20000526-English expert reminds patients that they have the right to choose their treatment

"In England the patient has the right to know their options and to make the decision to choose the treatment they prefer. Obviously, it has to be prepared by clinical professionals but, at the end of the process, it is the nurses who are face to face with the patient". This was explained at the University of Navarra by Helen Sampson, vice-president of the committee Executive of Specialized Nurses of London, who participated in the III International Symposium on Nursing Diagnosis "From Nursing Conceptualization to Computerization".

Sampson clarified that "today a pregnant woman has the right to choose whether she wants to have an epidural anesthesia during childbirth. In the past, we were the ones who made that decision. Therefore, we must explain to the patient what procedures she will be treated with; for example, provide her with information on surgery if she is going to undergo an operation like this subject, because she should have the opportunity to know how her hospital treatment may affect her".

The goal of the Nursing Care Process (NCP), according to Sampson, "is to be able to share with patients the information available about them without fear, to be able to communicate to prepare them well for their treatment".

In this regard, Gloria Bulechek, of the University of Iowa (USA), commented that "patients must be helped to make their decisions, and for this the role of the nursing professional is essential. Today, we take into account all aspects of their lives, not only their families and jobs, but also their spiritual beliefs.

Information technology and confidentiality

In this new way of conceiving nursing, the computerization of the data of each patient plays an important role, which allows to speed up health care.

Regarding the ethical implications, Sampson explained that "computerization of patients' data can improve confidentiality, with the implementation of personal access codes to the software. This method streamlines the work of the clinical staff and its relationship with the patient. When a person arrives at the health center, we enter their personal data and the name of their primary care physician. Automatically, we connect to any information about this patient. The simplicity of the data allows us to react very quickly."

Regarding the objectives of the symposium in terms of obtaining a unified language among Nursing professionals, Bulechek emphasized that "a lot of progress is being made in this aspect, which has to focus especially on Nursing practices. In fact, the International Nursing committee passed a resolution five years ago to reach worldwide uniformity in this regard."