Health Care, and That Too, a Quality Essay

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Health care, and that too, a quality health care is one of the most basic needs of any human being. In current times, where the fast paced lives are getting faster each day, work stresses are increasing, streets are being storm with junk foods and fast foods, and pollution and congestion is increasing, human lives are getting more and more prone to physical and mental diseases. As a result, the importance of health care systems and health care facilities increases. While, surgeons and doctors are generally seen as the captain of the ship as far as health sector is concerned, very important personnel of the health sector are the nurses. Once quite ignored, the importance of the nursing profession was highlighted by Florence Nightingale, one of the nursing pioneers. Florence Nightingale broke the conventional perceptions associated with the profession of nursing and took it to a new level, explored various dimensions of nursing and added significance to the profession. Ever since then nursing has evolved a great deal and is still in the process of evolving. Over a period of time researchers around the world have shown great interest in studying the field of nursing.

Introduction

Like any other industry health sector, in itself is an industry that focuses on satisfying health care needs of the consumers. Similarly, like any other organization, hospitals and health care facilities are organizations, that need to be managed efficiently in order to achieve their targets and objectives. Since corporate management is an integral aspect of the era, regardless of what the field it is, organizational management, cultures and behaviors have now gained substantial importance in the health care sector just like any other corporate organization. Similarly, over a period of time, the concepts of organizational management have been integrated in the nursing profession as well (Lumby & Picone, 2000).

Nursing revolves, not merely about looking after patients, but creating awareness in the society about self-care nursing and prevention strategies and to communicate with their patients in a holistic manner, so as to satisfy their physical, mental and spiritual health needs (Lee & Winters, 2006).

Born in West Virginia, United States of America, Jean Watson is known for her simplistic and rational yet comprehensive nursing theory that is not only focused on curative measures but also lays great emphasis on carative aspects of nursing.

Jean Watson's Nursing Theory

First published in 1988, Jean Watson's nursing theory is a comprehensive set of carative and curative variables that aims at addressing a human's three primary human needs, namely biophysical, psychophysical and psychosocial. Her theory is an amalgamation of various other nursing theories and suggests that the role of nursing stretches much beyond merely providing clinical care. Her theory has broadened the spectrum of the role of nursing in healthcare services by suggesting that carative variables of nursing are an essential complement to the curative measures.

Watson's theory suggests that nursing efficiency is unattainable without the interpersonal communication and developing a relationship with the patient and addressing certain human needs. Her theory lays stress on the importance of promoting a conducive environmental and social in order to ensure communal well being.

Watson emphasises on a nurse's role as a caretaker, teacher, communicator and a problem solver that helps in the satisfaction of physical, social, psychological and social needs of the patient (Watson, 1999). A very important aspect of Watson's theory is the role of nurse as an instiller of faith and hope. This importance of this aspect in promoting human well-being gets highlighted where modern science fails to provide necessary curative measures for the patients.

Application of Watson's Theory in Practice

While practitioners and theorists suggest that Watson's theory needs further research to be fully implemented in practice, certain psychophysical and psychosocial aspects of the theory have been applied in practice. This has been done by implementing psychosocial and psychophysical aspects of the theory in the caring moment with adolescents suffering from HIV and substance abuse. The main focus was on carative aspects that were implemented through demonstration of interpersonal skills (Aligood, 2010). Watson's theory can be applied in practice such that the role of nurses is broadened as not only a caretaker but also as a counseller, teacher, educator, and rejuvenator. The role of nurses, in the light of Watson's theory involves exploitation and revival of human source such that it targets biological, psychological, physical, social, and spiritual well being. Watson's nursing theory is highly applicable when dealing with patients at adolescent ages especially those vulnerable to HIV and substance abuse.


Psychological attention is immensely important for HIV patients, especially those aged between 12 years to 27 years of age. This group of people is young and therefore finds it difficult to handle the mental stress that comes with the disease. Younger patients acquire AIDS usually through blood transmission; inherit from parent, or in case of teenagers through substance abuse. Once diagnosed as HIV positive, many patients go into social isolation which often in severe cases takes the form of schizophrenia.

The practice aims at devising a nursing strategy of psychological carative measures that will focus on five different areas of health psychology taking into account environment and social factors and extending nursing practice to family counselling. The strategy works to provide psychological help to the patients, family and community in general and also train them and educate them about preventive measures that helps avoiding various mental pressures and physical illnesses and will provide cognitive treatments and training about how to deal with an illness or a trauma in case one arises. The practice will focus on providing different forms of psychological treatments for people that belong to various socio economic backgrounds and have different problems directly or indirectly related to their face off with AIDS. The nurses will provide treatment to the subject in context of the nature of one's problem (Sarafino, 2006). The primary method will remain addressing the root cause.

The primary reason why people resort to substance abuse for mental peace is the fact that once a substance in question is consumed, it gets in to blood and produces certain chemical reactions that enables a person to alienate himself from the surroundings (Meyers & Nasrallah, 2009). While temporarily, the drug abuser might feel that he has found a solution to his or her mental traumas, the long-term consequences can be dire as the person becomes dysfunctional mentally and physically and can even die in severe circumstances.

The primary reason why a nurse is made part of the team is the reason that substance abuse remains an important source of HIV infection among young kids, especially those in high school and college going ages. HIV can only be prevented and not cured therefore the problem of substance abuse among the adolescence is crucial to be addressed (Inciardi, Surrat & Telles 2000). A nurse will primarily be responsible to deal with patients that are involved in substance abuse practices to any degree. It must be noted that this will not only be restricted to abuse of illegal drugs but will also include people who are heavy smokers or into alcohol addiction. The major duties of a substance abuse nurse are given as follows:

Coordinate the use of recovery programs and structured programs for substance abuse, in conjunction with social worker.

Diagnose stress disorders and aid in stress-relief interventions.

Collaborate with local schools.

Communal education about use of drugs and possible consequences related to spread of HIV.

While the team of nurses will work in the hospital settings, the nature of the project may require outdoor activities such as that in case of substance abuse nurses. A nurse will be required to work on two parallel lines that are prevention and cure. The preventive measures will aim at educating and training people through cognitive practices and building up their perceptions about dire consequences of substance abuse. Nurses will collaborate with schools, higher education institutions and relevant social workers to train and educate people about how and why to stay away from substance abuse, what to do if one feels s/he is not able to cope up with the stress coming to one's way. The nurses will also educate people about what to do when one finds a person, in family, friends or acquaintance, who is involved in substance abuse. This is important because substance abusers need psychological attention in order to rehabilitate them and most substance abusers are not willing to see nurses or seek mental or clinical help (Kelly 1995). Moreover, many substance abusers are disowned by their families and friends due to their unproductivity in the community at large and families feel burdened to deal with them. A nurse will educate them to seek psychological assistance if they encounter such a problem (Gurung 2010).

Nurses will also deal with people that are already addicted or have already started taking some sort of substance. Such patients will need a rehabilitative psychological attention that will involve physical and mental counseling, mainly focusing on cognitive treatments.....

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