Specialized Nursing

Specialized Nursing

Today, on International Nurses Day, we want to highlight the role these professionals play in the hospital setting, and especially in the field of pulmonology.

We are increasingly witnessing the growing complexity of respiratory diseases, from lung cancer to emerging infections like hantavirus.

PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

Population aging and more humane and coordinated care needs

Mission and vision of the role of nursing today

Challenges

Today we reflect on current challenges, focusing mainly on three fundamental pillars:

• Respiratory care.
• The importance of compassionate care.
• And the transformative role of advanced nursing.

Basically because we find ourselves in a health scenario where serious infectious diseases remind us of the need for increasingly specialized respiratory surveillance.

Transformation of the role of the nursing professional

Following the pandemic, a clear need emerged to strengthen care for respiratory diseases, which increased both in volume and complexity.

This is compounded by an aging population, with patients increasingly susceptible to developing illnesses, suffering from multiple chronic conditions, and facing complex social realities that necessitate a much more comprehensive and coordinated approach to healthcare.

Comprehensive Support

The role of advanced practice nursing is to accompany the patient throughout their entire care process and, in many cases, even beyond hospital discharge.

Furthermore, they act as a link between the patient, their family, and the multidisciplinary team, ensuring continuity of care, clinical anticipation, and a much more personalized and compassionate approach.

In addition, therapeutic education allows the patient to understand what is happening through clear language and simple examples that help them grasp the explanations being given.

And support is key because recovery is not just physical.

In addition, it also involves emotional support and contact with family.

Without a doubt, the nurse-patient relationship is so important that it is fundamental to patient satisfaction.

Furthermore, aspects such as pain management, early mobilization, respiratory optimization, and continuity of care after discharge make a huge difference in clinical outcomes and the patient’s overall experience.

THE PATIENT-PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP

It is becoming increasingly relevant

Evolution of nursing in respiratory diseases

Nursing has evolved a great deal, although there is still a way to go.

This role has evolved to encompass the increasingly complex profile it addresses.

Previously, nursing was more closely linked to a traditional, primarily care-oriented function.

However, today, advanced practice involves clinical leadership, decision-making, care coordination, research, and the ability to transform care pathways.

It’s a blend of advanced clinical practice and a management profile.

Today, this role is no longer complementary: it’s fundamental to adding value to our care.

Challenges with the respiratory patient

• One of the major challenges today is the growing number of respiratory patients facing strained and overwhelmed healthcare systems.
• Increasingly, patients are being treated who are older, have multiple health conditions, and come from complex social backgrounds that significantly impact their progress and recovery.

The challenge is not only in the hospital, but especially in what happens after discharge.

Limited resources

On the other hand, resources such as long-term care facilities and intermediate care structures are in high demand and clearly insufficient to serve the entire population.

Currently, as a society, we are still not fully confronting an obvious reality: we are living longer, but this also means living with more chronic illnesses, greater frailty, and increased care needs.

It will not always be possible to respond solely through acute hospitalization, nor can we assume that families will be able to bear the entire burden of care, especially in a social and labor context that is completely different from what it was decades ago.

This demands a profound rethinking of our care model.

Prevention is key

On the other hand, while progress has been made in prevention, especially regarding smoking, we are still often too late to intervene.

In fact, prevention cannot rely solely on one-off campaigns; it requires ongoing education, particularly for young people.

We are particularly concerned about the normalization of vaping, which is often perceived as a harmless alternative when it is not.

If we truly want to change future respiratory health, we need to invest much more in prevention, education, and public awareness.

Sources: Enfermería 21