Values and Beliefs in Clinical Practice - Essay Example

Beliefs, Values and Assumptions In Clinical Help No. of Pages – 4 – 6530 Introduction: Every human being is unique and follows their own beliefs and value systems. No two people are alike and hence what’s good for one may not be good for another. Considering such a situation an individual is prone to have their own whims and fancies while interacting with people and things in their environment. Everyone are human and therefore have their good days and bad days. But it is at this juncture that a person of the medical fraternity has to make a difference, in that they have to exhibit more maturity than a lay or common man. Values and Beliefs: All of us have our own yard stick, value systems and beliefs. Our lives run on these systems in correlation to the environment around us. The kind of values and beliefs we hold and the depth of their richness would determine the kind of personality we have. Good values and beliefs go a long way in helping us in our profession. It enables us to set a standard for ourselves when dealing with others. “Clinical interviews should reflect that clinicians value the dignity and worth of all people” Medical practioners like myself exhibit great values like respect for the patient, tolerance, commitment to work, compassion, truthfulness, kindness and courage. My beliefs in these values are deeply rooted and I use them in my daily life. I also greatly appreciate the value of time and selflessness and this helps me to apply the same to my work. A match between what we say, we believe and what we do is one of the hallmarks of effective individuals, teams and organizations (Manley 2000). Clinical Gestalt: A few things went to contribute to my clinical gestalt. In the first place, I kept talking to the patient in English assuming that almost all people knew English though they come from different countries. But the patient was Chinese and knew only the Chinese language. Clinical Repose: The view I observe about my Clinical Repose is that I am a very strong and supportive kind of person, one who will lend full support and courage to her client. Due to my upbringing and the environment in which I grew up, I am able to exude warmth and cheerfulness to everyone I come into contact with. Inspite of the hurry and bustle around me, I am able to retain my balance and composure and focus on the client and all his needs. I am able to achieve this because of my practice of self control during my course. In the future too, I believe that I would continue to exhibit my strong points of commitment, support, warmth, cheerfulness and good composure no matter what problems I have to face on certain days. At the same time I would try hard to develop those areas that I need to improve such as my sense of time and punctuality and strive to better any areas that I may have overlooked at sometime. Clients I find hard to work with: 1. A critical person: I could easily get over the fact that the person is critical because I too had exhibited such behavior before I really understood the impact criticism had on a person. I now clearly understand that it is not right to be judgmental of anyone and instead I empathize with the person. 2. Gay Adolescent: I am able to relate to the gay adolescent since I have a close family member who is also gay. I am able to respect that difference and behave in the most natural way. 3. Woman having an abortion: I could really empathize with this woman for the fact that she may be having this abortion out of compulsion and not out of her own free will. 4. Person who is a bully: I wouldn’t mind helping a bully because I know that he must have gone through hell and that’s what’s made him what he is today. In fact I would try to be extra nice to him to see what reaction he would have to people who are awfully nice. 5. Clients who hate professionals: Dealing with a person who hates professionals won’t be a problem because I will deal with him on a friend-to-friend basis and so I won’t take any adverse reaction personally. 6. Racist: I don’t think it would be dealing with a person who makes racist statements because I would remain non-controversial and non-committal. On the other hand I would try to find out the underlying problem that he is suffering from. Although it is clear that race affects the process of helping, there is no conclusive evidence that racial dissimilarity necessarily impairs treatment outcome (Davis & Proctor, 1989). 7. Religious Zealot: Though I would find such a person un-nerving, I could still put up with him by having a non-committal attitude. 8. An angry and yelling client: It would be indeed difficult for me to work with a yelling client and would prefer to hold sessions where yelling is not allowed. 9. Trans-sexual: This client would definitely pose a great challenge to me because I am not familiar with this situation. But understanding that they are a sect ostracized from society, I would try to make an effort to help. 10. Drug- addicted mother: I would be difficult coming to terms with this client because the knowledge I have of mothers is that they are the ones who keep the family safe and someone a child looks up to. I may be judgmental towards her. 11. Husband abusing a wife: I would find this situation very difficult because it goes against my values. I have learned that a man who beats a woman is not a man at all and therefore I would be judgmental of his character. 12. Clergyperson who sexually assaults a parishioner: It goes against my ethics. I cannot accept that a person who has gone to the clergyperson for solace would be assaulted. I would find this situation most challenging and maybe I would not accept him as my client. Clinicians should convey and exhibit a non-judgmental acceptance without necessarily approving of specific people or behaviors. “immerse ourselves in the client’s perspective rather than dragging the client into our own constructions of reality”. Though certain situation and people may be challenging, it is the duty of every medical practitioner to accept the client as he is and overcome the situations by being un-biased and non-controversial. References: Manley K (2000) Organisational culture and consultant nurse outcomes: part 1 organisational culture www.did.stu.mmu.ac.uk/carn/studydays/valuesclarificationV3.doc Read More