The multifaceted role of the nurse in the day hospital

Abstract

This paper presents the initial findings from an action research study designed to explore and improve rehabilitation practice in a geriatric day hospital, The role of nurses in day hospitals and their contribution to rehabilitation form the focus of the discussion, which emanates from the analysis of semi-structured interviews with 13 members of the multi-disciplinary team, and observation of team meetings and patient reviews. Factors which influence the therapeutic activity of nurses are identified and tentative interpretations offered. The findings indicate that the nurse's role in day hospitals is multifaceted and varied and the conclusion is drawn that, far from being marginalized in rehabilitative and therapeutic terms, the nurse's central coordinating role should be recognized as the lynchpin of day hospital activity.

Nursing contribution to the rehabilitation of older patients: patient and family perspectives

“…Tracking rehabilitation nursing roles noted in the literature over the past 30 years gives an interesting insight into the history of nursing’s contribution to rehabilitation starting with the claim of Henderson (1980, p. 256) that nurses were ‘rehabilitators par excellence’. Nurses were seen as physiotherapist assistants (Myco 1984, Booth & Waters 1995, Waters & Luker 1996) who provided custodial care (Benson & Ducanis 1995, Booth & Waters 1995, Hill & Johnson 1999, Burton 2000). In the multidisciplinary team, nurses were accepted as care coordinators (Benson & Ducanis 1995, Booth & Waters 1995, Hill & Johnson 1999, Burton 2000) and seen as those responsible for supporting families (Gillies 1987, Long et al.…”

Opting in and opting out: a grounded theory of nursing’s contribution to inpatient rehabilitation

“…These included the weekly ward round when rehabilitation was interrupted, staff shortages, high turnover of allied health staff and reliance on temporary staff. Other barriers to nursing contributions to rehabilitation identified by Booth and Waters 15 were the primacy of the patients' hygiene needs, the reactive character of nursing and a perceived limited commitment to rehabilitation by nurses.…”

Geriatric rehabilitation nursing: Developing a model

“…O’Connor points out that nurses’ special skills in rehabilitation remain hidden because their work is described as general caring and as complementary to the work of other professional groups 16 . However, nurses spend 24 h per day with the patient, they provide basic care to the patient and are closely involved in the patient's rehabilitation process 5,27 , 31,44 . There was strong evidence that nurses’ special skills can be seen in the patient's motivation, the maintenance of hope and physical welfare 7,42 , 47 which, in turn, was manifested in cleanliness, good nutrition and lack of complications.…”

“…The model summarizes nursing in geriatric rehabilitation, aiming to clarify the key position of nurses in the rehabilitation of older patients. The main difficulties in developing the model occurred because the rehabilitation literature identifies separate tasks and common duties, such as patient hygiene and monitoring or promoting continence, 5 for nurses in this process.…”

“…Rehabilitation nursing may be described as a patient‐oriented mode of action in which all interventions are geared specifically to rehabilitation 4,5 . Rehabilitation involves more than just physical actions.…”