Statistics
Statistics is a science that involves collecting, empirically analyzing interpreting data. Being a very interdisciplinary area, research in statistics can be applied in almost all fields of scientific research questions.
Data are individual, or a group collected factual information and recorded in a particular manner for immediate or future analysis and use. Analyzed data is critical in decision making in every sector of an economy.
A nurse/physician in a hospital will require statistical data, either quantitative or qualitative, to study the signs, patterns, and symptoms in a patient to understand what type of medical attention a patient needs at a given time. Besides, studying patients’ charts, i.e., the time to administer drugs, time to change a patient’s position in a situation where some are in critical condition severe injuries, a nurse will have to apply statistical knowledge to give time quality health services to the patient.
There is a likelihood that the nurse who has world statistical knowledge on a particular drug or disease will be better positioned to offer quality and effective medical services. For instance, a nurse with statistical and analyzed data combined with background information on how tuberculosis is transmitted, how it can be prevented, and managed will effectively and efficiently care for the patient. Several, if not all, illnesses affect people differently based on age, gender, geographical location, among other factors. Using available statistical data, a nurse can get a clear direction to plan his/her schedule in an organized manner. The knowledge will help such a medical officer understand among the patients who need more attention and the drug’s quantity to administer based on the doctor’s recommendations. Without such statistical knowledge and background information, a nurse or physician will be operative in the dark, and most probably, he/she will offer low standard health care service.
If described as an injury or a condition that was acquired during the period of stay in the hospital facility apart from the underlying condition, patient safety was the main reason that brought a person in the hospital. Such an occurrence may complicate the health of a patient, increase the cost of treatment, or delay the discharge time of such patients. Many factors can contribute to patient injuries. Not only miss diagnosis or prescriptions, but the facility’s safety where patients are situated must also be inspected from time to time to avoid incidences where building or building material falls on patients while asleep or otherwise.
A nurse or a physician, for that matter, should have knowledge and understanding of the circumstances or environment that surrounds his/her area of work. For example, a nurse needs to have factual data that is acceptable in all world medical bodies on what to do if you administer a wrong drug to a patient. It is also critical to note that, in such a situation, various misdiagnoses may require a different approach to reverse the patient back to the former underlying problem. A physician should have all data relating to such a wrong diagnosis and how one can effectively deal with the issue and still manage to offer quality healthcare service at an acceptable period of time.
With correct and reliable statistical data, a physician will be in the apposition to identify gaps and develop a workable solution on how to tackle the situation. For instance, with analyzed data on how Corona Virus (Covid-19) is transmitted from one individual to the other, countries could take immediate steps and containment measures such as wearing a mask, asking people to keep social distance, canceling all social gathering, lockdowns, and so forth to at least reduce the level of transmission and fatalities. Also, with correct data, it is practical for health workers and health management, for that matter, to organize awareness programs and campaigns to educate the general public on how to prevent or avoid getting an infection with a certain type of disease or illness. They can also encourage people to practice some behaviors, e.g., what to eat, drink, exercise, and improve their health and keep fit as a measure of combating some diseases. For this to happen, well-analyzed and organized medical and social data is vital for practicing and aspiring physicians.
People living in swamp and humid areas are most likely to get infected with malaria than those living in hot and dry environmental conditions. These are some of the statistical research that has been carried out by various medical practitioners and has been proven to be true. The physician tasked with managing the medical facility in those two conditions must be sure that, in the former, there will be high demand for malaria-related diagnosis compared to them later. Area, region, or countries with a high population being aged people with few young ones will mostly be dealing with more blood pressure and old related medical cases than countries with a high population being youths. Such data will help physicians lead medical facilities to prioritize based on what is likely to happen in a given weather condition and how to deal with the situation when that time comes.
As a clinical nurse at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phones Arizona, statistical data have been of great help in my day to day activities as I thrive to offer quality health services. Information background, previous medical condition, and prescribed drugs guide our team on how best we approach any medical condition intending to improve our patients’ health condition. I study my environment every day to ensure no threat to our patient’s safety. For the period I have been there, I have studied the area’s contextual information, changes in weather conditions, different diseases, and illness prevalence in the area that help me manage my patient condition efficiently and effectively.