Week 1 Mind map Theme: The Image of God
It is a well-known fact that human beings were created in the “image of God.” There is a universal appeal to this message due to the fact that more or less all religions have propagated this concept (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). The image of God and the likeness of God, as a matter of fact, are among the most discussed aspects of the way evolution is being talked about (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). The way these two terms are articulated goes a long way toward showing how human beings are supposed to be formulated under the image of God (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). They are supposed to follow the same traits and preferences of the way God works (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). At times, though, people seem to be of the opinion that there are some other beings and species that share the same traits. This is not the case, though, as animals are not classified in the same category, and they are not referred to as being created in the image of God at any instance (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p.38).
The key thing in drawing this analogy is to make sure that human beings are able to understand their role in this world better. Despite the fact that they are created in the image of God, the fact remains that they have started to become sinful and are not being responsible toward others (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). They do not show the same trait of empathy that God shows toward others. As a matter of fact, the widely accepted interpretation of this idea of the image of God is based on the thought process that human beings have the ability to make decisions in the right manner, allowing them to follow moral grounds and stay socially aware when they are making decisions related to the healthcare and well-being of other people. As a matter of fact, the ability to make moral decisions has been attributed to being one of the biggest defining traits of human beings (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). To make sure that people really take into consideration how the image of God is supposed to work, the idea is to make sure that they inculcate the values of God among themselves (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). Healthcare is one of the places where the application of this aspect can be seen at the greatest level (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). An effort must be made by healthcare practitioners to make sure that they take into account the overall healthcare and well-being of the people around them (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). They should be able to relate to the patients and must be willing to go beyond the scope of their duties so that optimum treatment can be provided to the patient at any point in time (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p.19).
Week 2 Mind map Theme: Memory and the Human Person
When important decisions with regard to the healthcare of patients are supposed to be taken, a detailed account of all the information is supposed to be provided to the patients. The idea is to make sure that all the treatment options and the prognosis are explained to the patient (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). That would go a long way in making sure that, in some ways, the amount of time during which the patient stays in the hospital is reduced to an extent (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). The trend toward outpatient care plays a great part in making sure that the needs of the patients and their families are taken care of in the right manner (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). The problem is that, despite the fact that medical practitioners are quite prompt when it comes to providing these requested details, patients themselves do not have much of an idea of how they can make sure that the prognosis and information are understood (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). The amount of information that is recalled by the patients is quite small, which is one of the biggest issues faced by people at a given point in time (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p.19).
The key thing that needs to be noted is that memory is an important part of medical information (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). The role of memory cannot be undermined when it comes to making sure that good adherence and recommended treatment are provided to the patient (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). At times, though, how the information is communicated to the patients goes a long way toward determining the sort of retention displayed by the patient at any point in time (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). When the memory and recall ability of the patient is efficient, it goes a long way toward making sure that the patients have recorded the information in the right manner and can receive satisfactory treatment at a certain point in time (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). The problem faced in most instances is that about 40 to 80% of the information provided by the medical practitioner is forgotten in those very instances (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). There is a direct relationship between the amount of information that is presented to the patient and the extent to which they are able to capture it (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). It is not only about the amount of information; it is also about the quality of the information, as about half of the information that is captured is not accurate (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). There are three rationales presented for why patients are not able to recall the information in the correct manner. The first one is the fact that the terminologies used by medical practitioners are quite complicated, to say the least (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). The other main problem is the medium of communication that is being used by the people (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). For instance, research has shown that spoken versus written English goes a long way toward determining how this information is processed (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). The third reason why the amount of retention witnessed among patients is on the lower side is the specific set of expectations that they have from practitioners and their low level of education (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p.38).
Week 4 Mind map Theme: Why Reason is Important
One of the key things that drives the healthcare industry is empathy and care. As long as people care about human beings and, to an extent, are sympathetic to the needs and wants of each other, it can go a long way in making sure that there are improvements in the healthcare system (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). It is one of the core reasons why, most of the time, people bring their feelings into discussions in the context of healthcare. What really happens is that their own feelings and conscience play an important part in the development of their emotions and feelings as well as the sort of treatment that they are to provide to their patients (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). What it does is present an interesting conflict regarding what must be done and what can be done in terms of the way healthcare management is supposed to be carried out (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). Most of the time, people find themselves in situations where they are extremely charged at the emotional level (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). Healthcare is one of the areas where these emotions are at an all-time high. There are contrasting emotions of life and death that are part and parcel of healthcare provision. Despite the fact that these people are highly skilled at each and every level, the fact is that they have to make sure that they balance science and logic correspondingly with regard to the treatment of the patient (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). The other thing that needs to be kept in mind is how decisions related to healthcare are made and how it can be ensured that the right decisions are made all the time (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p.19).
