The Profession of Nursing - Essay Example

? Three Assignments Three Assignments Introduction Nursing is a profession that is all about alleviating the suffering of the person who comes to a nurse. This career demands whole hearted involvement of the nurse. The more sincere a nurse is in treating his/her patient the speedier is the recovery. So understanding a person’s in and out is a necessity to treat him effectively. In order to understand the cultural back ground of the patient, it will be a good practice to visit specific communities and understand their custom and culture as part of the nursing curriculum. Sporadic outbreak of serious epidemics demands maximum service from the health care sector. The role of nurses becomes crucial at this juncture. A nursing student should be well trained in epidemic management and care. So it is advisable for nursing students to attend such epidemic stricken areas as part of their curriculum. Caring older people is an important aspect of nursing job. The geriatric community is very vulnerable and hence dealing with them requires good training. Usually the elder people are dependent both physically and mentally. Attending to the patient’s nutritional intake, personal hygiene and mobility is a time consuming process. Once they are with the elder patients they get to know them better, especially their individual personality. In addition to these elderly patients suffer from conditions like dementia. Interacting with such patients with mental dependence demands a lot of patience from the nurse’s part. Assignments 1st Assignment Different communities have their own specific traditions which will be very useful in treating them. Many ethnic medical practices were found to be useful in modern medicine. A close observation of the tribal community opens the storehouse of ethnomedicine and native wisdom. The tribal people are aware of many herbs which have medicinal value and can be used as panacea to many fatal illnesses. In addition to this, knowing the customs and manners of a community makes the interaction with them easier. For that, a trip to any ethnic religious ceremony or family function can be included in the course. “At a practical level, nurses must be cognizant that culture affects individual and collective experiences that are directly and indirectly related to health” (Singleton & Krause, 2009). This helps the student to experience the intensity of family relationship and moral values particular to that group. This knowledge can be useful for the nurse to make necessary arrangements for them in the hospital when they come for treatment later in life. Knowing more about other culture and customs can help the student improve his outlook about the world, thus broadening the frontiers of knowledge on traditions, religion and languages. As a result of this program the student develops; 1. Awareness of the cultural background of the patient 2. Sensitivity to the cultural needs of the patient 3. Expertise in implementing culturally based strategies to provide better health care 2nd Assignment The need for serving an epidemic affected community can be best illustrated by analyzing the activities of a nurse in an epidemic outbreak like Malaria. In such a situation, a nurse is required to have expertise in taking the medical history of the patient, collecting blood samples, should have an idea of the therapeutic guidelines in treating the disease. The nurse should also know vector management and control, and record keeping and documentation of medical information. While engaging in epidemic management, the student learns to give health promotion guidelines to patients to remain alert in preventing further outbreaks. This rapid assessment of epidemic involves ‘assessment of current circumstances and scope of the damage’ (Veenema, 2007, p. 182). In addition to this, they learn the different follow up techniques to be used among the patients in the post outbreak period. As part of their course, they can keep a record of their activities in the endemic affected area. This exposure trains the students to be vigilant while taking blood samples from the patients. Contact with infectious blood while taking samples is a potential hazard in contracting the infection. As part of active case finding the students are asked to meet people at their homes for routine temperature check rather than waiting for them to report at the clinic. The major outcomes of this program are that the student achieves 1. An in-depth knowledge in the diagnosis and control and treatment of the disease 2. Ability to communicate the different measures to check the propagation of the vector 3. Skill in taking blood samples. 3rd Assignment As part of the course, a nursing student can be assigned to look after an elderly person for a period of one week. The student is asked to take note of his psycho social background, his emotional state, his functional ability and his habits only based on his/her observations and assumptions. Later the nurse has to conduct an interview with this person about these factors and compare it with his observations. He also collects a feedback from the patient regarding the care provided to him. This interaction trains the student in giving emotional support to the patient, enhances the self care knowledge of the patient and educates the person about the nutritional requirements in old age. Such an interaction helps the nurses to develop a positive attitude towards the elderly community. The nursing student not only understands the physical limitation of the individual but also understands the mental and emotional status of the person. Through this interaction, the student gets to know the major emotional requirements of a person at old age. As Taylor (2005, pp. 17-18), assessment of older adults is difficult due to numerous reasons that range from appearance to past occupation. As the major outcomes of this program; 1. The student develops observation skill 2. The student does a comparative analysis of his observation with the information he collected from the patient. 3. The student improves himself based on the basis of the feedback collected from the patient. 4. The student becomes capable of handling more geriatric cases with confidence in his career. Conclusion The above mentioned assignments can play a significant role in molding the nursing career of the student. The first assignment sensitizes the student to the cultural requirements of the patient. The second one equips the student to act accordingly in a grave situation like an epidemic break out. The third one trains the student in handling elderly patients who require extreme care and attention. All the three assignments help the student to build up his/her confidence as a nurse and leads to the wholesome development of his personality. These three tasks give hands on experience to the students and add to the theoretical knowledge they acquire through the course. References Singleton, K & Krause, E. M. S. (2009). Understanding Cultural and Linguistic Barriers to Health Literacy. OJIN, 14 (3). Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/mainmenucategories/anamarketplace/anaperiodicals/ojin/tableofcontents/vol142009/no3sept09/cultural-and-linguistic-barriers-.html Taylor, H. (2005). Assessing the Nursing and Care Needs of Older Adults: A Patient-centred Approach. UK: Radcliffe Publishing. Veenema, T. G. (2007). Disaster Nursing and Emergency Preparedness: For Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Terrorism and Other Hazards. US: Springer Publishing Company. Read More