Providing Health Care

Presentation
 Role of Nurses
● Nurses are caregivers to patients and they
provide hands on care.
● They are decision makers, nurses use critical
thinking skills to set goals and outcomes for
patients.
● Nurses are patient advocates, and they
communicate the needs of the patient to the
doctor.
● Nurses manage care to other professionals.
● Nurses are educators, they disseminate the
information to the patient that is presented by
the physician.
● Nurses are counselors and promote healthy
lifestyles, and encouragements.
 Has the role of Nursing Changed?YES
● Changes in technology changed the role of
nursing, starting with technology. Paper charts
shifted to computer charting.
● Nurses now have more independence and
training before going on the floor. Before nurses
were lived in dormitories in the hospital and had
on the job training.
● More independence means more higher trained
nurses, and being able to specialize in a field.
● In the graph to the right,it indicates that in the
1960 the rise of nurse practitioners commenced
with a shortage of doctors. More baby boomers
are needing help and this trend is demanding for
nurse practitioners.
 Role of Physician Assistant
● Physician assistants diagnose illnesses and injuries,
perform examinations, and provide treatment plans
without any direct supervision from an MD, and they
prescribe medication.
● Physician assistans can specialize in dermatology,
emergency medicine, and surgery.
● PA functions include performing diagnostic,
therapeutic, preventive, and health maintenance
services.
● Provide directions to nurses, and pharmacist in the
care and treatment of patients.
● PAs can even operate independent PA-led clinics
where physician involvement may be limited to little
more than a couple on-site visits per month.
Has the role of Physician Assistants Changed?YES
● PAs can practice without an agreement with a
specific physician this allows practice-level
decisions about collaboration, before they
needed a physician in order to make decisions.
● PAs have boards to regulate PAs, or give that
authority to healing arts or medical boards that
have as members both PAs and physicians who
practice with PAs. This allows the PAs more
autonomy in decision making.
● Authorizing PAs to be directly reimbursed by all
public and private insurers. Befoe PAs were not
reimbursed because they were not doctors.
 Role of Pharmacist
● Dispense medications, which includes counting
tablets, preparing and label bottle of medication.
● Pharmacist communicate with prescribers, when
there is potentially harmful medication
(Controlled substances, or allergy to a
medication.)
● Check medication record for patient to ensure
that the patient does not receive a harmful
medication or overdose.
● Counsel patient of medications reaction, adverse
side effects, interactions with other medications,
food, alcohol, or herbal supplements, how and
when to take medication.
● Educate other health care providers of new
drugs, regulations, (nurses, doctors, and other
healthcare staff.
 Has the role of Pharmacist Changed?YES
● Role of pharmacist has changed since advances
of technology, greater patient involvement of their
care, and improvement of health care outcome.
● People are more educated and can google things
online,so they are more informed in their care.
● The pharmacist can focus more on patient
education, including counseling, medication
management, and preventative care screenings.
● Pharmacist are now providing more medication
therapy management such as counseling against
flu.
● Pharmacist are also administering flu vaccines, at
local pharmacist.
 Role of Midwives
● Midwives support women throughout their
pregnancy, birth of the baby, and postnatal care
as well.
● There are hospital midwives that are based in
hospital obstetric, or consultant unit, a birth
centre or midwife led unit, and they staff the
antenatal clinic, labour ward, and postnatal
wards.
● There are community midwives that see patients
at home or at a clinic.
● Independent Midwives provide care at home for
pregnant women that prefer in home birth.
 Has the role of Midwife Changed?YES
● Midwives are being utilized more often by
expectant mothers than before.
● Midwives are being used because women want a
more focused care, and not hospital focused
care.
● Another change is that midwives in the past
needed to be under the supervision of the
physician but, now they are independent can run
their own clinics, and can deliver the baby.
● Some depending on the status are even legally
able to operate on patients, such as c-sections.
Has the professional roles of nurses, physician
assistant, pharmacist, and midwives changed?

1. The major role changes between all professional roles of nurses, physician assistants, pharmacist, and
midwives have changed because before each individual professional would require for a physician to be
available in order to make decisons and follow orders. Now all can work independent with guidance of a
doctor if need be.
2. Another change is that now physican assitants in hospitals are the main providers and over see the nurse
role.
3. Physician assitant can have own clinics and make independent decisions of care.
4. The same is true for midwifes as for physician assitants they are able to have their own clinics and make
independent decisions.
5. Midwifes can also over see the nurse role and dictate orders.
 References
Cockerham, William C. (2014) Medical sociology (13th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education.

Smith, Y. (2019). Roles of Nurses. News Medical Life Sciences.

Wilbert, M. (2015). How Has Nursing Changed in the Past 50 Years? Brainscape.

Nurse Journal. (2019). Nurse Practitioners VS. Physician Assistants.

Abby A. J. (2018). 20 Years: The Evolution of the Physician Assistant Profession. Clinical Advisor.

Lamb, E. (2019). Top 9 Pharmacist Duties and Responsibilities. The Balance Careers.

CVS Health.(2017).The role of pharmacists in a changing health care environment. APhA.

What is a Midwife? (2017). NCT.org

How Does the Role of Nurse-Midwives Change from State to State?(2019). Georgetown University.