Health and Social Care for the Old - Essay Example

Health and social care for the old Introduction Reflection is the systematic, critical and creative thinking on an action so as to help understand its causes/roots and processes (Tutton, 2004 p. 386). The Gibbs Reflective model follows all or part of these guidelines (Spalding, 1998): Feeling- What one is thinking or feeling at the time of offering the social and health care. Evaluation-What is good or bad about the experience of taking care for the community. Analysis-How one can make sense of what exactly happened or is happening Conclusion-The alternatives one has during whole process of health and social care Action plan-What one will do again if the same is to be repeated This paper talks about health and social care for the old in the community under each of the subheadings of the Gibbs model as follows: Feeling The main objective of nursing and social care for older people in the community is about understanding and value them as part of the community through effective and efficient assessment, assessing their needs so as to determine how they want to be cared in terms of their perspectives as well as providing care which ensures the maintenance of respect, fairness and dignity among them. There should be that feeling of respect for the old. Most of the older people in the community do not have specific needs which can be outlined but it appears that they are less likely to receive such care because of their age in the society. Many people including practicing nurses tend to ignore them when offering health and social care in the society just because of their inherent age. Nonetheless, my intention as a practicing nurse in this aspect of health and social care is to take care for the old people in the community who need a lot of care at their ages. They need to be encouraged, given mental counseling, advising them on how to undergo treatments, administering to them medicines among other ways ((Bayer, Tadd, & Krajcik 2005, p. 22) Action plan The advances to help the old people in the community have been made initially by other people, but as far as this model is concerned, a lot of reflection, further action and improvement is required. This work will help encourage nurses to develop and grow a positive attitude towards the old people in the society as well as help them embrace positive aspects of respect and help them to understand that old people are very important members of the society who can control their own lives. This will encourage nurses to value the old people, and to take care of them as well as promoting opportunities for well-being and psychological developments rather than promoting helplessness and deterioration (Williams & Irurita 2005. p 501). Analysis This idea of health and social care for the old people presents a challenge for us as nurses to change from a medical perspective and to focus more on health promotions as well as preventing ill health among the old people. This ensures that majority of these older people enjoy healthy and fulfilling lives just like the other members of the community and that they can make a positive contribution to the community (Bayer, Tadd, & Krajcik 2005, p. 29) Most of these old people are faced with various chronic diseases at the age thus focusing much on lifestyle measures rather than clinical interventions could help promote the well being and active ageing among them. Nurses tend to ignore the concept of depression among the old people. Health and social care requires nurses to look for better ways of identifying the depressed older people in the community as well as understand the better ways of offering referrals on psychiatric and psychology services to ensure that they are given support on the same. In addition, the influence on an older person’s life history is also crucial and should never be underestimated. Therefore, assessment on the same should include social networks, previous occupation, family and relationships, sexual, cultural and spiritual needs. (Baillie, 2007 p. 34) One ought to have the knowledge and skills to carry out the task of taking care of the old. This puts them in a competent level that will be acceptable to them. You should also have the right attitude to undertake the duties. As a nurse, I should ensure confidentiality of the information that is received from the old in the society. In addition, they deserve the right to be taken care of and that their information should be held confidential at all times (Tutton, 2004 p. 380). Evaluation Older people are more likely to undergo ill health than most of the young generations, thus as a nurse, I need to conduct an assessment on the needs of the old people in the community so as to be able to provide effective individualized care to them. The assessment is done based on various factors which include: (Baillie, 2007 p. 34) Physical factors Psychosocial factors Psychological factors Biological factors Cultural factors Spiritual factors Sexual factors Functional factors There is always a challenge of discussing some of these issues with the members of the community as they are perceived as sensitive. However, this can be overcome by building and maintaining a positive relationship with the older people. The essence of this assessment is to help us as nurses acquire information which is crucial for the developing of a plan of care which will help in enhancing the health status for the old people as well as helping them to maintain and gain control over their health (Baillie, 2007 p. 35) This assessment ought to be carried because most of these old people have both physical and mental health needs and these needs should be taken care of for the guys to feel part of the community as well as growing our careers in the field of health and social care (Williams & Irurita 2005. p 427). This assessment is very crucial so as to ensure that health and social care is personalized rather than just being driven by medical diagnosis or condition. The old people should be recognized and taken care of as individuals rather than offering communal work. Many nurses tend to generalize the support and care they offer to old people but the Gibbs reflective model requires me to alter the norm and try and offer specific health care tailored to each individual in the community. It is very important to ask and enquire from them on how they would want to be treated and taken care of. Most of these people have low self-esteem and tend to have very low expectations as far as the care process is concerned. They feel like they do not have the right to health and social care just because of their age. Others are very much frightened to make any comments on care they have ever received in the past. As a practicing nurse, it is my responsibility to instill confidence to these people as well as try and encourage them to actively involve themselves in the overall decision making and to ensure that their voice is heard (Bayer, Tadd, & Krajcik 2005, p. 25) Conclusion There are several ways of engaging in health and social care for the old people in the community. Some of which I engage in include: Ensuring that they eat well and healthy Giving moral support as well as encouraging them Providing material support. For instance, providing clothing Ensure safety and security Keeping them socially connected ensuring that we share with them. This makes them to feel appreciated and part of the community. When offering health and social care for the orderly, all members of the team involved should ensure that the care planned is holistic. Partnering with the old people and other members of the multidisciplinary team is very crucial when transition is being made between services and the care environment (Tutton, 2004 p. 386). Bibliography Baillie, L. 2007. The impact of urological conditions on patients’ dignity, International Journal of Urological Nursing,1(1), 27-35 Bayer, T. Tadd, W. & Krajcik, S. 2005. The voice of older people, Quality in Ageing, 6(1), 22-29 Cooper, GH. Bruckner, E. 2005. Elder’s impressions of ethicological issues in healthcare, Online Journal of HealthEthics, 1(2) available at http://ethicsjournal.umc.edu/ojs2/ index.php/ojhe/article/viewFile/39/43 Fish & Twinn 1997. Quality Clinical Supervision in the Health Care Professions: Principled Approaches to Practice Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford. Spalding N.J. 1998. Reflection in Professional Development: A Personal Experience. B.J. of Therapy and Rehabilitation. July 1998, Vol. 5, No. 7. Tutton, EM. 2004. Comfort on a ward for older people, Journal of Advanced Nursing, (46)4, 380-389 Williams, AM. & Irurita, VF. 2005. Emotional comfort: the patient’s perspective of a therapeutic context, International Journal of Nursing Studies, 43, 405-451 Read More