Nursing: Approaches to Communication
The future issue in nursing that requires much attention is the aging population in the United States and globally. According to national statistics, the number of Americans aged 65 years old and over increases annually, creating the progressing demand for nurses’ care (Wessel, 2017). While discussing this issue from the perspective of cultural diversity, it is important to state that older patients can be representatives of different cultural and ethnic groups, and their knowledge of English can be limited. As a result, the demand for nurses knowing several languages, including Spanish, will also increase shortly, as such tendencies are observed even today.
When referring to the health promotion aspects, it is necessary to note that the needs of the aging population should be addressed by more nurses to provide patient-centered and individualistic care. However, the problem is that many hospitals face shortages of nurses, and this tendency can remain negative in the future (McEwen & Wills, 2019). Therefore, the health promotion of older patients will require much attention from healthcare officials to guarantee that all patients receive high-quality care. Finally, discussing this issue from the perspective of communication, one should note that it is directly related to the cultural diversity perspective. Thus, nurses will use several languages in their practice to work with older patients and improve healthcare delivery. Moreover, nurses will need to guide their diverse older patients on advancements in technologies actively used in healthcare settings. As a result, nurses will change their approaches to communication with patients to guarantee that all older individuals are educated on their health status, condition, as well as treatment, and receive clear recommendations.
References
McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2019). Theoretical basis for nursing (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Wessel, K. B. (2017). How an aging population is transforming nursing. Home Healthcare Now, 35(4), 221-223. Web.