How Psychology is going to benefit my Nursing Career - Research Paper Example

How Psychology is going to benefit my Nursing Career Abstract Psychology is very decisive in nursing and aids in almost all aspects, including fostering employee relationship as well as care and treatment of patients. Many try to explain the essence of psychology in the field of nursing, including Lawrence Kohlberg’s six stages of moral reasoning progress. Others include Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychological Development, Piaget’s premise of cognitive expansion, and Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychosexual growth. All these premises are very significant in explaining the relevance of psychology in the field of nursing. Introduction Just like other areas, psychology has a central role to play in the nursing practice. Thus, a majority of aspiring nurses have time and again wondered the necessity of spending many hours studying psychology. They fail to realize that the two fields are closely linked with each other. In fact, nurses in most cases work in an environment where they are needed to interact with other experts like physicians, laboratory technologists, and many more. This close relationship is very imperative in bringing the high-quality care for the patients. As such, nurses unquestionably need to understand how particular individuals behave and act, an ingredient that only psychology can provide (Watson, 2010). Besides, in managing patients with several complications, both psychology and nursing practices are required to understand the root of the problem. Therefore, nurses need to have a broad knowledge of therapies to use to alleviate the situation before it escalates to unmanageable levels. It is also vital to understand that when evaluating a patient’s health status, nurses primarily reflect on how patients respond to their conditions. Some individuals are optimistic and respond positively to their complications. However, others respond negatively and sometimes tend to escalate or complicate their situations for something little that is easily manageable. Such clients are mostly stubborn and get easily agitated with minor things. Nurses may perhaps find it challenging to handle such incidences. However, instead of running away from such cases, nurses are required to assist such patients in coping up with the realities of their conditions. They need to have the counseling bit of psychology to guide such patients to full recovery. Psychology will provide them with skills critical to patient management based on age and gender. For instance, minors are in most cases more afraid that the elderly and nurses might find it problematic to understand their illness. As a practicing nurse, I need to acknowledge the relevance of psychology to the nursing profession fully. Therefore, this research paper principally evaluates how psychology is going to benefit my nursing profession. Discussion As mentioned above, psychology has a significant role to play in my nursing practice. Failure of which will pose greater repercussions to my career. Therefore, the following are some of the parts of psychology in my field: A. Development of Moral Reasoning, deliberations, and Judgments Psychology is hugely going to better my moral reasoning, judgment and understanding skills. According to Masters (2014), the process of reasoning entails the use of complex thought mechanisms to resolve issues and design plans. In particular, moral reasoning is the process by which human beings make right or ethical decisions. Masters relates moral reasoning to Aristotle’s ‘intellectual virtue of wisdom,' a phrase commonly termed prudence. Therefore, the premise of Wisdom is enshrined in the act of knowing how to behave and act in certain situations and practicing proper considerations. Therefore, prudence is more than just meaning well or having good intentions. It entails understanding ‘what is what?’ as well as translating that know-how into well-thought decisions. In fact, deliberations, decisions, and judgments are the primary ingredients in translating knowledge into action (Watson, 2010). Thus, understanding the requirements and processes of developing moral reasoning skills will help me greatly in the nursing field. First, it will benefit my knowledge of patient behavior and character. For example, I will be in a better position to handle children, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups. Having adequate moral reasoning knowledge will also improve my relationship with my coworkers because I will be able to make rational decisions in critical situations. These decisions are very vital to the recovery of patients because I need physicians, medical laboratory technologists, pharmacists, and many others to administer adequate care to patients (Herron, 2010). Another critical theory that will augment my moral reasoning is Lawrence Kohlberg’s propositions of the perfect ‘stages of moral development.’ According to Kohlberg, moral reasoning is the epicenter of ethical behavior that contains six crucial developmental stages. The six steps are grouped into three broad categories, including the pre-conventional stage, current stage, and post-conventional stage. The pre-conventional stage consists of the obedience and retribution orientation as well as the self-interest direction. On the other hand, the general instruction consists of the social conformity and accord, the social norms, as well as the social order and authority sustaining orientation. Finally, the post-conventional part stipulates the universal ethical principles and the social contract point of reference. Using Kohlberg’s pre-conventional stage of moral thinking, I will be able to judge the morality of children’s actions by their direct outcomes. For example, I will be able to establish the principal causes of certain illnesses and behavioral changes in kids to improve their wellbeing. However, adequate knowledge in the current stage will assist me in analyzing problems in adolescents. My judgment will rely on the general societal views and expectations. Lastly, Kohlberg’s post-conventional phase, sometimes termed the right stage, will assist me in understanding that patients are separate entities from the community. Thus, their individual perspectives and decisions take precedence over any other. As such, patients may choose to disobey certain rules or abide by them. They may elect to undertake certain medical procedure or refuse based on their principles (Strout, 2012). B. Diagnosis of Mental Illnesses Apart from improving my moral reasoning, psychology will also help me in diagnosing patients with mental illnesses or complications, including anxiety and depression difficulties. One of the most important psychology theories that will assist in the diagnosis process is Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychological Development. Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial progression is an extensive psychoanalytic approach that identifies a sequence of eight steps that a fit developing person must pass through from infancy to adulthood. According to Erikson’s theory, all these stages are present at birth but immediately start manifesting as the individual grows based on both the common scheme as well as ecological factors. In every stage, an individual confronts, and confidently masters every fresh challenge. The process of psychological development is gradual as each step relies on the successful execution of the previous one. As such, the issues or challenges of stages that are not completed in most cases reappear later in life (Theories in Nursing, 2015). But, the mastery of a single stage is not a prerequisite to progress to the next step. Besides, the result of one action is never permanent and can be shaped by future occurrences. Erikson’s stage approach illustrates a process through which a person advances through the eight life stages as a process of discovering his or her socio-cultural and biological forces. Each and every state is distinguished by a psychosocial predicament of these two contradictory forces. If a person does reconcile these opposite forces but favoring biological factors, then he or she comes out with the socio-cultural virtues and vice versa (Strout, 2012). Therefore, in my nursing career, a clear understanding of all the eight developmental stages is critical to diagnosing certain mental illnesses as well as behaviors. For example, as a practicing nurse, I will be able to establish the early adulthood stage as well as the age of patients if they show some signs of intimacy and isolation. The isolation and intimacy stage is common in individuals nearing their 30s and is primarily characterized by role confusion as individuals struggle to identify their roles in the society. Besides, such young adults are always afraid of being rejected or turned down. They are in most cases ready to distance or isolate themselves do counter the forces of people causing their pain. As such, Erikson’s stage premises have the ability to present considerable insight into understanding the scope of a person’s psychosocial growth, including the extent of psychological complications. Besides, it helps in the understanding of the healthcare provision that aid in the successful management and handling of psychological complications. C. It helps in the Cognitive Development Psychology also will play a central role in fostering my cognitive development, a factor that is necessary for the daily operations in the healthcare setups. One of the psychology propositions that will prove decisive in my growth is Piaget’s premise of cognitive development that primarily delves into the nature and expansion of the human intelligence or thinking capacity. This theory is closely related to Erik Erikson’s eight stages of development because both arguments propose that childhood life plays a crucial role in an individual’s adulthood life. However, Piaget’s hypothesis majorly contends with the nature of knowledge and how people slowly obtain, design, and use it. Piaget feels that cognitive expansion is a revolutionary process that results in the reorganization of intellectual or brain activities due to environmental adaptation and experience or biological maturation. As such, he proposes that children create an understanding of the environment around them as create differences between fresh ideas and what they already know from their surroundings (Theories in Nursing, 2015). For that reason, they can then adjust their knowledge and ideas accordingly. Besides, Piaget also proposed that human organisms prioritize balanced growth, and language is subject to knowledge that is acquired through the process of cognitive development. Therefore, a full understanding of these crucial tools is central to my nursing career. For example, it will benefit my gradual development and will also teach me to be patient to grasp all the skills required for the smooth operation fully. For one, Piaget argues that I will fully understand every aspect of the nursing profession through experience, a process that will unquestionably take a little while. Conclusion In summary, we can deduce that psychology is a very central ingredient to the nursing profession. Nurses require psychoanalytic skills each day, primarily to strengthen their relationship with other healthcare professionals like physicians, laboratory technologists, as well as other medical experts. They also need psychology in the management and care of patients, factors that are critical to the recovery of mentally challenged individuals. To my career, psychology will assist in many ways. First, it will contribute to the development of moral judgments, deliberations, and decisions. This argument is supported by Lawrence Kohlberg’s six stages of moral reasoning progress. Also, psychology will aid in the diagnosis of mental illnesses assisted by Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychological growth. Finally, psychology will help in the cognitive development, a factor that is significant in explaining the essence of the experience in any field. References Masters, K. (2014). Role in Development in Professional Nursing Practice. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett. Theories in Nursing. (2015). Theories in Nursing: Nursing Fundamentals Class Notes on Theory. Web. Available through: < http://www.istudentnurse.com/fundamentals/theories/> [Accessed on 27 Nov 2015]. Lombardo, B., and Eyre, C. (2011). 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