The role of emotional intelligence has become extremely important with the passage of time, as people have started to make sure that they balance science and logic at a certain level and that the integration of these aptitudes is carried out properly. What they tend to find out is that these processes are not mutually exclusive during the course of the whole process. It has to be noted that most of the time, the way people work is logical, and as a healthcare professional, one is expected to be logical. What needs to be done is to make sure that people have the ability to show emotional competence (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). Emotional competence is something that is going to allow them to make sure that they show how well integrated they are as professionals at each and every level. As healthcare processes are becoming more and more automated and regulated, healthcare workers are at times having a hard time making sure that they can relate to other patients with respect to empathy and emotions in the encounter. It would also allow better decisions to be made at every point in time, to say the least (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). What is needed these days is that people should also start to work on their emotional quotient and emotional intelligence so that the level of empathy they show to other people improves to an extent, to say the least (Graber et al. 2015, p.39).
Week 5 Mind map Theme: How Important is Duty in Healthcare
If one talks about the way healthcare as a profession works most of the time, there are many duties that healthcare workers have toward the patients they are treating. As a matter of fact, there are regulatory frameworks that are related to the sort of orders doctors give to their assistants as well as nurses and other medical staff (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). Healthcare provision is an extremely professional setup where the sense of duty is very important due to the fact that each of the people who are involved with the facilitation of the patient has a certain specific role that they are expected to perform (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). As a matter of fact, these duties are obligatory in nature, as they have to make sure that they look after their patients in the right manner, and this is called an obligation of the means. Doctors are expected to make sure that they base their recent actions on knowledge that is updated on a regular basis and on recognized treatments day in and day out (Graber et al. 2015, p.39).
Then comes the duty of care, where doctors are expected to react toward patients in a certain manner, and there are certain standards that need to be followed (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). The term that is used most commonly refers to legal and professional duties that involve taking care of the relationships healthcare practitioners might have with other people. So, there is no denying that the sense of duty is an important part of the healthcare provision that is supposed to be carried out (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). Healthcare practitioners are also supposed to make sure that they discharge the legal duty of healthcare and that all standards of care are followed during the course of treatment (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). Personal attributes cannot affect these duties, and this has to be noted (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). Most of the time, the way the law works is that it imposes the duty of healthcare on the people who are practicing healthcare at each level in situations where harm is reasonably foreseeable, to say the least (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). The idea behind these duties is to make sure that practitioners do not cause harm to patients through their actions and omissions (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). The case remains, though, regardless of what sort of relationship people share with that healthcare practitioner (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). The problem emerges when there is a contradiction with regard to the way duty is supposed to work (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). Most of the time, it happens when the duty of care conflicts with the instructions spelled out by the employer (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). The problem arises when healthcare is provided in a manner where there is a lack of empathy toward patients (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). Most of the time, it happens when practitioners are supposed to follow a certain set of procedures and protocols that need to be followed all the time (Graber et al. 2015, p.39).
Week 6 Mind map Theme: Clinical Practice and Meaning of Life
With the passage of time, an increasing amount of attention has been paid to making sure that spirituality is incorporated into the way social practice is supposed to work. The way the meaning of life is going to work out, as well as how spirituality is supposed to work, is one of the biggest things that people have to assess most of the time (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). People have diverse beliefs when it comes to the way the meaning of life is supposed to work out and how their ideologies are supposed to be shaped (Graber et al., 2015, p. 39). During the course of medical practice, there are many instances when people are not able to sort out the existential crisis that they are facing at the time (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). When they see conflicting ideologies at work with regard to the way they perceive life and how it is valued, the shock they have to recover from is the most difficult part that has to be managed at any point in time (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). It is the time period when the relationships that people share with each other form the core ideology regarding the way people’s lives and cultures are going to work out (Graber et al. 2015, p.39).
