Reflective Journal: the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples - Essay Example

? Reflective Journal Reflective Journal Week Reflective Journal This week’s lesson introduced me to the various issues, challengesand the lifestyles of indigenous people of the world. It was an opportunity to explore deeply into the lives of these indigenous communities collectively referred to as the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strain Islander Peoples (AATSIP). An exploration into the aspects of culture of these people constitutes an important first step of understanding their perspective on issues of healthcare. In the general sense, it is necessary to consider some of the challenges that make it difficult for these people to access quality and affordable health services. The introductory parts of this lesson was important in the sense that it provides some insight into some of the common factors that affect the access to good healthcare by minority groups. Cultural factors, disparities in resource distribution, and low income status are some of the issues that afflict the lives of these groups. Culture is a broad term that affects the lives of people. It determines actions, systems, and priorities of people (Stidsen, 2006). Matters of diet and hygiene are conditioned by cultural beliefs. As a result people tend to lead lives in the way that is conditioned by cultural values. The diet practices of the indigenous communities, for instance will determine the kind of health that they will attain. As a result it becomes important for the nursing profession to consider cultural issues in light of the many issues that relate to the beliefs and values of individuals, groups, communities and nations. The introduction to the subject of indigenous people attracted a lot of my interest because I have always been fascinated by the broad subject of this people as relates to original populations. Particularly, a closer exploration of the conditions and issues related to the aboriginal populations of Australia is one that engages my interest at different levels. In this week’s lesson, we examined on some of the similarities and differences of various indigenous populations around the globe. One of the issues that require specific attention is that these groups’ exhibit similar characteristics in terms of world view but may have their unique needs and requirements when it comes to some specific details of matters of healthcare and community organization. Although the aborigines of Australia are among the oldest civilizations that still exist in modern history, there still exist multiple challenges on issues of healthcare which require closer attention from modern medical scholars. Generally, systematic negligence, discrimination, and poor policies are some of the issues that have been explored in terms of the inequalities that affect the status of healthcare for the aboriginal populations. However, further studies must examine the place of tradition, culture and custom as important attendant issues that affect the health of the aboriginal community. Effective nursing requires a deeper connection with the cultural challenges of populations in order to develop methods and strategies that are aimed at addressing these issues. I have always desired to gain a deeper insight into the lifestyles and challenges of the aboriginal community as they relate with the wider Australian community. I am also aware of multiple literatures, which has been developed to attend to the same subject. In this week’s lesson, one of the important issues that the professor trained his focus on is the matter of health. In many indigenous populations, policies of health have always elicited multiple issues because populations are, by their very nature, conditioned by cultural factors. Week 2 Reflective Journal I would contend that the explanation on culture as provided by Dr Marion Kickett and Mr. Kim Scott was an eye opener into an alternative understanding of the concept of culture. After the lesson, I can now appreciate the cultural life of indigenous people from a very informative perspective. At the same time, I feel I can now connect the impact of culture on the lives of individuals, groups and communities. One of the most important lessons that I acquired in this lesson is that the Aboriginal people comprise of various groups. I had been quite wrong in the past by believing that the aboriginal people were just one small group. I now know that there are various nationalities within this group, with each nationality speaking its own language. However, there are some common aspects of life, which tie these people together. An important lesson that I gained from this lesson is that the culture of people usually determined their health. Culture conditions the belief system of people. It draws a line between issues and practices that are acceptable and those that are not acceptable (Anaya, 2004). It is important to appreciate culture as a sum total of issues that determine the kind of life that is led by people. After this lesson I have come to appreciate the fact that all issues including health are controlled by cultural beliefs. The way people engage with issues of healthcare is usually determined by the relationship between the healthcare systems, policies, and actions, and cultural values and beliefs. On this note, it becomes important to examine the indigenous communities in light of the many issues that attend to their health. Studies on culture and health have always demonstrated that it is important to examine the manner in which a people’s lifestyles affect and are in turn affected by issues of health care. Aboriginal people of Australia have often wanted to identify themselves as a special group that is guided by peculiar needs. Such needs include health, education, and general development. The practice of nursing must involve a closer attention to the issues of healthcare of these communities. An understanding of cultural behaviorism will help in the monitoring of the external visible