Delivering Care for Patients Essay -- Health Care, Nursing

This essay is a descriptive account of my experience caring for a patient with a variety of needs. The patient I will identify has the following chronic illness of schizophrenia, dementia, physical disability, poor hygiene. Therefore, please note that the patient conditions will be evaluated throughout. Because of confidentiality, I will abide by the Code of Professional Conduct (2008). As a registered nurse, you must respect people's right to confidentiality. I will refer my patient as Patient A. I have been assigned to work with a patient who has been admitted to an acute psychic ward. On supervision i was allocate to work with patient A, following from her conditions it is observed that patient A refuses to engage with others. She is a 68 year old elderly woman who suffers from advanced dementia having short term memory loss which she is unable to recall recent events leaving her in a confused and aggressive state. Due to her mental state, she has problems attending her personal hygiene and making it difficult to bath, wash, dressing or eating independently. With assistance she is provided with a Zimmer frame to encourage her walking. The reason is because she has sore on both legs making it difficult to gain balance on her own. With a long history of schizopherina, she refuses to comply with medication when given daily of fluxoetine 10mg to help with her mood disorder. Overall, patient a is reserved and does not involve herself with other members on the ward or activities with CPN and prefers staying in her room because its her comfort zone of security. Regular meetings are held with patient A and her health professionals to assess her needs in order for progression. When delivering care for patients, the main factor w... ...term mental illness are likely to experienced difficulties in establishing and maintain personal relationship, often result in poor networks of support and social inclusion. Therefore with supervision, I felt that Patient A needed comfort because of her distressing events due to her illness. All professionals visited her regularly to ensure that she understood her condition and ways in which to improve her status. felt that I could not do much as it was difficult to engage with patient A because of her aggression towards me, but I was confident that all professionals were taken account of her needs in the ward. According to NMC code of conduct (2008), the nurse must support people in caring for themselves to improve and maintain their health. The result of this will affect not only patient A but the staff team and I to deliver care to her.

A Psychiatric Disorder with a Biologic Basis: OCD

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder with a biologic basis. It includes intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive rituals (compulsions). The obsessions produce anxiety while the compulsions reduce anxiety. Anxiety is defined as a â€Å"hyperalert state causing excessive autonomic arousal and diminished coping† (1). The obsessions are repetitive thoughts the person cannot keep from having that can include ideas, urges to do something, or images. The compulsions can include excessive hand washing triggered by on obsessive concern about germs. Or, the person may feel constantly unsafe and have to repeatedly check their safety, such as repeatedly making sure that the doors are locked or that the stove has been turned off. The cause of OCD is a neurochemical imbalance in the brain, so medication can be an important part of treatment. It is the fourth most common psychiatric problem in America, occurring as frequently as schizophrenia. 5 million people in the United States have OCD, just about equally divided between males and females. Although OCD is sometimes treated lightly, it is a serious disorder. Up to 92% of people with it say it has interfered with important relationships, and nearly 60% report that it decreased either schoolwork or with their jobs. Daily patterns are affected by the repetitive nature of compulsions or because the person tries to avoid situations that trigger their OCD responses. Three different neurotransmitters have been implicated in OCD: nor epinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. Because neurotransmitters are involved, medication can often help in the management of OCD. Diagnosis is based on the individual's symptoms and can include interview, observation, the use of questionnaires, and reports from family members regarding the person's difficulties. In addition to medication, education and brief counseling can help the individual understand his or her disorder. Cognitive therapy can help the individual use logic and rational thinking to combat the effects of OCD.

Ethical Egoism, Ethical Altruism, And Eudaimonia - 1660 Words

Ethical Egoism, Ethical Altruism, and Eudaimonia are terms adversely mentioned, and used interchangeably, especially in the philosophical field. From a philosophical angle, egoism can take the descriptive or the normative perspective. While taking the ethical egoism angle, the source highlights that for a particular action, it must adhere to the moral requirements to the extent that there is no depriving of the individual’s self-interests. With regards to ethical altruism, there is the tendency to be inclined to a behavior that has high intentions of ensuring that there is the garnering of benefits to the other person for the purpose of this other person’s welfare (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy n.p.). The chapter 5 (115) observes†¦show more content†¦Another critical aspect worth noting is that it is not necessary that the actions intended for self-sacrifice be termed as altruistic. They can remain as so, even when there is some self-interest driving suc h acts. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, if a person undertakes an action driven by the altruistic intentions, with no self-interests behind such actions, the actions can be described as being purely altruistic. However, the source stresses the importance of differentiating the purely altruistic actions to the self-sacrificing efforts. The purely altruistic actions involve no gain at a personal level while the self-sacrificing efforts involve losing something for the benefit of another. On the other hand, ethical egoism differentiates from the ethical altruism in that while the latter is concerned with the welfare of others; the concern of the former is for the promotion of the interests of oneself. Moseley (n.p.) notes that ethical egoism is a normative theory that shares in the notion that â€Å"the promotion of one’s good is in accordance with morality† (Moseley n.p.). This particular source notes that there is a robust and weak angle of the promotion of one’s good. The strong angle has it that; â€Å"it is always moral to promote one’s good† (Moseley n.p.). On the other hand, the weakerShow MoreRelatedPhilosophy of Ethics Essay2233 Words   |  9 Pageschanged along with the changes being made within society. The first rational method is Virtue Ethics. The major philosophers during this period were materialists such as Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Plutarch. Greek were concerned with finding eudaimonia meaning the good life, but what is the good life? Known as the greatest Western philosopher, Plato developed the Cardinal Virtues: Justice, Courage, Moderation, and Wisdom (The Republic). He believed Justice was the highest good and all otherRead MoreThe Philosophy of Happiness11705 Words   |  47 PagesAristotle, who, in a manner typical of philosophers, before providing an answer insisted on making a distinction between two different questions. His first question was what was meant by the word ‘happiness’—or rather, its ancient Greek equivalent eudaimonia. His second question was where happiness was to be found, that is to say, what is it that makes us truly happy. Reasonably enough he thought that it was futile to try to answer the second question without hav ing given thought to the first. The definition