Introduction
Healthcare is one of the most complex workplaces, which involves medical help and communication support. Following Joan Toronto (1993), “there is a smooth interconnection between caring about, taking care of, care giving, and care receiving, in reality there is likely to be conflict within each of these phases and between them”. Taking into account healthcare field and the experience of a human service in the field of aged care, there is no conflict between these concepts because the nursing functions and duties involve and imply caring about, taking care of and care giving.
Main body
Historically and traditionally the majority of sick and injured people were cared for by human services. Eventually early hospitals emerged that provided services for those who had no home or family, including orphans, soldiers, travelers, the impoverished, nuns and monks (religious orders), and in some cases the insane. In this situation, there is no conflict between the three concepts because of them are closely connected and interrelated.
Managed care for elderly involves caring about, taking care of and care giving. The tasks and duties of healthcare professionals is to help the aged people to prevent and cope with illness despite cultural or social background. Today, nurses have as much independent moral responsibility for their actions (as they have independent legal responsibility, and are just as accountable for their practice morally as they are legally (Altman et al 1999).
This, in turn, places at unacceptable risk the welfare interests and wellbeing of patients who may, in some circumstances, be dependent on nurses to protect their welfare interests. Nurses must be accorded the recognition and legitimated authority necessary to enable them to fulfill their many and complex responsibilities as professionals bound by agreed standards of care.
It is important for members of the medical profession to realize that nurses do have independent moral responsibilities (and, it should be added, legal responsibilities) when caring for patients and, indeed, can be (and have been) held independently accountable for their actions. It is neither reasonable nor fair to expect nurses to ignore or violate their demonstrable responsibilities to patients and to practice below an acceptable standard of care (Ackley, 1997).
In aged care field, the difference between three concepts does not exist because the potential for nursing to effectively assist with community problems, both disease-related and social, is undeniable, and the advantages of community-based care are numerous: ease in accessibility; services and care that are sensitive to religious, racial, and cultural norms; community participation in the identification of needs; and increased comprehensive services through collaboration with social service agencies. An additional factor with centers affiliated with universities or schools of nursing is their use as sites for clinical experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students (Ackley, 1997).
To avoid hurting the feelings of others, and to ensure that we are being respectful, these options should be made as suggestions for their consideration. Healthcare professionals can never know what changes will be comfortable or suitable for another person, because each of us must decide what suits our personal style and priorities. No longer content to passively submit to treatment, consumers of health care are demanding to know the rationale for regimens and to have access to a second opinion. In extreme cases clients are suing physicians and other health care professionals, including nurses, for ineffective health care.
This potential threat from clients hovers as a powerful source of disapproval, with implications for career advancement and public embarrassment. The loss of one’s job and financial assets could also result from unsafe care (Altman et al 1999).
Today, nurses are aware of accountability for the nursing care we give and of our vulnerability to investigations of these actions through the legal process. Evaluation anxiety is an unpleasant, ever-lurking phenomenon that, as two decades of literature reports, has threatened nurses and other health professionals. As nurses, we are committed to making a positive difference for our clients, yet today’s work environments are loaded with potential deterrents to this goal: inadequate staffing, higher acuity clients, technological advancements, information overload, and the uncertainty of health care reform (Daly et al 2005).
The only difference exists between caring about and care receiving. In the field of aged care, care receiving implies receiving support and care from healthcare professional. Care receiving is closely connected with interpersonal communication and support. Emphasis is on the achievement of specific patient outcomes within a fiscally responsible time frame. In other instances, “care giving” and “taking care of” is used to indicate a nursing model for patient care. Care giving has provided an even greater impetus to the increased use of case management as a mechanism for the coordination and sequencing of care (Powers, 2003).
Historically it has been used by a number of entities including social service agencies, insurance companies, rehabilitation centers, and public health nursing as a means of community service coordination. Although psychiatric—mental health nurses have used it for a number of years, only recently has it been evolving and begun to be incorporated into the practice of nurses in inpatient settings, including emergency care settings (Altman et al 1999).
Theoretically any individual who possesses the appropriate knowledge and skills could be a case manager, since direct patient care might not be part of the role. It stands to reason, however, that physicians and nurses would be the most fitting managers because of their clinical expertise. Each organization, however, may put case management to use differently according to its environment. The nature of the population to be served seems currently to be the primary factor behind the designation of the case manager. Be that as it may, nurses are in a prime position to provide case management in collaboration with physicians (Suzie and Rn, 2006).
Taking care of and care giving implies that the health professionals are in a unique position to exercise courageous and visionary direction in creative health promotion practices and holistic care. In the field of aged care, healthcare professionals occupy a strategic position to help promote and facilitate this paradigm shift in health care. Nursing is in a key position to shape and provide primary health care. Healthcare professionals have been and still can be a strong social force and advocate for change. Thus it is essential that nursing create international links among nursing communities, since all nurses around the globe are facing common issues and experiencing increasing social pressures. The environments in which nurses work worldwide have drastically changed, presenting even greater challenges (Suzie and Rn, 2006).
Conclusion
In sum, a conflict between caring about, taking care of and care giving does not exist because all of them are parts of the healthcare and nursing profession. The ramifications of these responsibilities for the nursing profession, and not least for nursing education and research, are obviously enormous. The aged care is a unique field of healthcare which involves “caring about”, “taking care of” and “care giving”. It is impossible to image aged care without one of this concept.
References
- Altman, S. H. Reinhardt, U. E., Schactman, D. (1999). Regulating Managed Care: Theory, Practice, and Future Options. Jossey-Bass; 1 edition.
- Ackley, D. C. (1997). Breaking Free of Managed Care: A Step-by-Step Guide to Regaining Control of Your Practice. The Guilford Press; 1st edition.
- Daly, J. Speedy. S., Jackson, D. (2005). Professional Nursing: Concepts, Issues, and Challenges. Springer.
- Powers, B.A. (2003). Nursing Home Ethics: Everyday Issues Affecting Residents with Dementia. Springer.
- Suzie, H., Rn, K. (2006). Nursing Theories: Conceptual and Philosophical Foundations. Springer.