Role of Nursing in Preventing Missed Care: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

The nursing profession serves as the central bulwark against missed care, transforming systemic vulnerability into patient safety through a multifaceted and proactive approach. This defense is operationalized at the bedside via the continuous application of clinical judgment, where nurses dynamically assess, prioritize, and triage care needs to safeguard high-risk interventions even under resource constraints. Beyond individual action, nurses function as essential communicators and coordinators, integrating the multidisciplinary team to ensure care plans are executed without omission. Their role extends to strategic workload management and ethical advocacy, addressing both the immediate causes and root systemic drivers of unfinished care. By leveraging evidence-based practices, supportive technologies, and effective delegation, nurses create a robust framework that protects the integrity of care delivery. This comprehensive engagement positions nursing not merely as victims of a flawed system, but as active, indispensable agents in identifying gaps, mitigating risks, and ensuring care continuity. The prevention of missed care is ultimately a reflection of nursing’s core ethical commitment to beneficence and non-maleficence, demanding leadership and systemic engagement at all levels. Nurse leaders advocate for safe staffing and cultivate a Just Culture where barriers to care can be reported without fear, translating frontline experiences into organizational policy change. Furthermore, through lifelong education and competency development, the nursing workforce builds resilience against the factors that lead to omissions. The collective outcome of this comprehensive role is the fostering of a reliable safety culture where patient needs are consistently met. Therefore, while systemic reforms remain crucial, the deliberate integration of nursing’s unique skills in judgment, coordination, advocacy, and leadership constitutes the most critical and immediate defense against missed care, directly safeguarding patient outcomes and upholding the fundamental promise of quality healthcare.