changes that will certainly happen in the process of. This lesson will help in striking out a harmonious progress in the resulting physical developments of the nursing process. The most important aspect to observe will be the behavior of the patients, which will give a useful hint into the general operation and subsequent development of the nursing process. Cognitive theory will be enlisted in the process of measuring the amount of method-based nursing that will have occurred between designated stages of the nursing process. This will be achieved primarily through aptitude tests and the administration of continuous assessment tests. Nursing care will focus on the process through which the patient learns to construct fresh ideas and concepts that are derived from the body of knowledge acquired at the earlier stages of nursing. Through subjects like creative writing, constructions of academic projects, it will be possible to evaluate the growth of knowledge levels among the patients. These three theories will be used together for an aggregate assessment of the cognitive development of the patients. The valuation of the growth levels will be done on both the negative and positive aspects of the process. Week 3 Reflective Journal The video presentation by Ms Lovey offers important glimpses into the life of indigenous Maori community in New Zealand. Important developments in their lives are brought out in a way that illustrates some of the special needs that must be addressed through structural and policy issues. As a result of this intervention, it becomes important to consider Maori people as part of a division of indigenous people who struggle continually to contend with life as created by the dominant and powerful communities. One of the major issues that are addressed in this video is the Treaty of Wataingi, which was signed between the Maori people and the British colonists. Although the treaty ceded some important rights to the original community, the presentation makes the case about the subsequent denial of land by the dominant groups. As s result, the Maori people were effectively disposed. In my view, the awareness of their minority status has had devastating effects on their lives and general composure. At the psychological level, this treaty made it difficult for the communities to belief themselves (Smith & Ward, 2000). The loss of self-identity made them suspicious of all other structures and institutions that were set up by the successive authorities. Poor representation and systematic subjugation has often meant that the people cannot articulate their views and carry on their lives in a manner that is consistent with their welfare. The implication of this fact extends to the status of their health. By implication, one might use the growing statistics on mortality, disease prevalence, and other negative aspects to build an explanation regarding the bad quality of life of the Maori in New Zealand. In nursing practice, an awareness of these challenges would be important in developing the most suitable health strategies and approaches, which would minimize the structural impacts on their welfare. The image of a nurse, in the minds of the aborigines usually evokes the sensation of authority and higher knowledge. It is possible for the nurse to utilize this aura of authority that is created to enforce and instill the values that will be useful in the process of guiding the patient in the desired direction of knowledge. This relationship can be made easier and friendlier without compromising on professionalism. One way through which patients and their patients can live well is through active participation in extracurricular activities such as sports, music and debates. These activities that are conducted outside classroom are particularly important in the way in which they provide both the patients and the nurses to know alternative dimensions of each other’s characters and other special abilities like talents. The diversity that reflects itself within the patient fraternity is one important factor that could be utilized by the nurses to create an environment where the variations could be used to further the ends of knowledge acquisition. The nurses might want to integrate the system so that patients from diverse backgrounds are brought together under the same umbrella of knowledge. One way through which this could be done is by the setting up of discussion groups where patients from different races, classes and backgrounds can learn together. Week 4 Reflective Journal Indeed a study of indigenous people of Australia has helped to broaden my understanding of many issues that involve their lives. I have now realized that my earlier thoughts about the indigenous people were based on stereotypes. I did not have a complete picture of the different aspects of lifestyle of these people. From this week’s study, I now believe that it is wrong to make assumptions about people using negative qualities, which we often receive from narrow interpretations of reality about these people. It is important to appreciate the diversity of cultures in order to develop clear views about them. It is even more important in the profession of nursing because such an understanding helps in the developing of the most appropriate intervention strategies for health concerns. It is important to develop an understanding basing on some common factors that involve matters of general interest. On this score, an understanding of the culture of the original people of Australia provides a framework of appreciating the values and beliefs, which they attach on matters of healthcare. Aboriginal people often demonstrate certain approaches to life, which fit within the general concepts that they attach on matters of health care (Hollins, 2009). It is possible to use some of their belief systems to generate solutions and issues that are acceptable to the entire group. Such an understanding also helps people to appreciate the issues that attend to matters of welfare and a deeper sense of community. In my personal view, I