Understanding the Role of RN Care Coordinators in Healthcare in the USA

The USA is a country who spends more in healthcare compared to other developed nations and there is a consistent effort to make healthcare is of high quality. The healthcare in the United States is viewed as more of a context of partnership based on the requirement and preferences of the patients and families. In this process, the RN, or registered nurses play a great role in patient satisfaction and the quality of care together with the proper use of healthcare resources. According to the American Nurses Association, registered nurses are an essential part of the process of achieving excellence in care coordination.

What is an RN Care Coordinator?

The term RN patient care coordinator may be new for many people. This is a nursing job title; a medical professional who can be called a mediator between the patients and the medical team that is looking after them. Their primary duty is to ensure that the patient is receiving the care he deserves. They help the patients to understand the treatment options and thus formulate a plan to achieve better health goals with continue administering regular medications.

The Concept of Care Coordination in Healthcare

This concept of care coordination is developed out of the effort that the unique needs and requirements of the patients are fulfilled on time in terms of health services being offered and proper information are shared among people.

Care coordinating is central for any health care reform that aims to promote the quality of care for patients through the effective use of resources. There is an immense need for a care coordinator to provide that much-needed patient and family-centric care service.

The concept of coordination of care is not new to the profession of nursing. The main principle of nursing is patient-centric care coordination that is to be done in a competent manner. The registered nurses are the primary component of this care coordination process that contributes to the quality of the patient care structure with the hope of achieving better outcomes for the patients.

The Role of Nurses in Patient Care

Nurses play a vital role in the design and implementation of the care coordination system across various institutions and organizations. This care coordination process is a process through which registered nurses can influence the model of patient care. Nursing is a professional practice and nurses are responsible for ensuring coordination with the patients, with the target of minimizing cost and an improved result for diverse groups of patients.

Where They Work?

They work in both private and public setting may be at a hospital or an assisted living facility. Sometimes they visit the patient’s at home to administer care. As part of their duty, they spend the time to communicate and coordinate with the patient’s medical team about the progress and prepare the next step for recovery.

An RN also works as a patient advocate in a huge community set up where they need to attend local meetings to administer community care and health resources.

Moreover, RN requires inquiring if the patients have proper access to the medical care they need. They also require doing some additional paperwork related to patients medical records and keep them updated.

Role of Nurses in Elderly Healthcare

A large number of the American senior adults are suffering from various debilitating diseases and they need urgent care. Patients suffering from chronic conditions such as Alzheimer, heart ailments, diabetes are more in need of patient care coordinators. As various researches have shown that elderly who have access to patient care coordinators have better improvements in terms of their health and lifestyle compare to those who do not have.

Final Insight

Nursing is a noble profession and a tough one because you have to be extremely dedicated towards the patients and have to offer them complete support. As an RN you must know how to distinguish between medical and emotional situations and sometimes have to act according to patients rather than your medical norms. Active listening, good thinking, good judgment and time management qualities are required to excel in this profession.

You need to complete your Bachelor in nursing to become an RN care coordinator. Apart from your professional qualification, personally you must possess a compassionate and empathetic attitude to successfully work in this field.