How Mental Health Affects Our Life - Essay Example

FOCUSED REFLECTION (Nursing and Mental Health) ID Number of Total Word Count = 996 Part 1.a (my word count = 248) Before, I really had no idea how mental health is an important part in a persons life. I always thought only other people can have mental health problems and it does not concern me directly in any way as long as it is not within my immediately family or close relatives. The issues about mental health are rarely discussed within my family, if ever, because there is a certain stigma to it. People are ashamed to talk about it, because mental health issues are not easily seen, unlike physical diseases where a person can actually see the symptoms of the disease. In the case of mental ailments, it is hard to detect and diagnose, although it may manifest in queer behaviours of the person. I now realized how common mental health issues are today. A distant relative was afflicted with a mental health issue when he still was an adolescent; growing up was a struggle for him. At first, nobody in our family can ever understand his behaviour because his actions were strange, to say the least. Later on, he was persuaded, together with his parents, to see a psychiatrist to know about his mental condition, to diagnose what is wrong with him, when all his other siblings are perfectly normal. I had noticed he is a bit mentally retarded but when the diagnosis was finally out, he was found to be autistic, together with symptoms of savant syndrome. I had always suspected that he is very intelligent. Part 1.b (my word count = 250 Cultural safety in nursing refers to the cultural competence of the nurses who provide care to their patients, in a way that takes into account the ethnic culture of that patient. For example, a Maori native who seeks medical treatment in a hospital may not be very receptive to some practices of Western medicine, but relies more on his native treatments like herbal supplements or alternative medicine. It is the duty of the nurse to know first the cultural background of the patient, all his beliefs, practices, norms and standards as it pertains to the provision of medical care and establish patient rapport. A nurse should treat each patient as a unique individual, and to realize that no two persons can be alike, even if coming from the same ethnic community. There is no single way to treat all patients in the same way always, although nursing practice has its standards to follow. What I mean here is a nurse should first ascertain the culture of the patient in order to know him better, know his fears, his worries, and his complaints. Most nursing schools today now include cultural safety in their curricula, and to emphasize the importance of cultural competence in giving health care. A competent nurse is always aware of the ethnic and religious beliefs of a patient. Further, it is also important to speak the dialect of a patient, if he is not a native English speaker. Culture is a vital part in the nurse-patient dynamics. Part 2.a (my word count = 250) After considering all the materials covered so far in this NSB023 course, I now consider the main challenge in mental health nursing to be the maintenance of a strict professional boundary between me and the patient. It is very easy to identify with the problems of a mental patient, as it is required to understand the patient, to see things from his point of view or perspective. However, it must be emphasized to always keep an arms-length professional distance to maintain objectivity in the rendition of health care and not lose the nursing intervention perspective. My strength is that I am able to remind myself to keep professional distance in most times. I have strong willpower and cannot allow myself to get adversely affected, such as becoming emotionally involved with the patients predicament. I have to be strong myself so I can give quality nursing care always. It is sometimes impossible to be totally aloof and not sympathize with a patient, especially once I get to know him better, his family history, professional background and other intimate or personal details. If I will work in a mental health ward or department of any hospital, I will be at all times conscious of difficulties involved in providing nursing care to mental patients. My weakness is I am very kind or sympathetic to patients, and tend to lose objectivity once I identify with patients. Another weakness is I have a hard time trying to understand what messages they convey to me. Part 2.b (my word count = 248) The learning I derived from this nursing course unit is very helpful to me in the future, because it will give me the knowledge and perspective in dealing with all mental health patients in a caring way. This means to see a patient as a decent human being, with autonomy, self-worth, and to be respected, despite their ailments. It will now be easier on my part to understand, help and deal with mentally-ill patients. The first example I can think is when I am assigned to aged care, where many patients suffer from ailments associated with an advanced age, such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons or dementia. Working with the aged can be a very challenging job but with my nursing training, I can deal with these problems in a professional manner. A second scenario where my mental health training can be very useful is when I work in the neurological department of a medical facility. The patients there are usually old, and many of them can be afflicted with the consequences of a stroke, like slurred speech, diminished mental capacity, slow cognition, or even a forgetful memory. There might also be neurological department patients who are still middle-aged and yet have suffered a stroke or heart attack, and their impaired physical condition may give rise to sudden mood swings, people who are angry at what happened to them when they are still relatively young and could not accept their fate. My training will be very useful. Read More