Care of a Patient in the Mental Health Branch Essay

Care of a Patient in the Mental Health Branch - Essay Example The research paper â€Å"Care of a Patient in the Mental Health Branch† discusses the impact on the patient’s proper treatment and recovery process by a qualified nurse. The role of professional nursing in patient care can never be under-estimated. Nurses focus on the needs of the patient and provide individuals and their families with care and attention. The RCN defines Nursing as â€Å"the use of clinical judgment in the provision of care to enabled people to improve, maintain or recover health, to cope with health problems, and to achieve the best possible quality of life, whatever their disease or disability, until death†. The hiring and introduction of professional nurses to hospitals in the UK has had a profound and lasting impact on the health profession. The new role of the nurse as taught in colleges and universities is an expanding one and encompasses an array of new responsibilities. Where once upon a time, a nurse was content to stand by a doctor and see what he did, only speaking when spoken to and doing only as and when directed, today’s nurse has been given a role and responsibility almost equal to the doctor she is assisting on the case. Part of the enhancement of job responsibilities for professional nurses has been because of shortage of doctors or professional staff, the lack of proper interns and the general decline in health standards and patient care. Thus the expanded role of the professional nurse in the UK is making its impact felt not only on patient care but on the health profession as a whole.