Working in the healthcare sector - Assignment Example

? Creating a positive relationship between nursing professionals and patients al affiliation Creating a positive relationship between nursing professionals and patients 1.0. Introduction The relationship between healthcare professionals and patients greatly influences the outcome of healthcare services. Gone are the days when healthcare providers used paternalistic means to care for patientsby imposing their decisions on the patients. In fact, according to Wheeler (2013, p.27) patient care at the moment places more emphasis on the need to respect the patient’s freedom and involve them in the decision making process. Particularly, nursing professionals who are mostly charged with providing care services to patients should ensure that the needs of the patient are adequately met, thus establishing a good patient-nurse relationship. 2.0. Communication between the nursing professional and the patient One of the key factors in establishing a good patient-provider relationship is effective communication. If a patient is going to be fully involved in managing their own health, then communication between the nursing professional and the patient should highly encouraged. According to Hopkins (2004, p. 8) effective communication should encompass proper means of communicating, gathering and delivery of information, patient’s self-assessment, and feedback, and the adequacy of information. In the end, according to Clarke (2013, p. 324) most patients do not evaluate the quality of healthcare they receive based on the health professional’s technical skills. Mostpatients consider the amount and quality of information the professional gives them concerning their condition, in addition to whether the provider was attentive to their concerns and worries. Hopkins (2004, p. 12) gives the guidelines to effective communication between the patient and the nursing professional, by stating the roles that each party has to play. For example, the healthcare provider should be fully attentive to the patient, create an environment that promotes patient dignity, ensure non-disclosure of confidential information, and respects other relevant parties, for example, the patient’s relatives. On their part, patients should ensure effective communication by accurately sharing information concerning their medical histories with the professional, air their health concerns and ask appropriate questions, provide any relevant information concerning the family members or caregivers with whom the information should be shared (Hopkins 2004, p. 13). However, effective communication can be hampered by factors such as cultural differences, which results in communication breakdown. When communication is not effective, the needs of the patient may not be adequately met. For example, Clarke (2013, p. 326) writes that in an audio-taped consultation process, one doctor constantly interrupts the patient, by eliciting medical facts, a scenario that ends in the doctor failing to fully understand the patient’s illness. In other cases, failure to communicate with family members and caregivers could result in patients missing appointments, thus hampering their health progress. For example, Hopkins (2004, p. 13) writes of Margaret, a patient who lives in a retirement house and depends on her daughter to take her to doctor’s appointments. As such, the daughter is activelyinvolved in a lot of Margaret’s healthcare decisions. Accordingly, Margaretmade sure to inform her doctor about her daughter’s involvement, otherwise she would never have attended the appointments. 3.0. Equal opportunity in providing care for patients In the process of providing healthcare to patients, it is paramount that professional practice equal opportunity. Essentially, according to Wheeler (2013, p. 178) equal opportunity in dealing with patients means that every patient is entitled to receiving healthcare services in a non-discriminatory way. One of the most common ways in which lack of equality practiced in the healthcare setting is through stereotyping and generalizations. It is very easy for healthcare professionals, being the human beings they are, to make assumptions about the needs of a client based on the latter’s social and cultural orientations. However, as Wheeler (2013, p. 178) state, these generalizations ignore individual differences and end up misinterpreting the personal needs of patients. Nonetheless, equal opportunity does not allude to treating all patients the same, rather; it is about ensuring that a client’s needs are fully met in a fair and just manner. It, therefore, requires that nurses become culturally aware and treat every patient according to their individual needs. For example, people with mobility disabilities should have all their specific needs met by the nursing practitioner, just like people without such disabilities. Take, for example, a patient who comes in for check-up but they are in a wheelchair. The nurse in charge of the patient should not examine the patient when they are still on the wheelchair simply because the patient cannot get themselves on the exam table. The nurse should offer all the assistance they can to the patient, to get them to the exam table and conduct a thorough examination. 4.0. Non-discriminatory practices in healthcare The issue of equal opportunity also touches on the advocacy for anti-discriminatory practice when caring for patients. According to Clarke (2013, p.52), it is not uncommon to find that patients with certain illnesses are often stigmatized and discriminated againstthe larger community. In most cases, people suffering from mental illnesses suffer the largest share of discriminatorycases. Accordingly, it is the duty of nursing professional to ensure that such people do not face the same discrimination while receiving healthcare services. For example, people with epilepsy face so much intolerance and negative discrimination from the society thatit hampers with their recovery process since they find it hard to cope with their condition (Clarke 2013, p. 52). Accordingly, in practicing anti-discriminatory practices should strive to handle each patient individually, considering that the stigma and discrimination maybe harder to deal with that the illness itself. Therefore, in caring for the patient, the nursing professional should put into consideration the social identity and self-image of the patient and center the care on the two aspects. There are several other groups that face discrimination such as old people and children. As such, it is the role of nurses to ensure that children and the elderly are not excluded from access to care. In Wheeler’s (2013, p. 260) opinion, nursing professionals should also work within the law, particularly the Human Rights Act of 1998 which discourages unfair discrimination. Additionally, nursing professionals should abstain from discriminating against patients based on any grounds, since each patient has the legal right to freedom from discrimination. 5.0. Conclusion In conclusion, it is the professional and ethical duty of nursing professional to ensure that patients receive the best care possible, in accordance with their individual needs. It is essential that nursing professionals establish proper communication channels with their patients in order to optimize service provision. It is also paramount that nursing professionals shield their patients from discriminatory practices and alsoensure that each patient gets equal opportunity to healthcare services non-discriminatorily. References Clarke, A., 2013. The Sociology of Healthcare.New York: Routledge. Hopkins, J., 2004. Defining Patient-Physician Relationship for the 21st Century. Paper Presented at the 3rd Annual Disease Management Outcomes Summit, Phoenix, Arizona, October30 – November 2, 2003. Wheeler., H., 2013. Law, Ethics and Professional Issues for Nursing: A Reflective andPortfolio-Build Approach. New York: Routledge. Read More