The Nursing Management at the Hospital Clínic Barcelona is responsible for ensuring the quality of care and excellent clinical practice in accordance with the established ethical principles and in coordination with other hospital management services. Much of this Management's success is due to the crosscutting work in all of the hospital’s areas of knowledge, but above all due to the fact that it places the patient at the very heart of everything, to guarantee their safety and ensure that they have a positive experience whilst receiving the care they need. In fact, as Gemma Martínez points out, the main objective of the Hospital Clínic Barcelona nursing model “is for the patient to feel safe and unique, that they are empowered and can make decisions, and that they are in charge of their illness and their health”.
Gemma Martínez: “The nursing profession needs to be given the recognition it deserves”
Interview with Gemma Martínez, director of nursing at the Hospital Clínic Barcelona.
Gemma Martínez joined the Hospital Clínic as the new director of nursing in 2016. Before that, she worked as an assistant nurse, and has over 20 years of management experience. Moreover, she has carried out a great deal of research work over the course of these years, and has been linked to teaching, coordinating the clinical pharmacology course and co-directing the professional master’s degree in critical care and emergency medicine at the University of Barcelona (UB). Now, at the Hospital Clínic Barcelona, she is the head of Nursing Management and responsible for ensuring the professional development of the hospital's nursing staff.
One thing does not exist without the other. We nurses don’t just see the patient as a person who has a disease, but also as an integration of many things, such as mental illnesses, social situations, frailty, etc. The illness that leads the patient to go to the hospital can evolve in many ways and, most of the time, it does not just depend on surgical or medical treatment. Afterwards, the person will have to continue to be supported to varying degrees, depending on each person’s specific circumstances. In other words, the nurse is the one who provides the nursing care, but moreover she listens, provides support and goes beyond the obvious.
A nurse must have leadership skills. Moreover, in front of the patient, she has to be able to make decisions and know how to work as part of a team. She has to have an open mind and be prepared to learn new things at all times. It is also important that she works with rigour, commitment, politeness and respect for others. However, above all, a nurse has to be a good person.
First of all, we work with a method, which is the scientific method. Then, we also work to maintain optimal communication, both with the patient and with relatives or carers, and even among ourselves. In addition, we maximize the nurses’ skills, as well as advanced practice, and we try to ensure that each professional offers their best qualities.
Each Nursing Management group has its own needs and its own capacity for growth, but they are all equally important
At the Hospital Clínic, there are over 13 different groups within the Nursing Management Department. These include nurses, who now number approximately 1,200; around 1,000 auxiliary nursing care technicians (TCAIs); social workers; social educators; higher level technicians in different specialities such as radiodiagnosis, radiotherapy, laboratory, anatomical pathology, pharmacy, etc.; physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, nursing auxiliaries, nutritionists, midwives and podiatrists. In total, there are around 4,000 people. Each group has its own needs and its own capacity for growth, but they are all equally important.
As we said, at the hospital we promote the roles with the greatest amount of expertise. They include the figure of the advanced practice nurse, which is already recognized internationally, but not fully here yet… Nevertheless, we have been working on an advanced practice model for over five years now. We hope that, in the near future, we shall be able to launch specific calls and, in this way, it will be recognized.
At the Hospital Clínic, there are 876 nurses accredited to prescribe. It is great progress, because it helps the nurse be more autonomous and means she does not depend on other professionals. What's more, it saves time.
Some time ago, nurses warned that certain things would happen that are in fact happening now. We were not listened to and no solution was found. Within a short period of time, we have been faced with two major crises, an economic one and a healthcare one. During the first crisis, many nurses were forced to go abroad, and some of them have not returned. Then, with the arrival of COVID-19, healthcare staff had to be at the forefront of the battle. The fatigue they accumulated at that time continues to be reflected in their current situation. There is an extremely high demand for healthcare, but there are insufficient professionals to be able to offer quality care. All of this creates a great deal of tension. And whilst it is true that some improvements have been made, we are still light years away from the ideal situation we need to achieve.
With the arrival of COVID-19, society became more aware of the need for the nursing profession
The nurse's role has not changed. It continues to be the same as before, that of providing support. What COVID-19 has made very clear is that we need to be prepared to deal with these types of health challenge.
COVID-19 has highlighted what is necessary and essential, and nursing is one of these things. Society has become aware of this situation and of the great effort made by the profession in the hardest times. In other words, most people already knew what a nurse did before the pandemic, but then they became more aware of the need for this profession.
Despite the fact that we’re exhausted, I see a great future ahead of us. The profession is growing, there is room for everyone, and there’s more and more research, training, teaching, etc. being carried out. However, all of this must be accompanied by the support the profession deserves. It is unfair that we’re not properly acknowledged, but it is also true that we need to continue to be enthusiastic and positive. In short, we must continue to see the glass half full.
