Article Analysis
The main focus of the article is to study the memories of the injured and the patient’s care trajectory after physical trauma. The purpose of the article is to study in-depth how patients remember and feel about their physical trauma & injury and their stay at the Intensive care unit for trajectory care. Patients’ memories were recorded during and after their stay in ICU.
The Intended audiences of the article are medical doctors, psychologists, nurses, patients, and even the general public. Studying memories of trauma patients will help psychologists, nurses, doctors who are dealing with patients to improve the care they provide to such patients. Nurses must be aware of the feelings of traumatic patients and they must be dealt with properly to give them comfort and overcome their bad memories of trauma.
The argument proposed by the authors was that on one hand the patients had their bad memories of injury and they were in a surrealistic world. Their memories of stay at ICU were fragmentary, felt as if they were not connected to this world, felt strange & unfamiliar, delusional memories, feelings of being connected to the injured body during whole their stay in ICU and their way back to home. On the other hand, they also felt being cared for a lot in emergency and ICU by the nurses and doctors and they felt special for being cared for.
Finally, they were also thankful and grateful for being given special attention; hence, they felt gratitude for life & love. The four themes on which the authors focused were on the surrealistic world, connected to the injured body, being cared and gratitude for life. However, their desire is to back to normal life and win support and care from everyone. They are just happy being cared for by their family members.
Article Evaluation
The argument proposed by the authors is very logical and reasonable as in our day-to-day life we observe similar kinds of feelings from the patients of trauma and injury. Medical terms and phrases were clearly explained like “surrealistic world”, connected to the injured body, and gratitude for life. The study for the memories of patients linked to injury events, and then their treatment at ICU and memoirs after their discharge is important to understand patient’s feelings. It’s important to give them enough care and give them mental comfort and relaxation to overcome bad memories.
Critique
This article is about the experiences of people and the way they feel after they undergo an injury. Their feelings have been thoroughly analyzed, from the time of the accidents they have faced, their injuries, until the time they have spent in the hospital for treatment and recovery, before returning back home.
A proper sampling approach had been undertaken for people with various memories from their experiences, of the Intensive Care Units they had spent time in, and the injuries of the patients also varied.
The authors seem well-versed in providing sufficient authentic information regarding the sample chosen. The ideas put forth by them seem logical enough to be understood and believed. It is clear to read and easily comprehensible. The authors have prepared a piece of writing which is a self-explicable study in itself.
There are no specific terminologies used as such in this writing; it is basically an analysis of the people’s reactions and the views they have given on being questioned about their traumas. Various themes and subthemes were given, of how they were treated from the time these patients entered the hospital, to the instances they were back home and safe, with new lives ahead of them.
There are no opposing views that may arise against the results produced in this study because all of the comments given by the people are quite natural and logical- they make sense to a great deal and the replies obtained by them to the queries are the kind anyone would give.
The themes that have been given for the feelings and resultant emotions of the patients are praiseworthy. The idea is a good one, with all sensations relating to further positive feelings, like that of gaining a new life after touching the face of death. The doctors and nurses who had treated these patients are well-remembered, and fond memories of care and nurturing are associated with them. It is a good opportunity for people to be thankful to their fellow beings, for being caring, and for acting as God’s representatives in giving them new lives- that is how patients feel after leaving the hospital in good health and form.
Reading the article makes us think of how lucky we are, the way we are. There are numerous strange experiences that people go through in their lives, some of which may also be downright horrific. The sounds of ambulances and the mention of going to a hospital are all collectively elements that collectively produce fear in our minds. We are blessed by good health, and have luckily never faced such traumas as those mentioned in the study, and should be grateful to God for not placing us in such situations. Overall this study is a good eye-opener for people who are unthankful for what they have in life.
References
Ringdal, M., Plos, K. & Bergbom, I. “Memories of Being Injured and Patients’ Care Trajectory after Physical Trauma” 2008. BMC Nursing 2008, 7:8. Web.