NUR1201 The Patient Experience

Introduction

Aboriginal patients should be provided with equal treatment and care like other communities as it is their fundamental right. This assignment will discuss the case scenario of Raelene Ward, a 40-year-old aboriginal women who was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and was provided care in a healthcare facility, where she had to face several disparities compared to other patients. Further, the theories, which will be used in this scenario, are person centered care, code of ethics for nursing professionals, the national safety and quality health service and will discuss the Erikson’s 8-stage framework (Sherwood, 2013). This assignment will discuss the case of Raelene and will discuss the theories and frameworks, the communication scenario with effective and ineffective care and application of the chosen theory on the case scenario and will explain the partnering in care strategy in maintaining the patient experience with chosen case scenario.

Identification of the relevant theories and framework/s

The relevant theories that could be applied in the case study of Raelene Ward are person centered care and family centered care for the patient and ethical code of conducts for the nursing professionals (Shields et al., 2012). As per the responses of Raelene Ward, after she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, healthcare professionals started proving her with insulin, with any further testing or identification of other medication that can improve her condition. Besides this, she was also not provided with informed care regarding the insulin as she was associated with care profession (Kuo et al., 2012). This incident indicates towards the need of person centered care as well as violation of nursing ethical codes hence, these theories will be applied. Besides these, the Erikson’s 8 step model will be employed in this scenario which describes the factors such as trust against mistrust, autonomy against doubt, initiative against guilt, identity against role confusion, inferiority against industry, generativity against stagnation, intimacy against isolation and integrity against despair (Hudon et al., 2012). This framework was applicable in the scenario as the care process of Raelene Ward had several loopholes related to ethical and clinical aspect that created a conflict between the mentioned parameters mentioned in the above-mentioned framework (Barry & Edgman-Levitan, 2012).

Analysis of the communication scenario

While analyzing the communicated scenario by the patient two aspect of healthcare process could be identified such as effective care and ineffective care, both of which are positive and negative aspects of patient care process (Kitson et al., 2013). Effective care is the scenario, in which the healthcare professionals met the patient needs and provides the healthcare professionals with proper educational and practical training so that while conducting the process holistic care could be achieved (Eroju et al., 2013). On the other hand, ineffective care process is associated with unmet patient needs, inefficient care professionals who are unable to improve patient condition with their ineffective interventions. In this case, study of Raelene Ward, an aboriginal woman, was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and due to which she had to be admitted in the healthcare facility where she faced both effective and ineffective care (Tuffaha, Gordon & Scuffham, 2014).

The care process is determined as ineffective care because being an aboriginal woman and a nursing professional suffering from gestational diabetes, the patient was treated differently from other patients in the healthcare facility (Lee, Tsao & Hsueh, 2013). The patient herself accepted the fact that she was neither informed about her condition of ailment nor educated about the intervention that will be applied to control of diabetic state. Further, she was not even trialed with diet interchange, physical activities to control her increased blood sugar, instead she was directly provided with insulin injections to control her diabetic condition (Epstein et al., 2012). Further, patient also accepted the fact that due to her association with nursing profession she was not provided with enough knowledge about her treatment as the doctors were ascertain about her knowledge of the care process. Therefore, the care process was ethically ineffective as it is the primary duty of the healthcare professionals to conduct informed care while caring for common or aboriginal patients (Downar et al., 2015).  

On the other hand, the care process can also be determined as positive as interventions that were applied by the doctors were effective in controlling patient’s diabetic condition. Eroju et al. (2013) mentions that insulin boost is the only effective way to control gestational diabetes if the sugar level increases extremely. Patient accepted the fact that sugar testing revealed her extreme blood sugar level and therefore, implementation of insulin injections was the effective intervention for Raelene Ward. Another example can be derived from the case study as the patient was weekly visited by dieticians, nutritionist so that her diet and nutritional intake could be assessed (Kitson et al., 2013). Therefore, the healthcare facility provided the patient with a holistic care approach so that effective care could be reinforced.   

Application of the chosen theories and framework

The theories and framework chosen for this scenario has the ability to improve the care process and reinforce effective care with cultural and ethical compliance (Kitson et al., 2013). Patient centered care is the process in which, patient is treated as an important stakeholder of the care process and is included in every important decision so that informed consent form the patient could be achieved (Hudon et al., 2012). It is an important aspect of effective care process. Further, as the aboriginal community of the patient supported her during her stressful conditions, few close member of that community should also be included in the care process so that family centered care can also be achieved in the care process (Kuo et al., 2012). Each of the members involved in the care process should be provided with their roles and responsibilities and should provide the patient with informed care so that patient’s consent could be taken (Shields et al., 2012). Besides this, implementation of Erikson’s 8-step framework is also beneficial in the care process, as it will help the healthcare professional as well as the patient to differentiate between all these situations. Further, they will be able to make changes in the care process so that all the ethical aspects of the care process could be reinforced into the process (Barry & Edgman-Levitan, 2012). Researchers has also suggested that application of Erikson’s 8-step model in the care process for older and pregnant women helps the patient to understand the importance of self management and understand the effects of physical and mental health changes (Hudon et al., 2012). Further, it was also suggested that application of such model helps the healthcare professionals with reasserted autonomy by initiating creative problem solving techniques that makes their critical application ability sharp and effective (Kitson et al., 2013). Therefore, this was the frameworks and theories should be applied in the care process for Raelene Ward.

Conclusion

Health is a most important basic need of human life and therefore it requires equality, quality and proper distribution. It is important to equally dispense the healthcare related rights among the entire population, as it will help in the wellbeing of the entire population. There is several discrimination, disparities that have been witnessed in the healthcare related rights of aboriginal people, and one such example was witnessed in the discussed case study. This case study mentions the intervention that had several effective and ineffective aspect of care for Raelene Ward and therefore this assignment used patient centered and family centered care for her treatment and Erikson’s 8-step framework that will help the treatment to improve ethically as well as with healthcare intervention to improve her wellbeing.

References

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