Healthcare in the United States of America is costly and for this reason citizens and companies are encouraged to take up the private insurance while individuals are encouraged to take the public insurance (Zieff et al., 2020). Despite these options several individuals cannot afford health care. The dilemma that a practitioner faces when a client cannot afford healthcare raises important issues of social justice. If faced with sucha scenario I would employ the help of social workers to find out if there are available resources in and outside the hospital that can assist the patient. I might also offer the patient alternative affordable treatment options if available or refer them to a public institution if they are being seen in a private institution or to an institution that will cost them less money.
Role of the Nurses, Challenges Nurses Face and How to Overcome
The nurse should advocate for the rights of this patient i.e. to represent their best interest(Swanson et al., 2020). For this patient, the nurse can advocate for affordable healthcare. It is the responsibility of the nurse to offer any relevant information to the patient about their plan of care and the available choices of management now that they can’t afford care. Nurses are also considered as educators of the patient and their caregivers.
Some of the challenges that I anticipate to face when fulfill my roles as healthcare provider includes cultural differences, religious differences and even language barriers. These differences can hinder communication between a nurse and a patient affecting patient education. Patient advocacy can be hindered by limited knowledge of nurses, lack of support from other stakeholders and external interference (Nsiah et al., 2020).I have a problem with time management and most of the time I tend to do all the work by myself. To improve on these weaknesses, I can attend seminars workshops on time keeping. I can also learn on the importance of team work and delegate more duties to reduce workload and improve on decision making. One of the most excellent skill that I possess and that has worked in both my favor and that of my patients is my excellent communication skills.
Population Most Likely to Experience Health Disparities
The patient population likely to experience health disparities includes people from minority communities such as African Americans or immigrants. This is linked to high illiteracy levels recorded in this groups, unemployment and even low wages given to them. They also have poor housing and low levels of hygiene(Chang, 2019). This makes them vulnerable to most illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, asthma, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AIDS and even teenage pregnancies and in most cases, they cannot afford healthcare.
References
Chang, C. D. (2019). Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities Among Immigrants and their Children. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 49(1), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2018.11.009
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