It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but the modern label for a nurse's ultimate customer is now "user of health care." We're moving into an era where keeping people well rather than curing them when they are sick is the primary goal of the health care system. That's why the recipients of our professional interactions need a new honorific.
The term "patients" has been associated with sick people for centuries, and nurses have been caring for them even longer. We've also been historical advocates of wellness. Even before Florence Nightingale promoted avoidance of illness and infection, Women Religious, which practiced nursing, advanced the importance of formal and informal health education for individuals, families, and communities. They believed that people can and should have information about their own health so that they can be responsible for maintaining it. Of course, they were also there to nurse those who did get sick or injured, just as nurses of today will continue to care for those who need acute care. We are still there for members of our communities, in sickness and in health.
The theme for this edition of Nursing Administration Quarterly (NAQ) is "Engaging Healthcare Users." Guest editors, Susan Lacey and Karen Cox, have selected a group of articles about why nursing exists: to help people attain and maintain their own health when they can and to provide them compassionate, competent nursing when they cannot. When the NAQ Advisory Board selected the 4 topical themes for our 2013 collection, we chose this one because, as we move into a transformed next era of health care, nurses need to be advocates again, helping to ensure that both individuals and populations have a voice in personal care, and the development of new person centric systems.
We might not like to admit that our current systems have not been patient-centered. However, the American Hospital Association describes the movement from today's health care (called the first curve) to tomorrow's (the second curve) as a major shift in almost everything we do. On their list of items that must change is a move from being provider-centric to customer-centric. The customers they are talking about are the people formerly known as patients.
Nurses have always advocated for patients. Now we will be advocates for users of health care. And, since every person is or will be one of those, nurses are advocates for everyone-individuals, communities, and populations. Nursing leaders will be there to make sure they have the information and tools they need to do just that.
Thank you for choosing to lead.
-Kathleen D. Sanford, DBA, RN, CENP,
FACHE
Editor in Chief
Nursing Administration Quarterly