How Biology, Psychology and Sociology Can Inform the Practice of Nursing - Essay Example

 Introduction Nursing, one of the noblest professions, is based on the principle of service to humanity. Charity, equality, responsibility, respect for human dignity, are the core elements of the Nursing profession. It is closely related to other disciplines such as Biology, Psychology and Sociology. In this study, I try to find out how biology. Psychology and sociology can inform nursing practices by drawing upon the applied science module content and using my recent experiences at a nursing home. I would like to add that The Nursing and Midwifery, Council’s code of professional conduct, standards for conduct, performance and ethics (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2004) have been diligently applied while doing this study. Biology The biological description of a patient that needs to be analysed properly is given below and an action plan has to be chalked out regarding how he should be treated. As the result of a fall, the 102 years old ulcer patient has little mobility which greatly affects his confidence. He suffers from loss of appetite and on some days, does not eat at all. Moreover, he has to get treatment for ulcer also. Considering the special needs of this patient, it is imperative that a nurse should be competent in dealing with biological issues that the patient is facing and the nurse should not feel anxious. It is very common that student nurses often become very nervous while dealing with such kind of patients. Moreover, the subject of biology is a cause of concern for many students. “The subject of biology was identified as a cause of anxiety amongst student nurses on the common foundation programme (CFP), both verbally and in each of the written course evaluations, at a college of nursing and midwifery in the South of England” (Nicoll, 1996). In the above mentioned case, we have to deal with several specific biological issues arising out of the frail condition of the patient as a result of fall, the patient’s ulcer, and the patient’s lack of appetite. Moreover, we should not forget that the patient is 102 years old. We can easily understand that that the patient’s age has something to do with the patient’s multiple ailments and afflictions. The nurse, in order to be effective, must have good knowledge about the biology of older women. The nurse must know how to deal with the patient’s frailty, what are the underlying reasons for the course of treatment that is prescribed; how an ulcer patient should be treated; how to deal with the patient’s poor appetite from a biological point of view. Moreover, in order to be effective, the nurse must be able to relate the different biological conditions and afflictions and put them in the context of the patient’s advanced age and peculiar biology. The patient’s poor appetite may be because of the ulcer. Moreover, nutrition is very important in old age. A “study published in the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences and medical Sciences demonstrated that the lack of specific nutrients increases the risk of becoming frail. In this study, 802 participants were assessed for nutrient intake and frailty. The study showed that the risk of frailty was correlated with a diminished intake of protein and vitamins A, D, C and the B vitamin folate. If a person was deficient in two or more nutrients, the risk of frailty more than doubled.” (http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2006/08/03/nutrition_key_to_avoiding_frailty_in_old_age.htm) The recent fall and lack of movement may also causes poor appetite. Good knowledge in the biological sciences is necessary to validate these, and a good nurse should be able to perform such a validation. The existing literature, while trying to gauge the confidence levels of the nurses’ understanding of the biological sciences, concludes that nurses, in general, are not very confident about such knowledge. Moreover, many nurses lack “confidence in articulating their knowledge to patients and, even less so, to other health professionals” (Clancy, McVicar and Bird, 2000, p. 1522). If the patients are not biologically stable, they should be given vitamin rich food in order to get back to a biologically stable condition. The current state of the patient, with her low appetite and sometimes not eating at all on certain days might lead to further biological complications if left unchecked. All the possible causes of the lack of appetite must be investigated. Proper treatment for ulcer should be arranged so that it might not serve as a cause for low appetite and they may be able to recover from their fall and will be able to improve her mobility. The patient suffers from low appetite, ulcer, and immobility. First of all, we have to address the problem of ulcer because it also serves as one of the causes for low appetite. While arranging proper treatment for ulcer, provisions should be made for providing very nutritious food to the patient. Proper diagnosis should be conducted on the patient to find out the other causes for the low appetite. Once the problem of ulcer and low appetite solved, the next will be to restore the physical mobility and assist the patient to recover from the fall. Psychology Patient faces lots of psychological problems at home. They are socially involved in many clubs and associations and can be considered psychologically competent to live an independent life style. However, when the patient moves to an old age home, he/she has to dispose off the house to pay for the expenses. There is a common belief that “frail older adults experience adverse physical, psychological, and cognitive effects from the stress of relocation.”(Washburn, 2005) Away from the usual environment and cut off from old associations, the patient feels lonely and worried about money. Though, the patient realizes that going to the nursing home is better, they settled down in the new place now and shall be joining social activities again. This is the brief description of the client’s psychological state of mind.. Knowledge of the biological sciences informs nursing practice, similarly information about the psychological sciences are very helpful in nursing practice. (gross, 2001). The advantages of going through the psychological condition of the patient is that it allowed me to appreciate that a patient’s well-being does not end by taking care of his biological and physical afflictions alone, but also extends to taking care of the patient’s psychological well-being as well. The patient seems to have been happy in the old environment and was comfortable living outside the settings of the nursing home. The move to the nursing home seems to have been a major change for the patient. In the nursing home, loneliness, anxiety, and feeling of being deserted starts affecting his state of well being. In the past the patient was active in many associations and community groups. After shifting to the nursing home, he gives up all connections with people and their community. Those connections and associations was an important component that sustained him psychologically and