?” I am always happy to oblige and share my opinion!
In this article, I shared 30 reasons why nurses are so important to the healthcare system. From being patient advocates, educators, and supporters of patients to leading healthcare teams, nurses are instrumental in the success of organizations and in promoting positive patient and professional outcomes.
List Of Sources Used For This Article
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nursingprocess.org)
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“What is Problem-Solving in Nursing? (With Examples, Importance, & Tips to Improve)” (
nursingprocess.org)
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“Exploring Nurses’ Multitasking in Clinical Settings Using a Multimethod Study” (
National Institute of Health/National Center for Biotechnology Information)
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“What is Altruism in Nursing (With Examples, Importance, & Challenges)” (
nursingprocess.org)
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nursingprocess.org)
Darby Faubion, RN, BSN, MBA
Darby Faubion is a nurse and allied health instructor with over 20 years of clinical experience. Her work history includes clinical experience in pediatrics, mental health, addiction and behavioral disorders, geriatrics, wound management, and communicable disease. Darby has worked in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home health and hospice agencies. Darby also has experience as a nursing and allied health educator at both community college and university levels. Her love for nursing and nursing education led to her becoming a test-taking strategist and NCLEX prep coach.