There are myriad relationships that people have during the course of their lives, and these relationships play a major part in making sure that the critical appraisal process is applied in the right manner (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). When family members are part of the equation, people are able to attach new meaning and context to their lives, which is one of the biggest determinants with regard to the way healthcare services are supposed to be provided at any point in time (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). Contrary to popular perception, the meaning of life, as well as some other sociological processes, was not that important to people when they were making decisions regarding the overall healthcare and well-being of those involved in healthcare provision most of the time (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). The question of the meaning of life was answered by most people in a manner that talks about how patients and the people treating them are able to develop a better understanding of themselves one way or another. In that way, they would also be able to find meaning and context in their lives and be in a better frame of mind when they are supposed to make better decisions about their lives at the given time period. Regardless of that, the key thing that needs to be noted here is that people are able to provide better context and meaning to their lives (Graber et al. 2015, p. 39). The meaning and context, though, were not related to some spiritual awakening; instead, they were about how they are able to make sure that they are providing services that are relevant to the life of another human being in the same time period. It is one of the defining aspects of the way healthcare services are provided at a certain time period (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). It is the only way the meaning of life and context are added to their lives.
Week 7 Mind map Theme: Harsher Aspects of Healthcare
During the course of healthcare provision, one of the toughest things is to make sure that decisions are made appropriately when there are resource constraints being faced by people at a given point in time (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). There are many harsher aspects of healthcare, and most of the time, these issues stem from the fact that the healthcare profession is becoming somewhat materialized with the passage of time. One of the key things that can be seen in the NHS is how, at times, the lack of accountability and transparency seen during the course of healthcare implementation is the reason for this problem. Ideally, there should be no trade-off when it comes to making sure that cost considerations and financial aspects of healthcare are taken care of (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). The other problem is the way resource allocation is carried out in healthcare settings (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). Healthcare is an area in which this balance is hard to achieve regarding the issues that need to be kept in mind in relation to the implementation of healthcare ideals, to say the least (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). Then comes the question of how regulation and law-making are carried out with regard to the NHS (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). As healthcare is becoming more regularized with the passage of time, there is a likelihood that people these days will see instances when resource allocation is problematic due to the issue of scarcity being faced by healthcare policymakers (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). That has put the hospital administration in a position where it has to prioritize some of the services and aspects of healthcare it would provide to prospective patients (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p.38).
The way Medicaid is funded is another harsh aspect of the way healthcare is implemented at the NHS (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). There is a long-term effect of changes to the bill under which Medicaid is supposed to be provided in the long run and of how the state and federal government split is going to work out (Sawatzky and Pesut, 2015, p. 19). As the inflation rate is growing, it seems that healthcare expenses are becoming more and more concentrated with the passage of time, and at a certain stage, the NHS would have to make a choice regarding which lives and patients are important (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). The preference is going to be based on the sort of treatment that is going to be provided to the patients at that point in time (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). Thus, there is a likelihood that the situation will become further complicated in the future (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p. 38). The other problem that is going to be faced is how Medicaid funding is going to erode with the passage of time and how this underlying analysis is going to be carried out at the given time period (Aranda and McGreevy, 2014, p.38).
Summary of the Knowledge Gained
During the course of these modules, I learned a lot and gained insight. One of the key things that can be seen with regard to the way the whole thing has been practiced is how empathy toward the patient and going the extra mile with regard to care are among the key things that need to be taken care of at each level. At the same time, healthcare practitioners should be able to make sure that they improve their social skills and emotional quotient to ensure that they are in a better frame of mind with regard to handling situations. These little things can go a long way toward improving the overall quality of healthcare.
References
Aranda, K. and McGreevy, D., 2014. Embodied empathy‐in‐action: overweight nurses’ experiences of their interactions with overweight patients. Nursing inquiry, 21(1), pp. 30-38.
Graber, D.R., Johnson, J.A. and Hornberger, K.D., 2015. Spirituality and healthcare organizations/Practitioner application. Journal of Healthcare Management, 46(1), p. 39.
Sawatzky, R. and Pesut, B., 2015. Attributes of spiritual care in nursing practice. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 23(1), pp. 19-33.
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