Clinical Nurse Specialist
The primary role of clinical nurse specialists is to integrate the care for a specific set of patients and the medical team they work with. In collaboration with doctors, medical practitioners, nurses, and social workers, clinical nurse specialists are essential in incorporating the latest technologies in the healthcare industry. They play a critical role in providing innovations that help in treating and caring for patients.
Clinical nurse specialists work in conjunction with other specialists in educating different professionals in the community in integrating evidence-based practices. Although clinical nurse specialists do not necessarily provide hands-on care, they work at the point of care by providing support in evaluating patients. For example, clinical nurse specialists work with other clinical staff in assessing the rehabilitation needs of patients, make referrals and provide direction in the delegation of care delivery needs (Zuzelo, 2010).
In a hospital setting, clinical nurse specialists work with medical and interdisciplinary teams to coach, support, and direct other caregivers in different units. Since they work as coordinators of care, they evaluate clinical interventions to produce evidence-based practice. In this regard, clinical nurse specialists ensure that there is a conducive working environment devoid of conflicts within the professional groups. In addition to forming part of the clinical leadership team in the hospital setting, clinical nurse leaders facilitate the faster delivery of evidence-based practices.
The issue of telling the truth regarding the medical condition of the patient is a key challenge that clinical nurses face every day. Nurses are bound by their ethical standards to keep the medical condition of the patient a secret unless they are permitted to share the information with the patient. Therefore, it becomes a big challenge when a family insists on know the medical condition of the patient but am bound by professional ethics.
Clinical Nurse Anesthetist
The primary role of a nurse anesthetist often begins with the assessment and ends when the patient recovers from the effects of anesthesia. In most developed countries, nurse anesthetists are certified and registered with professional organizations to ensure that they maintain professionalism in their work. Therefore, the nurse anesthetist can analyze the different anesthetic agents, the positioning of the patient, intubation techniques, and inhalational agents among other key issues (Zuzelo, 2010).
Nurse anesthetists work in a variety of fields such as war-torn countries, in the military, outpatient surgery centers, small community hospitals, and large medical centers among others. Quite often, most nurse anesthetists collaborate with physicians in the administration of drugs by evaluating the medical history of the patient to know the compatibility of drugs to be used for the anesthetic procedure.
Some of the challenges that nurse anesthetists face include shortage of drugs, evolution in the specialty, and anesthesia supervision. Owing to the changes and evolution in the nursing industry, most anesthetic drugs are becoming obsolete, hence forcing nurses to use generic or second choice drugs. Consequently, Zuzelo (2010) notes that generic drugs have long-term negative effects on the patients, such as longer wake-up times, vomiting, or postoperative nausea. Furthermore, nurse anesthetists have been forced to postpone or delay urgent procedures owing to a lack of drugs, which may lead to deaths.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both the clinical nurse specialist and a nurse anesthetist play vital a complementary role in the provision of healthcare to patients. Although both lines of careers have significant challenges, the role of clinical nurses is more technical and requires much concentration. This is because clinical nurses must understand the process of diagnosing the patient so as to provide the right prescription and medication. Similarly, a nurse anesthetist must know the right choice and combination of drugs to use to avoid fatal calamities such as long-term sleeping times for patients.