Person Centred Model of Education in Nursing - Essay Example

Name Essay (Health and Social Care) 26 May 2008 Person Centred Model of Education and Nursing Person Centred Model of Education and Nursing There exists no doubt pertaining to the fact that the process of human evolution is still incomplete. This premise also stands true in the context of social institutions and organizations being run by highly trained and motivated professionals. In the contemporary information driven society, the main focus of all the services based professions is to build upon the sense and perception of satisfaction delivered to the end consumers. This not only necessitates further research and development into the technology associated with different professions, but demands an alteration in the human values, ethics and approaches that go into delivering customer oriented services. This calls for a stringent revision of the paradigms, which define the type and nature of relationships, which professionals forge with their customers. Thus the humanity is the centre of all the services delivered by professionals in today’s modern world. The need for the customer oriented services is more acute in the realm of health care services. When one talks about health care services, there is no denying the fact that nursing is a profession that contributes maximum to a patient’s sense of well being. Till now, the nurses were being trained to deliver task centred services to their patients, so far as their contribution to meeting the health care needs of the clients were concerned. Considerations pertaining to a patient’s emotional and personal needs and individual preferences took a back seat, while making decisions related to their care and life style planning. The nursing chores were carried out on a routine basis with a clock work precision. Such a model of assembly line nursing severely impinged on the human side of a customer’s health care needs. Person centred care is a new cultural shift in the arena of nursing (Flesner, 2004). This is a paramount cultural readjustment that aims at extending a personalized care for the patients both in hospitals and nursing homes and also in a home environment. The main premise behind this concept is that the current nursing guidelines should believe that it is the patient who should direct the procedures and regimens pertaining to ones day care and the concerned health care institutions and the nursing staff aught to be oriented around the specific needs and requirements of a patient. Infact, this is a unique approach that aims at understanding a patient’s personality and the human relationships that a patient strikes with the concerned health care professionals and especially the nursing staff. Such a change has the potential to alter the very foundations of task oriented nursing that constituted the foundations of nursing profession till now. The current trend is towards client oriented and client empowering, partnering approach towards nursing. Every novel shift in the cultural paradigms associated with a profession is always accompanied by some resistance. The same stands true for nursing also (Landers, 2007). A large segment of nursing professionals believe that their patients do not always have the insight and wisdom to make important decisions related to their medical care and well being. Being untrained in the nuances of medical science and hygiene, they lack a thorough background and knowledge to ensure a democratic relationship with the concerned nursing staff based on shared experience. Being thoroughly trained and informed owing to their university background, the community nurses always know what is best for a particular client. The main objective of a nurse is always to do what is best for a client living at home. Therefore the domesticating model of nursing has a lot of merits. Such a mind set is to a great extent based on a lack of understanding or misunderstanding pertaining to the psychological theory behind the person centred model of nursing (Collins, 2008). Thus a cursory insight into this concept can obliterate the myths associated with it. What is person centred model of education? Person centred model of psychology was founded by the celebrated American psychologist Carl Ransom Rogers (1902-1987). This model scored above previous doctrines in the sense that it gravitated more towards a humanistic approach towards psychology (Wikipedia, 2008). It aimed at understanding individual personality and human relationships in a social set up. This model facilitated wide spread applications in diverse fields such as psychotherapy, education and nursing. In the field of nursing it suggested that a client by establishing a relationship with an understanding, accepting a health care professional can overcome the obstacles and gain the insight required to restructure one’s life. The person centred model of nursing is based on some salient features. It holds that all the individuals exist in a continually changing environment and do react to any change. The human beings form a sense of self on the basis of their interaction with the surrounding environment. Thus the best approach towards understanding an individual is to recognize the bases of one’s internal frame of reference. The behaviour of every person is motivated by a desire to satisfy one’s needs. Thus a balanced psychological adjustment to an environment is achieved when the concerned professionals assimilate the concept of self of a patient in any approach or strategy for patient care. Any health care arrangement that ignores the personality of a patient is very often perceived as a threat or botheration. However, if the participation of a patient is ensured in a mechanism of nursing care then there exists an increased chance that a patient may successfully readjust one’s personality to ensure maximum cooperation. Certainly this idea of nursing makes sense and is more in line with the modern humanistic and individualistic ideals. A person centred model of nursing gives paramount importance to the patient for whom the entire health care system is to be designed and gives due preference to the needs, habits and aspirations of a patient in the total health care set up. Considering the high costs associated with nursing, it is a must that every customer gets maximum satisfaction and comfort out of the entire experience. Advantages and viability of person centred model of nursing Person centred model of nursing is highly relevant in the sense that it is a holistic model of healthcare which takes into consideration the overall needs and personality of a patient (Donna, 2007). It is designed to ensure maximum comfort for a patient with an eye on the cardinal need for warmth and strength. It helps the nursing professionals in forging specific bonds and attachments with their patients that streamline the overall health care set up in an institution. Both the nurses and the patients get a sense of inclusion and the feeling of being a part of a group. This helps the nurses in harmonizing their occupational priorities and skills with the emotional and physical needs of their patients. Ultimately it results in a heightened sense of achievement and participation for both the nurses and the patients. As comfort, inclusion, occupation, attachment and identity needs are universal in a human scenario, person centred model of nursing is more in line with the human aspirations and goals. However such an approach towards nursing has to be broad based. It is imperative that the leadership in an institution whole heartedly believes in such a system to make it a success. The entire health care system aught to be willing to prioritize the routines, schedules and tasks on the basis of the needs, desires and the pace of a resident. The leadership should be able to get all employees on board with this line of thinking. Such a model of nursing must include inputs from residents and families so as to customize the entire system with the participation of the patient and the family focus groups. Such a vision of patient care needs to be incorporated in the over all architecture and the interiors of a health care facility. Conclusion The existing models of health care were extremely mechanical and soul less in their design and conception. They worked on assembly line vision of health care were all the procedures were highly regimented and straight jacketed. Least consideration was given to the needs, aspirations and biorhythm of a patient. Thus they attracted negligible or forced compliance and offered very little to cherish in terms of customer satisfaction and individual sense of well being. The person centred model of health care is a more recent humanistic approach that envisions every patient to be the core and focus of overall health care procedures and strategies. Thus they encourage heightened compliance and cooperation by both the nursing professionals and the patients. References Carl Rogers, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopaedia, Retrieved 26 May, 2008, from http://www.en.wikiped.org/wiki/Carl_ Rogers Collins, J.H., Person-Centred Care, Ezine articles, Retrieved 26 May 2008, from http://ezinearticles.com/Person- Centred-Care=826948 Donna, M., Person-Centred Care for Persons with Dementia, Retrieved, 26 May 2008, from http://www.ingentoconnect Com/content/rtnp. Launders.G.M., Person-Centred Nursing Practice, Retrieved 26 May 2008, from, http;//nsq.ragepub.com/cgi/abstract/20/78 Flesner, K.M., Person centred care; a model of nursing homes. BNET, Retrieved, 26 May 2008, from, http; //findarticles. Com/p/articles/ai_n 1538360 Read More