Nurse Interns' Perception Regarding Patients' Rights and Advocacy

Abstract

The right to health and wellbeing is fundamental. Patient rights are basic rules of conduct between patients and healthcare providers, including access to care, dignity and respect, effective communication, privacy and confidentiality, and informed consent. Moreover, patient advocacy is a moral obligation in nursing denoting a responsibility to protect patient rights. Although respecting patient rights is crucial in the provision of quality care, patients have limited knowledge of these rights, and advocacy is often missed in nursing practice. However, there is a paucity of research assessing nurse interns’ perception regarding their role as advocates for patient rights (Abbasinia et al., 2020). This study aim was to assess the nurse interns' perception regarding patients' rights and advocacy. The study was carried out in the four Ain Shams University Hospitals using a descriptive cross-sectional design. It included all 111 nurse interns having their training in the settings during the internship program 2020/2021. A validated and pilot-tested self-administered questionnaire with tools for patient bill of rights and patient