The medical-surgical nurse perspective of advocate role.

UNLABELLED: Nursing advocacy for patients is viewed as a vital role for the nursing profession; however, there is little empirical research regarding nursing advocacy.

PROBLEM: The medical-surgical nursing specialty is the largest specialty in acute care settings, but few advocacy studies have focused exclusively on this specialty population.

METHODS: The purpose of this study was to explore the nurse advocacy actions and workplace support for advocacy using written narrative responses to a mailed survey using a medical-surgical nursing sample.

FINDINGS: The responses help to illuminate the importance of the advocate role for this nursing specialty and provide preliminary information on the advocacy actions and workplace support as reported by the nurses.

CONCLUSIONS: The resulting data provide a basis for examining the workplace environmental support for nursing advocacy, further delineate the actions of the nurse advocate, and clarify how nurse advocates follow patient desires regarding care. In addition, the results can be used in education, improving advocacy skills, and safety initiatives.