30 Jan Read two or more of your colleagues’ post

NURS3020 Health Assessment

Week 2 Discussion

Caring and Ethics in Your Practice

Some things in nursing never change. Caring has been the basic work of nurses from the genesis of nursing.

Caring and nursing are inextricably intertwined. For example, caring is defined as, “feeling and exhibiting concern and empathy for others; showing or having compassion” (The Free Dictionary by Farlex, 2015, para. 2). Nurse is defined by Merriam-Webster (2018) as, “a person who cares for the sick or infirm” (para. 3). As these definitions demonstrate, caring is a feeling that also requires an action.

The theory of the ethics of care has evolved over time between obligation-based ethics and responsibility-based ethics. The former asks, “What obligation, if any, do I have to this person?” In the latter, responsibility-based ethics, the relationship with others is a given. The only question is how to best meet the responsibility for effective care.

According to the Code of Ethics for Nurses, “Optimal nursing care enables the patient to live with as much physical, emotional, social, and religious or spiritual well-being as possible” (American Nurses Association, 2015, p. 2).

Caring is an essential part of patient care. There are four phases of caring. They are attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. Caring requires the nurse to put aside personal biases and prejudices to effectuate the four phases of caring. The four phases of caring suggest that good care demands more than just good intention; good care. It is a practice of combining activities, attitudes, and knowledge of the situation.

To Prepare

Review the Week 2 Discussion Rubric provided in the Course Information area.

Review Chapters 7–10 and 13-17 in the course text.

Review, this week’s Resources.

Review this week’s Writing Resources and Program Success Tools.

Consider types of caring techniques and strategies that can be used during a health assessment.

Think about a time when you had the opportunity to encourage a patient to comply with a health promotion activity, and whether you did so successfully or not.

By Day 3

Post a substantive 2-paragraph response (at least 350 words) to one of the options below. Develop and post cohesive paragraphs, and use evidence to support your ideas.

Cohesive paragraphs

Evidence

What caring techniques/strategy can you use during the health assessment of a patient to encourage the patient’s adherence to a treatment plan?

Describe an instance in your practice when you successfully encouraged a patient to comply with a health promotion activity. If you have not successfully encouraged a patient to comply with a health promotion activity, how might you have done so based on what you know now?

By Day 7

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings for the Discussion question.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues in one of the following ways:

Expand upon the proposed technique(s).

Suggest an alternative technique to encourage adherence to a treatment plan.

Ask a clarifying question about a colleague’s proposed technique or strategy, or about the instance when your colleague successfully encouraged a patient to comply with a health promotion activity.

NURS3020 Health Assessment

Week 3 Discussion

It’s a Small, Small World

Health conditions, including heart disease and respiratory infections, have no borders. What happens in one part of the world has ripple effects through the other parts, including the United States. Technology has created an even smaller world, with nurses in instant contact and eager to share information.

You and your Walden nursing colleagues live and work around this shrinking professional world. Your nursing experience working with diverse populations presents a rich opportunity to share your international health perspectives. This exercise is a growth opportunity in terms of how we see ourselves, the world, and how we interact with our patients during the health interview and health assessment process.

In this week’s Discussion, your stories will illustrate relevant social and cultural differences among yourselves and your patients. The collective experience will expand your individual nursing knowledge; improve upon our cultural humility and perspectives, in order to foster social and culturally-sensitive health interviews and assessments. This, in turn, contributes to safer and higher quality outcomes for your patients. Consider how your sensitive care is expressed through choice of your words, maintaining a distance that is culturally appropriate, and utilizing other techniques to negotiate through established social and cultural values. This leads to patient trust and comfort and a respectful nurse-patient relationship.

To Prepare

Review the Week 3 Discussion Rubric provided in the Course Information area.

Review Chapters 8 and 19-21 in the course text.

Review the article “Many Faces: Addressing Diversity in Health Care,” provided in this week’s Resources.

Review this week’s Writing Resources and Program Success Tools.

By Day 3

Post a substantive 2-paragraph response (at least 350 words) to one of the options below. Develop and post cohesive paragraphs, and use evidence to support your ideas.

Cohesive paragraphs

Evidence

Complete one of the following options (Option One, Option Two, or Option Three). Use the Discussion Rubric to develop your post.

Reflect on your reading from this week, and then address one of the following:

Option One:

Describe an incident, or incidents, in your own nursing practice in which you expressed social or cultural sensitivity in order to elicit a competent health history or assessment. Explain the positive impact your sensitivity had on patient care or collegial efficacy of patient care.

Option Two:

Describe a situation in which the absence of social or cultural sensitivity adversely impacted patient care or collegial efficacy of patient care. How could the situation been handled to produce a more positive outcome during the health interview or assessment?

Option Three:

Describe one or more situations that illustrate social or cultural humility, or insensitivity, among your colleagues in a manner that fostered improved peer cooperation or efficacy of patient care or impeded such care.

By Day 7

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings for the Discussion question.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues in one of the following ways:

Expand upon their Discussion.

Suggest an alternative to their viewpoint.

Ask a clarifying question about a colleague’s proposed technique or strategy.