Doctors vs. nurses, who is more important to the doctor-patient relationship?

This is the 4830th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

The doctor-patient relationship is one of the most important relationships in the current social interpersonal relationship. The harmony of the doctor-patient relationship is directly related to the patient's life safety and health interests, and also affects the quality of medical and health care and the patient's confidence in the medical and health care industry. So there is a question, is the doctor more important to the doctor-patient relationship or the nurse more important?

In the doctor-patient relationship, both doctors and nurses play indispensable roles, and their respective importance cannot be simply compared.

As a major pioneer of Chinese obstetrics and gynecology, Lin Qiaozhi never married and delivered more than 50,000 babies. She treated the wife of the Prime Minister, Deng Yingchao, and delivered children for Bing Xin and Lin Huiyin. She was called the "Mother of Ten Thousand Babies". She once said: "As long as I am still alive, the place where I exist is the ward, and the value of my existence is to treat patients."

The main role of doctors in the doctor-patient relationship

1. Medical service providers

As professional medical personnel, the primary responsibility of doctors is to provide high-quality diagnosis and treatment services, which includes accurately diagnosing the disease, formulating treatment plans, implementing treatment measures, and monitoring disease progression and evaluating efficacy.

2. Patient Rights Protectors

Doctors should respect and protect the legitimate rights and interests of patients, including the right to know, the right to autonomy, the right to privacy, etc. During the diagnosis and treatment process, doctors need to fully inform patients of their condition, treatment plans and possible risks, respect patients' right to choose independently, and protect patients' privacy and personal information security.

3. Medical Decision Makers

Doctors should actively participate in the medical decision-making process and provide patients with professional advice and plans. When formulating a treatment plan, doctors need to comprehensively consider the patient's condition, wishes and financial situation to ensure that the treatment plan is scientific and feasible.

4. Continuing Learning

Medicine is a field that is constantly developing and updating. Doctors need to maintain a continuous learning attitude and constantly improve their professional quality and skills. By participating in academic conferences, reading professional literature, and receiving continuing education, they can constantly update their medical knowledge, improve their diagnosis and treatment level, and provide patients with higher quality medical services.

5. Information Communication Bridge

Communication between doctors and patients is the basis of effective treatment. Doctors need to establish smooth communication channels with patients to help them understand the disease and treatment options. At the same time, doctors also need to maintain close communication with other members of the medical team to ensure that patients receive comprehensive and consistent medical services.

6. Emotional Support

Diseases often bring physical and mental stress to patients. Doctors need to provide emotional support and care to patients while providing professional treatment. However, due to the nature of their work, doctors cannot provide as much and better help to patients as nurses can.

Nurses play a very important role in the doctor-patient relationship and their role cannot be ignored.

The Nightingale Award is an international honor given to outstanding nursing workers from all countries. In the 49th (2023) Nightingale Award selection, 7 nursing workers from my country won this honor, making China the country with the largest number of winners this year.

Liu Xiaojuan, a Nightingale Award winner from Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, has been engaged in nursing for nearly 35 years. Although she has retired, she has not left the nursing profession and still uses her love and professional skills to selflessly help others.

The main role of nurses in the doctor-patient relationship

1. Communication bridge

Nurses are the main communication bridge between doctors and patients. They are responsible for explaining the doctor's diagnosis and treatment plan to patients, and also convey patients' feedback and conditions to doctors. This communication helps ensure accurate transmission of information and enhances patients' understanding and cooperation with treatment.

2. Emotional Support

During the treatment of the disease, patients often face great psychological pressure. Nurses will have more time to provide emotional support, such as listening, comforting and encouraging, which will help relieve patients' anxiety and fear and enhance their confidence in treatment.

3. Daily care and disease monitoring

Nurses are responsible for the daily care of patients, such as administering medication, changing dressings, measuring vital signs, etc. They are also responsible for monitoring changes in the patient's condition, reporting any abnormalities to doctors in a timely manner, and providing a basis for doctors to make decisions.

IV. Coordination and collaboration

Nurses need to coordinate and collaborate with other medical staff (such as doctors, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, etc.) and patients' families to ensure the smooth progress of the medical process. They play an indispensable role in the team and provide support for the comprehensive treatment of patients.

V. Education and Guidance

Nurses are also responsible for providing health education and guidance to patients and their families, such as knowledge on diet, exercise, medication use, etc. This helps patients better manage their health and promotes recovery.

Nurses are the most important partners of doctors. In caring for patients, the goals of nurses and doctors are the same, but due to the characteristics of their respective professions, the focus of both parties is different.

Doctors are treatment-oriented and have the primary role responsibility in treatment, with the focus being on how to correctly diagnose and treat.

Nurses are oriented towards care and have the main role responsibilities in nursing. They are concerned about the patient's response to disease diagnosis and treatment, with the focus on alleviating the patient's discomfort and helping him or her adapt to the effects of the disease and promoting his or her recovery.

"To Cure Sometimes, To Relieve Often, To Comfort Always." This is a famous saying of Dr. Trudeau, who is buried on the shores of Saranac Lake in northeastern New York. It is a summary and conclusion of his lifelong medical career and an accurate expression of the current state of medicine. Therefore, doctors and nurses both play an important role in the doctor-patient relationship. Their respective professional knowledge and skills complement each other and together form a complete medical team. In medical activities, doctors and nurses should respect, understand and support each other and work together for the health and well-being of patients.

Author: Jitang College of North China University of Technology

Yuan Jie