The significance of nursing practice can be realized when nurses provide holistic care for the general well-being of society. This care involves the provision of spiritual, physical, and psychological care to the patients. I believe in Christian doctrines, but they do not map my values and spiritual beliefs.
Hence, my belief in God as a spiritual being is significant in supporting religion and medical interventions to work together for the well-being of the patient. This paper will support ethical principles by presenting my values regarding quality, cost, and social issues in health care policy. Moreover, an analysis of the impact of my upbringing, professional experiences, personal beliefs, and political factors on my current perspective on healthcare policy will be conducted. In addition, I will focus on the inconsistencies between my personal beliefs and healthcare policies.
Personal Ethics and Spiritual Belief
Spirituality is a multidimensional and complex part of human experiences. It is an internal system of belief where an individual adheres to some practices and rituals. Moreover, religion is not a requirement for an individual’s spirituality (Joint Commission, 2016). The important aspect of religion is the personal belief in God, and I value my personal connection to God for my spiritual and overall well-being. This frame of belief is a basis for my professional, ethical practice while caring for and treating the physical, mental and spiritual conditions of my patients. People have assumptions about how life should be, but I believe that individuals have the capability to decide how their lives should be. The existence of free will in life gives people the opportunity to choose between practising good and evil. Accordingly, nurses should practice holistic care, which involves self-care, spirituality, self-responsibility, and reflective thinking concerning personal and professional lives (Best et al. 2016). As a result, a nurse is able to teach self-love, appreciation, and acceptance to their patients.
Cost
When things don’t go as assumed, self-defeating and self-judgment take over people’s lives as they attempt to correct the situation. In addition, the patients will suffer emotional breakdown, which prevents the expected healing process from occurring, resulting in poor health. Thus, choosing to do good through the provision of holistic care, such as the incorporation of religious systems, would go a long way in ensuring that the risk of malpractice and further loss of resources is reduced.
Quality
Holistic care is not only important for the well-being of patients but also for the provision of quality care to the patients. Through holistic care, nurses are able to balance the physical and psychological needs of their patients, their families, and themselves in a professional manner (Thomas & McCormick, 2014). As a result, through holistic care, the patients’, families and the health care provider s’ care of care will have been improved to a larger degree. More importantly, a deeper analysis of the spiritual dimensions of the conditions of every healthcare issue is significant for the achievement of higher quality of care.
Social Issues
The current diseases hailing the global population can not possibly be classified in the category of standard medical ill health but cause a lot of pain and suffering to the people. Some of the circumstances which cannot be included among the standard ill health in society are ill health in the environment, like pollution, and social diseases like war, violence, and crime. Others include ill health affecting the education sector, such as abuse and disrespect, and health in the economy, like corruption, greed, and opportunism. Religious ills in society, such as harmful and superstitious practices and inappropriate beliefs and interpretations of concepts concerning religion and God, play a major role in my perspective on healthcare policies (Thomas & McCormick, 2014). Hence, spirituality can be used as a major aspect of holistic care in such circumstances. This can be done by accepting spirituality as a significant, long-lasting solution that leads to wholeness, well-being, and connectedness even after these types of ill health.
Influential factors
My father was a pastor, and my mom was a teacher. They taught us to be noble people in society with the fear of the lord and do good by being the pillars of our family. I learned about good and evil all my life, which led me to choose a career in nursing so that I could do good for society. My religious background and my personal belief in God played a bigger role in my current belief situation. In addition, my work experiences while working with trauma patients in the mental health department played a significant role in my current perspective on healthcare policies. I learned that apart from medical attention and financing from the government, these patients needed religious interventions to help them heal.
Inconsistencies
Recently, science has been able to make a positive connection between approaches to ill health based on science and on religion. Regardless of the milestones made in the field of medicine, medications cannot function alone. Often, the medications administered to patients encourage unhealthy styles of living. Patients are given a chance to survive after an illness or trauma by the administration of medicines, making them heavily dependent on the medications for the most part of their lives (Aldwin, 2014). As a result, the patients develop unhealthy lifestyles and mindsets, which disconnect them from their spirituality. Therefore, they are not able to heal properly and continue with life after an illness.
Conclusion
Healthcare policies have not based their concepts on spirituality, making patients’ healing process incomplete. Incorporating spirituality in the treatment plan for patients would eliminate the symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress. Thus, holistic care gives an opportunity for the nurse to get connected to the patient, their families, and themselves through self-acceptance and letting go of stress and guilt, making them free from mental disturbances and ill health. Therefore, the physical, mental, and psychological aspects of ill health should be addressed simultaneously for better patient outcomes.
References
Aldwin, C.M. Park, C.L. Jeong, Y. Nath, R. (2014). Differing Pathways between Religiousness, Spirituality, and Health: A Self-Regulation Perspective. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 6 (1), 9
Best, M. Butow, P. & Olver, I. (2016). Doctors Discussing Religion and Spirituality: A Systematic Literature Review. Palliative Medicine, 30(4), 327 – 337.
Joint Commission International Accreditation Standards for Hospitals. (2014). 5th. Ed. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommissioninternational.org/ assets/3/7/Hospital-5E-Standards-Only-Mar2014.pdf
Thomas R. McCormick, D. (2014). Spirituality and Medicine. Retrieved from https://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/spirit.html
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