Communication and Problem Resolution in Older Patients Essay

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Introduction

The challenges facing professional and casual workers require an intelligent approach to solve problems. In the healthcare sector, professionals might find it challenging to approach patients of all ages. According to Kim et al.(2017), the young patients are hard to handle and might be violent, adults might be aggressive, and the elderly need to be handled with care, similar to babies. Such uncertainties demand a broad set of skills to face at the workplace competently. Medical professionals go through hard times at the workplace, and they find it challenging to get enough time to rest. Such a simple problem might be associated with lack of skills and experience to approach it.

Storytelling

I am a trained nurse with over 17 years of experience. I have been attached to Bantry General hospital for the last ten years. Handling babies, school-going children, youth, adults, and the elderly have taught me how to approach my clients in a friendly manner. Patients tend to fear trying something afresh, like meeting a new doctor or undergoing a completely different type of therapy. Fear is closely coupled with human behavior, especially where there is a lack of information. I have mastered the power of storytelling to win my patients’ trust and confidence. It is the main reason for fear; so many patients love reaching out to me in case they face challenges while at our facility.

The development of the COVID-19 vaccine was a fast process. Many people have expressed doubt in the safety of the vaccine despite the intervention of experts to ascertain its benefits against the raised concerns. Undoubtedly, most people do not understand how vaccines work. On top of that, the spread of fake news over social media platforms has undermined most people’s trust in the scientific community.

Anyone visiting our facility to get vaccinated would definitely have doubts about the vaccine’s safety, and I would take full responsibility for explaining to them why they need to do it. There have been more contagious diseases in the past, but the world took a step forward due to transformative changes in the healthcare sector and scientific advancements.

I would explain to the patient how the vaccine relates to the virus, and they affect our health. The body fights diseases in several ways, and a vaccine puts the disease-fighting mechanisms on standby to fight the disease in the future. This entails that when a person is vaccinated, their body will be prepared to fight the vaccinated disease in the future. I would expect my visitor to accept the vaccine and also encourage others to do the same. At the end of the day, the visitor would keep on adhering to the containment measures established by the government and its partners. Lastly, we would have made a step towards defeating the pandemic.

Conflict resolution with an older person

As experienced health personnel, conflicts with patients are not something new. I have met complicated patients who challenged me for a very long time throughout my time at Bantry General Hospital. I have, however, adapted and learned how to approach. I have learned the most effective tool in solving conflicts, particularly with the elderly, must involve intensive listening (Ladin et al., 2018).

I have learned listening helps me understand the situation the patient is in. More so, listening creates a sense of empathy that breaks down the barriers, leading to a fruitful solution (Gagliano et al., 2020). Fer, anxiety, loss of control, and frustration are common challenges facing the elderly.

Approaching Miss Cooper, 76 years old, is close to a nightmare. She has been calm, except when it’s time to go for a shower. To ensure she changes her attitude, I would try to know why she doesn’t like going for a shower. Could the bathing water be too cold or too hot? Could the bathroom flow be too slippery? Could the bathroom be too scary for her? Could she fear being seen by others in the bathroom?

If she could not wash and didn’t trust those assigned to wash her, I would also like to know. With this information at hand, I would act accordingly to ensure she is comfortable while taking her showers. I believe my approach would effectively resolve the issues that affect her or make her complacent to taking showers.

Handling an older person

Handling older patients might be challenging for most health practitioners. As a result, health regulation agencies have set standards on how the patients should be addressed based on the HIQA standards. When the patient visits the facility, I would first examine her health status to establish how she is fairing since the last visit. I would also interrogate her to establish her dietary practices and see if they are in line with the recommendations made by the experts.

I would begin by establishing the patients strengths and weakness and focus on areas that need to be improved. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down, and the elderly are more likely to succumb to the disease (Benetos, Petrovic, and Strandberg, 2019). I would encourage the patient to take short walks during the day, bask in the sun for a few minutes and do a little exercise to flex muscles and keep the body strong.

As the patient visits the facility, I would ensure they are accompanied by a family member or a close relative who would help them observe the advice ad directives given at the facility. The handles should also be on the front line to ensure the patient eats as advised. I believe this plan would help medical experts complete treatment schedules in an effective way while benefiting the patients alike.

Reference List

Benetos, A., Petrovic, M. and Strandberg, T., 2019. Hypertension management in older and frail older patients. Circulation Research, 124(7), pp.1045-1060.

Gagliano, A., Villani, P.G., Manelli, A., Paglia, S., Bisagni, P.A., Perotti, G.M., Storti, E. and Lombardo, M., 2020. COVID-19 epidemic in the middle province of Northern Italy: impact, logistics, and strategy in the first line hospital. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness, 14(3), pp.372-376.

Kim, S., Bochatay, N., Relyea-Chew, A., Buttrick, E., Amdahl, C., Kim, L., Frans, E., Mossanen, M., Khandekar, A., Fehr, R. and Lee, Y.M., 2017. Individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors of healthcare conflict: a scoping review. Journal of interprofessional care, 31(3), pp.282-290.

Ladin, K., Pandya, R., Kannam, A., Loke, R., Oskoui, T., Perrone, R.D., Meyer, K.B., Weiner, D.E. and Wong, J.B., 2018. Discussing conservative management with older patients with CKD: an interview study of nephrologists. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 71(5), pp.627-635.

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