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Interventions save lives. Nurse intervention is considered the backbone of home care.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of nurses in the healthcare system. Even for individuals receiving home nursing care, hospice, or assisted living support, nurses often take point with regard to addressing major concerns, working toward specific health outcomes, and determining when to escalate an issue for more intensive treatment. 

Understanding the role nurses play in home care is essential if someone you love has increased support needs. So let’s dig into the details.

 

What Are Nursing Interventions in Home Health Care?

 

The definition of “nursing interventions” depends on the context. The broadest definition, and the one used in medical facilities, refers to nearly anything a registered nurse does when participating in patient care. Taking vitals, administering medication, helping a patient bathe themselves, or even simply offering emotional support are all examples of nursing interventions under this description.

When used in the context of in home care, nursing intervention takes on a slightly different meaning. It still includes actions taken by the nurse in the course of providing patient care, but the implication here has a heavy focus on the intervening. They are moments when the nurse is stepping in to cover needs that primary caregivers can’t or are struggling to meet for the patient. 

Likely, the shift in meaning is tied to a shift in dynamics. In a clinical setting, such as a doctor’s office or an overnight hospital stay, nurses carry the bulk of the responsibility for providing care to a patient. Doctors may issue instructions and family members are there to offer support, but it’s the nurses’ job to see to it that everything goes according to plan. 

In a home care environment, though, the nurse often provides support and oversight, rather than direct care. Most of the minute-to-minute work is performed by a primary caregiver, with the registered nurse handling more difficult, urgent, or delicate activities, such as assessing the patient’s progress, administering IVs, facilitating positional changes, monitoring pain levels, etc.

 

Common Examples of Nursing Interventions in Home Care

 

A nursing professional’s level and frequency of direct involvement will vary by patient, by arrangement, by availability, and several other factors. Whether they’re serving as the primary caregiver or simply providing oversight and direction, though, there are a few interventions that seen in almost every instance, such as: 

  • Administering medication or treatments
  • Educating patients and their caregivers on topics relevant to their care plans and health goals
  • Ensuring a safe environment for the patient to promote both healing and comfort

To be frank, though, a nursing intervention could include just about any action taken in pursuit of goals like preventing disease, promoting wellness, providing ongoing treatment, or helping the patient through rehabilitation. 

 

How Nursing Interventions Help Improve Patient Outcomes

 

Providing care for an elderly loved one can be difficult and demanding work. What’s more, most primary caregivers aren’t medical professionals, so there’s often a looming dread that you’re doing something wrong or not fully meeting the patient’s needs. 

Even consulting a nurse or healthcare professional can help you stay the course with increased confidence. But it can also help you identify problems you otherwise wouldn’t have noticed, or would not have noticed as quickly.  

Assessing a patient’s current status, diagnosing potential issues or concerns, and working to build a nursing care plan are all important and valuable functions that tend to be done by, or with the assistance of, a nursing professional. And since the nurse is involved in the work of home care, they’ll have a more accurate and realistic picture of the patient’s needs in the proper context. 

 

Personalized Care Planning: Adapting Interventions to Individual Needs

 

If the work of providing care for an elderly loved one has progressed to the point that you’re seeking support from nurses and other medical professionals, odds are you’ll need a care plan. 

Patient care plans (also known as a personalized care plan, or nursing care plan), is a roadmap for navigating the struggles a patient is facing as they pursue their health goals. These tend to be formal documents, used to get medical professionals on the same page, organize care efforts, set clear objectives and guidelines, and otherwise take an evidence-based and intentional approach to providing care.

A nursing professional can help you with this process, and by performing a formal assessment, they’ll be supplying a significant portion of the most crucial information and insights regarding the patient’s particular situation. 

We at Inhomecare.com hope to help you and your loved ones. Visit our site and take the first step toward a safer, more independent future today!