Introduction
The assessment of health consists of an analysis of the patient’s physical and mental condition and an examination of the social conditions in which the individual exists. Many social factors influence how a person defines himself or herself, so the course of illness can also vary. Nurses need to understand the relationships between a person’s personality, social conditions, and health status to properly assess and organize appropriate care. Gender and patienQt orientation are not unimportant factors that influence health assessments because these provide information about social conditions. Nurses must organize their care appropriately and clearly, eliminating discrimination and creating a trusting, open relationship with the patient.
The Role of Gender and Orientation in Health Assessment
Important Ideas
This essay analyzes the LGBT Healthcare Training Video: “To Treat Me, You Have to Know Who I Am” video, which teaches nurses when choosing tactics to interact with a patient. The video offers a look at the real-life experiences of LGBT community participants who face challenges in healthcare. Participants talk about feeling uncomfortable seeking care because many doctors behave in a discriminatory manner in issues such as mental health and reproductive health (NYC Health and Hospitals, 2011). Invitees are concerned that they do not receive enough support and that their gender identity and orientation are not appropriately considered.
Important ideas that follow from this video are the acceptance of the need for an open and trusting approach to each person. Nurses must not only be able to provide care and manage illness but also consider the gender and orientation of their patients because this directly affects the treatment outcome. Furthermore, patients need to feel safe in the hospital, and nurses can provide this by creating strong relationships by listening and listening to patients (NYC Health and Hospitals, 2011). Nurses must avoid preconceptions about how orientation and gender affect the progression of a patient’s illness. Discrimination must be eliminated, the main idea I have for myself as a future nurse. My work should be honest, sincere, and open, and challenging biases based on gender and orientation will help to achieve this result.
Lessons for Health Assessment
The lessons I learned from this training video are how members of the LGBT community want to see admissions in the hospital. In my health assessment, I want to be as polite as possible with my patients’ pronouns and names: this is important for building trust. In addition, I want to demonstrate willingness to patients’ coming out and not be subjective in my work. It is also vital to incorporate a personal approach to health assessment: each patient, as well as his or her problem, is individual, and I have to respect that. I want to do health assessments, so my patients know that their orientation and gender will not be factors in the diagnosis.
Conclusion
A health assessment is a set of actions nurses take to analyze a patient’s condition. It should be conducted respectfully and openly, with no discrimination based on sex, gender, or orientation. The nurses’ job is to understand how best to help the patient, so respect for gender and orientation should exist a priori. Understanding the path of one’s practice can be achieved by analyzing the behavior of LGBT participants in healthcare and determining why they are uncomfortable. In my future practice, I want to address this discomfort and provide a safe space of help and support for all patients without discrimination.
Reference
NYC Health and Hospitals. (2011). LGBT healthcare training video: “To treat me, you have to know who i am” [Video]. YouTube. Web.