have always believed that a proper understanding of the health challenges of this community must involve the cooperation of the indigenous communities. Community based approaches in nursing have often tended to produce more effective results because the approaches are based on some cultural assumptions, traditions and mores that govern the belief systems of the people. The relationship between the nurse and the patient is of paramount importance in the process of learning because the two persons are partners in the entire process of creating knowledge. The nurse and the patient must build a level of trust between themselves which will enable the patient appreciate the nurse as a useful medium in the acquisition of knowledge. At the psychological level there is a sense of paternalism which mediates the relationship between these two individuals. This paternalism thrives on the environment of goodwill which is a precondition that safeguards the system of thought that carries messages and meaning between the nurse and the patient during the learning process. A nurse who adopts an authoritarian and intimidating demeanor before his or her patients might risk incurring their displeasure. Similarly a nurse who approaches his patients with a visible form of inferiority complex will most likely affect the concentration of the patients in a negative contemptuous sense. The relationship between the nurse and the patient should therefore remain cordial with a respectable air between them so that communication is not impaired. Nurses must strive to symbolize the edifice of discipline, brilliance and hard work. Usually many patients consider their nurses as some form parents. This means that in the classroom and outside, nurses remain the visible role models on whom patients want to emulate the very best of traits and behavior. Week 5 Reflective Journal This week’s lesson provided some resourceful insights into the issues relating to the impact of policies and legal regulations, which have been developed in the past with the intention of safeguarding the interests and welfare of the indigenous communities. An exploration into some of the legal structures of such people is important in order to develop an understanding of the relevance of some of these issues in improving the lives of the people. It is from this lesson that I learnt of how bad policies and inappropriate legal structures have disrupted the social and cultural people of the indigenous people of Australia. For instance, it becomes important to train some focus on the impact of the stole people phenomenon as it attends to matters of healthcare and general survival of the indigenous people of Australia. One of the most important lessons that could be obtained from this aspect is that these people face various structural challenges that often impede their capacities to lead proper lives. Challenges of malnutrition, high mortality rates, and low life expectancy are of the issues that provide evidence of the structural flaws that affect the original people of Australia. From this perspective, it becomes important to appreciate the challenges that the indigenous people of Australia face due to the mismatch between culture and the policies adopted by the government (Villiers & Tjale, 2004). The merits of this week’s lesson should be understood from the perspective of the details of daily life which connect to the relationship between policy and cultural practice. It is a usual phenomenon that in a system of diversity there are always dominant groups and the minorities. Nurses would be particularly wary of this because the dominant groups have often tended to frustrate the minorities. One solution in such situations is the setting up of a preferential system where leadership positions are given to some minorities. Such an action will have the effect of boosting the morale and self-esteem of the minorities. The leadership positions will make up for other deficiencies that might have placed the group at some comparative disadvantage in the general discourse of learning. In an environment where the patients represent different cultures, the theory of cultural diversity other than cultural relativism, should be considered. Cultural relativism might be utilized in a negative sense that might be used by some patients to heighten stereotypes among the cultures. Cultural diversity on the other hand will encourage healthy relationships across the groups in a manner that will provide the learning environment with a homely ambience. This ambience will encourage interpersonal relationship between the patients and their facilitators and, in turn, create a fitting psychological and physical environment. The process of nursing involves a delicate manipulation of various systems of knowledge, and an adjustment of the character of the key facilitators of knowledge in a way that will eliminate fallacies, dogmas and other untruths that create obstacles on the path of learning. The learning process demands the active participation of various stakeholders who must work together to guarantee longevity to the structures established. Knowledge often acts like an energy that is indestructible and irreducible, but which can only be criticized and preserved for prosperity. Ultimately, resolving the nursing challenges faced by indigenous groups must involve a strategic methodology meant to derive the most important aspects of culture for the nursing process while designing ways of minimizing the impact of negative cultural practices. References Anaya, S., J. (2004). Indigenous Peoples in International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hollins, S. (2009). Religions, Culture and Healthcare: A Practical Handbook for Use in Healthcare Environments. London: Radcliffe Publishing. Smith, C., & Ward, G. (2000). Indigenous Cultures in an Interconnected World. New York: UBC Press. Stidsen, S. (2006). The Indigenous World. New York: IWGIA. Villiers, L., & Tjale, A. (2004). Cultural Issues in Health and Health Care. New York: Juta and Company Ltd. Read More