When I interviewed Joseph in regards to value systems or philosophy in life, he responded that throughout his life, there is nothing superficial as honesty in an individual’s character. In fact, he emphasized by saying ‘honesty is the best policy’. Joseph also informed me that honesty shapes the entire character of an individual. Even though being honest may land someone into troubles at times, Joseph was emphatic that we should not be tired of doing the right things in life. He mentioned that there are instances when honesty had cost him dearly especially when putting his trust on some people. According to Joseph, betrayal may go a long way even as we attempt to be honest with ourselves and other people. The old man cited some reasons why he holds this philosophy in life. To begin with, Mr. Joseph insisted that an individual’s character affects even the generations to come. When we opt to become dishonest, we instill bad character in our children, which eventually leads into their failure in life. In fact, Mr. Joseph attributed his long life to being honest. He has lived to see his grand children grow into young adults.
His desire for healthcare has also been influenced by the level of honesty in his life. Mr. Joseph told that he has always been honest about his health condition even as he is aging up. When I requested him to explain this further, he smiled a bit and then stretched himself before he could respond. To begin with, Mr. Joseph pointed out that he never takes his aging body for granted. He has always been honest enough to seek medical attention whenever he feels a little unwell. According to him, this is one part of being honest with oneself. If you can handle your body well, then it amounts to dishonesty.
When I asked him whether his philosophy in life was influenced by his ethnic or cultural background, he quickly interjected and elaborated that several factors had contributed toward shaping his value system in life. For instance, he asserted that he had a strong religious background and like any other religion with honest teachings, the value system of being honest was instilled in his life at a very tender age during the Sunday school days. In addition, he informed that his parents were staunch believers in Christian faith and therefore, he was brought up in a family background with strict Christian values. In other words, his religious culture immensely contributed towards his character development in life. Secondly, Joseph highlighted to me that his father used to be a strict disciplinarian who instilled the value of being honest in life. Hence, two major factors namely religious and cultural backgrounds contributed towards his philosophy on honesty.
Since Mr. Joseph has children and grand children, I also inquired from him whether there were specific values he desired to be passed onto his generation. The old man nodded almost immediately when I asked him that question. He started by explaining that he indeed desired his children to be honest people in life. Secondly, he talked a lot about the value of being industrious in whatever someone opts to do while still alive. As a matter of fact, Mr. Joseph vividly elaborated how he had trained his children to be hard working from their very early ages. None of his four children was permitted to lazy around in school. Joseph also explained that he indeed achieved to meet the desired standard in his children in terms of value systems. As a proof, his children are currently successful people who often assist him both financially and materially.
Other value systems that Joseph has worked extremely hard to impart in his children and even grandchildren are accountability and transparency. However, the old man clarified to me that the two aforementioned values are still part and parcel of being honest. It was interesting to note how the old interviewee was emphatic on the need of being straightforward and also being ready to take responsibility whenever someone messes up. In terms of being transparent, Mr. Joseph reiterated that he has taken a relatively long time to train his children and even the grand children on the importance of being open and ready to talk about issues affecting them at any given time.
When it comes to consultation on healthcare issues, Mr. Joseph expounded that his eldest son has been playing an instrumental role in terms of his health status. Even though his son is not a medical doctor or a nurse practitioner, he deeply understands the health progress of his father. He added that his son was well versed with the best healthcare institutions that could take care of him just in case he lands in a health crisis. Moreover, his eldest son has been taking care of most medical bills. Therefore, his father felt the dire need of leaving matters concerning his healthcare issues in the care of his son. When I inquired him whether his wife was playing any role in decisions regarding his health, Mr. Joseph was quick to point out that his wife was equally aged and therefore could not be in the best position to make the most accurate decisions. However, he made it clear that he never ignores the input of his wife at any time. He has learned to be a good listener.
In my past nursing experience when I was working with individual family members of aged patients, I faced quite a number of challenges that made me learn the best strategies of handling such encounters. For example, decision making on various medical procedures was not easy to make. There were some older patients who could be adamant to be treated in certain ways even if family members had adopted a common front. On the same note, there are cases when family members could disagree to reach a common decision regarding the treatment of an old adult patient. The only situation that proved to be a lot easy to handle was when an older adult patient could make sound decisions or when working with one or just two family members when the patient is undergoing the treatment process.
In one of the cases that I handled, the adult patient was unconscious and had been put under the intensive care unit for some days. Therefore, the 78 year old lady was not in a position to make any decision regarding the urgently required treatment process. Therefore, her husband was left with the duty to make medical decisions regarding her wife. Definitely, the surgery decision made by her husband could not be her best interest because the old lady had earlier rejected any possibility of her being taken to the theatre. Since surgery was the only viable medical option, her husband together with their son and daughter unanimously agreed with the process. If a disagreement could have risen among family members and even the older adult patient, the most important thing to do would be to reconcile their divergent views by offering an in-depth explanation of adopting one method over the other.
Mr. Joseph also recalled quite a number of home remedies that were used by his parents when they had advanced in age and grown frail. Some of the home remedies that Mr. Joseph mentioned included ayurvedic, herbal medicines, and aromatherapy. Most of the herbal medicines were made from fruits, vegetables and herbs. He still uses these home remedies whenever they are suitable for treating specific ailments. Moreover, the practice has been passed down to generations through oral and practical traditions since they are involved in the gathering and preparation of these herbal extracts.
I recently encountered a patient who had combined home remedies with prescriptions from a medial doctor. When I noted this confusion, I requested the patient for a one hour session so that I could explain to him the health risks of combining both forms of treatment. Fortunately, he abandoned the home remedies and proceeded with the doctor’s prescription. As a nurse, similar situations can be best approached by explaining to the patient the risks associated with self-prescription and why a doctor’s advise should be taken seriously. In most cases, such cases should be approached from a counseling point of view.