Assignment Prompt
Sister Mary is a patient in Level 2 Emergency Department. She must have a neural examination, physical assessment, radiographs of her facial bones, and a computed tomography scan of the head. Taking into consideration that she is a Roman Catholic nun, what would be the ideal course of patient education as this woman progresses from department to department? What possible reservations could a health care professional have in working with Sister Mary? (Discuss the psychosocial responses the professional might have.)
Ideal Course of Patient Education
As a nurse, one of my duties is to provide patients with education on their condition, treatment procedures, and disease prevention strategies. The major focus of patient education is not providing patients with the information they want based on their circumstances but the information that is predetermined to be important by healthcare providers (Falvo, 2011). When educating the Roman Catholic nun, I will maintain high levels of respect and consider her religious beliefs on disease and various medical procedures. I will begin by explaining to the patient what the procedure entails and its effectiveness (Swihart et al., 2023). For the neural examination, I will explain to the patient that it is an invasive procedure that assesses the patient's nervous system in terms of sensory response, coordination, and reflexes. Physical examination will encompass the patient's examination of their general health including blood pressure and heart rate. The patient's physical examination will be conducted by a female healthcare provider, and this will be respectful of the patient's religious beliefs. The radiographs of the facial bones will check for any abnormalities in the patient's facial bones and I will assure her that the procedure has been proven to be safe. Additionally, a computed tomography scan of the head utilizes X-rays to create images of the patient's head to diagnose brain tumors, head injuries, dizziness, severe headaches, bleeding, and symptoms of aneurysm.
During the procedure, I will ensure that Sister Mary’s religious beliefs are respected. I will advise the patient to have a support person during the procedures who could be a family member or a colleague nun. If the patient requests her priest to be present during the examination, I will grant her wish. As the patient will be moving from one department to another for examination, I will write her a report insisting that the other examining party should respect the patient’s religious beliefs (Swihart et al., 2023). After the procedures, I will explain the results to the patient and discuss with her the next steps.
Healthcare Provider Reservations and Psychosocial Responses
Other times, a healthcare provider might not be familiar with the patient’s religion and in this case, the healthcare provider must have reservations. These reservations allow the healthcare providers to tailor the interventions to suit the patient's needs while adhering to nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and critical thinking (Haddad & Geiger, 2023). In Sister Mary's case, the healthcare provider must have reservations based on the patient's communication strategies, lifestyle, and religious beliefs. In terms of communication, Sister Mary might have a specific way to communicate influenced by her religion; Roman Catholic. A nurse might be unfamiliar with the Sister’s communication strategy and thus, must be willing to learn. The healthcare provider might be unfamiliar with the patient’s religion and this could lead to poor nurse-patient interaction. It is crucial for the healthcare provider not to make any assumptions while attending to the patient and if necessary ask for help from a colleague with a better understanding of the religion. Additionally, Sister Mary might be leading a lifestyle that is different from the general population, and thus, the healthcare provider should make inquiries about the patient's schedule and activities before recommending any activities for lifestyle modification.
The healthcare professional psychosocial responses to Sister Mary's reservation would be frustration, anxiety, respect, and empathy. During the consultation, the healthcare provider might experience frustration if they perceive the patient's beliefs as slowing the process of care provision. Due to healthcare providers' biases towards the patient's religion, the healthcare provider might be anxious to provide the care provided. On a positive note, the healthcare provider might respond by highly respecting Sister Mary's commitment to her religion and lifestyle. Also, the healthcare provider might express empathy for the patient as the patient might be having other challenges linked to her religious beliefs (de Diego-Cordero et al., 2023). The healthcare provider might even go a further step to learn more about the Sister’s religion.
References
- de Diego-Cordero, R., López-Tarrida, Á. C., Linero-Narváez, C., & Galán González-Serna, J. M. (2023). "More spiritual health professionals provide different care": A qualitative study in the field of mental health. Healthcare, 11(3), 303. MDPI. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9914072/
- Falvo, D. (2011). Effective patient education: A guide to increased adherence. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
- Haddad, L. M., & Geiger, R. A. (2023). Nursing ethical considerations. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526054/
- Swihart, D. L., Yarrarapu, S. N. S., & Martin, R. L. (2023). Cultural religious competence in clinical practice. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493216/
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