even emotionally. It is worth noting that the patient did not leave the old settings by his own volition, but had to make some practical decisions regarding choosing to remain in the old house and community and worry about care or give up all that so he can afford to be cared for in a nursing home setting. That he is aged and set in his ways is a further consideration to the seeming difficulty he is having to adjust to his new environment. Psychologically, he needs to be able to let go of the past and make peace with the new conditions and new surroundings. This means undergoing a state of adjustment. The difficulty he faces as a result of the change is evidenced by his feelings of being deserted. The worries about financial security are really affecting his mental health. Those worries, may be partly due to the difficulties of adjusting to the new conditions in the nursing home. Looking further, it can be stated that the biological afflictions, such as ulcer, lack of appetite, and general lack of stability due to recent fall, have contributed to his psychological uneasiness. His psychologically problems increases once he shifts to the nursing home due to the unfamiliar surroundings. It can be seen from the patient’s psychological condition that he does have plans of reconnecting with new people and a new community in the nursing home. The action plan can include nursing care where nurses continually reassure and communicate with the patient to help the patient adjust and become unfamiliar with the new surroundings. Many studies confirm such a practice. One study, in particular, cites two ways by which nurses administering care to elderly patients can interact with those patients. One is through arranged periods of organized interactions, such as “reality orientation[s]”. The other way is through choosing nurses who are predisposed to have good attitudes with regards to interacting meaningfully with patients (Salmon, 1993, p. 14). Sociology Among the patient activities that go on within the home are the following: quizzes, bingo, nail care and exercise. Activities outside of the nursing home, include the following: outing, shopping, garden centre, local shops and canal trip.   Evidence is presented linking three broad aspects of the social environment to health (SEEMAN, 2001). I feel these activities within the nursing home and outside of the nursing home are very important for the well-being of the patient. Not only do they get them out of their physical and psychological isolation, but allows them to socially interact with other patients and with the community in general. I think that the study of the sociological well-being of the elderly, especially in the context of nursing home environments, would be a boost to the ability of nurses to care for their patients in nursing homes and to improve the quality of their lives and their over-all health and happiness. I think, human beings as social being needs to interact with other people in order to do well in life. It is worth noting that in her previous environment, the patient was well-connected within the community, being part of several groups and organizations. I think that the physical afflictions, though having biological bases, also have underlying sociological aspects. The advantages of going through the patient’s case is that I was able to appreciate that the condition cannot be solved simplistically. It must be addressed on different levels. Moreover, the preceding discussion made me realize that the patient’s afflictions may probably have not only biological bases but psychological and social bases as well. The patient feels deserted because he effectively severed ties with their old associations and groups. The activities inside and outside the home, while engaging, do not seem to appeal to the patient , because he is still adjusting to the major changes that has occurred in their life. Moving forward, however, those social activities should provide a social structure where the patient should be able to resume his social activities. Meehan suggests that “Nurses believed seclusion to be very necessary, not very punitive and a highly therapeutic practice that assisted patients to calm down and feel better.” (meehan, July 2004) The conclusion is that the social connection aspect of the patient’s lifestyle needs to be addressed. The formal social activities within the home and outside of the home needs to be supplemented with alternatives that are more familiar with patients. Studies confirm the importance of family members, as providers of emotional and social support to elderly people in nursing homes, even as family members rely on nursing homes to provide “technical care” to elderly confined relatives (Ryan and Scullion, 2000, pp. 1365-2648). References Clancy, J., McVicar, A. and Bird, D. (2000). Getting it right? An exploration of issues relating to the biological sciences in nurse education and nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing 32(6). Retrieved 6 December 2006 from http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2000.01608.x/abs/ Gross, Richard D. (2001). Psychology : the science of mind and behaviour. London : Hodder & Stoughton: Hodder & Stoughton. meehan, t (July 2004). ISSUES AND INNOVATIONS IN NURSING PRACTICE. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 47, Retrieved 22 December 2006, from http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.03062.x?prevSearch=allfield%3A%28patients+feelings%29 Nicoll, L. and Butler, M. (1996). The study of biology as a cause of anxiety in student nurses undertaking the common foundation programme. Journal of Advanced Nursing 24(3). Retrieved 6 January 2007 from http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/jan/1996/00000024/00000003/art00232 Nursing and Midwifery Council. (2004). The Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of professional conduct: standards for conduct, performance and ethics. London: NMC. Phillips, Frankie (September 2003 ).Nutrition Bulletin. Nutrition for healthy ageing. Vol. 28 Issue 3 , Page 253 . Ryan, A. and Scullion, H. (2000). Family and staff perceptions of the role of families in nursing homes. Journal of Advanced Nursing 32(3). Retrieved 6 January 2007 from http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2000.01521.x Salmon, P. (1993). Interactions of nurses with elderly patients: relationship to nurses’ attitudes and to formal activity periods. Journal of Advanced Nursing 18(1). Retrieved 6 January 2007 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8429159&dopt=Citation SEEMAN, TERESA E. (2001).Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Social Environment Effects on Health and Aging. 954 , 88. Washburn, Allyson. m (2005). Commentary . Relocation puts elderly nursing home residents at risk of stress, although the stress is short lived , Retrieved january 2 2007, from http://ebmh.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/8/2/49#BIBL Nutrition Key To Avoiding Frailty In Old Age By Patrick B. Massey, M.D. http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2006/08/03/nutrition_key_to_avoiding_frailty_in_old_age.htm Read More