IMPORTANCE
OF PATIENT’S INPUT DURING CRITICAL CARE
by Ricky Ocampo RN
by Ricky Ocampo RN
The work of nurses is to act as
caregivers for patients. Their job involves the application of skills and
knowledge that has been acquired from
school and experience. However over the years there has been various researches
conducted that expect the nurses to seek patient participation as they deal
with them. This situation is quite difficult
since the patients do not possess the training or experience needed in
conducting a nursing job (Dankwa-Mullan, 2015). Through Evidenced Based
Approach (EBP), I have researched widely on the topic where I sought to find
out if patient’s input can improve the quality of health care. I have formulated a research question and
utilized the PICOT method in carrying out the study.
The research question that I have
chosen for this analysis is: does the patient’s input in clinical remedies
quicken healing in critical care? This research question has been widely influenced by my job as a critical
care nurse at the Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California division. During my profession, I have worked with many
patients with many different needs that warranted different approaches. The
different methods can be aided by the
patient’s participation since the patients are the ones that feel the illness
or pain. Some of the patients might have gone through similar treatments and
may possess crucial information about their experience that may be helpful in
the present scenario.
With the use of the PICOT format of
evidenced based research, I have analyzed the question in this topic. PICOT
stands for Population/Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and the Timeframe
(Boswell, 2012). On the Population/Patient, I used a middle-aged man of Asian
origin who is in critical care after undergoing a successful craniotomy surgery. As
a critical care nurse, I am responsible for
taking care of the patient during his recovery period. This gives me the
opportunity to engage the patient through asking for and listening to his views regarding the care he receives. I
can also observe firsthand on the importance of incorporating the patient’s
opinion in the recovery process.
In this case, the intervention
includes integrating clinical solutions
coupled with the man’s input about care and what he prefers. After a proper relationship has been established with
the patient, he can share his
personal goals in regards to his recovery such as the time he expects to get
back to his normal work routine. With his
personal goals in mind, I offer the
patient advice and suggestion on the clinical solutions. The patient offers feedback, which is used in providing clinical solutions. The clinical solutions
include administration of painkillers to the patient. With the patient’s input,
the painkillers administered will be regulated by
the patient’s pain level at the given time. This will ensure that the patient
gets enough painkillers when he needs which will reduce his pain levels. Patient input can also be important while observing his body’s reaction to some medicine. The patient can express freely how the medication makes him
feel which will subsequently lead to the prescription of more comfortable medication (Dankwa-Mullan, 2015).
In this case, the comparison is between a case where the patient's input is
not taken into consideration and when the patient’s views are listened and used in his care. The alternative
is that the nurse does not take the patient’s
opinion and instead caters for the patient with his experience and knowledge
alone. The lack of consideration of the ill person’s patient view makes the patient feel dehumanized. The
patient may also feel abandoned since nobody is interested in his well-being. The
patient who was not involved in the decision-making
feels ignored and let down. The patient can also feel that the nurse is trying to
incorrectly exert authority by ignoring the patient (Dankwa-Mullan,
2015). All these feelings will make the patient doubt the care that is given to him, which can in turn derail his ability to heal. On the
other hand, proper communication with the patient will make the patient feel
acknowledged and make him more informed. This will make the patient have a
positive attitude and be more willing to follow advice and suggestions from the
nursing personnel (Pender et al. 2014).
The outcome,
in this case, is a full recovery to the patient that had undergone craniotomy surgery. The recovery process should be satisfactory to me where I will ensure
that it is going the way it should based on my nursing knowledge and
experience. The recuperation process should also be suitable for the patient where he will have met his
personal goals, and he would have felt respected
throughout the whole period. This outcome is to be
achieved through proper communication with the patient where the patient
is briefed on every important thing about his recovery. The abundance of
information from the nurse and the patient makes the job easier for both of
them. Various researchers have found that patients that had a good
communication with nurses had a more positive outcome to their treatment than
those who had a poor exchange (Peile & Fulford, 2015). The ones that
experienced poor communication felt that if the nurses had listened to their
opinions, then the recuperation would have been faster and with less
pain or devoid of complications.
The timeframe that is intended to be
used to achieve the outcome is six months. It begins with the first interaction with the patient where I establish a rapport, and I brief the patient on everything
that he needs to know regarding his treatment. The timeframe ends when the
patient is fully recovered and is satisfied with the care given to him during
the recovery process. The time frame is
important since it will quantify the results that are obtained. Achieving full recovery at the minimum possible time
is imperative to the concerned patient
(Peile & Fulford, 2015). The satisfactory level of persons is very high
when they recover quickly since they get
to move on with their daily routines. This includes work that will enable the patient to earn a living
as opposed to when he is bedridden. The
patient can also participate in leisure activities that require much physical energy such as sports. The
patient will also be free from the many side effects experienced while using medicine such as nausea.
Nurses are trained caregivers,
and they get much experience while
dealing with patients. It is, however,
important that the nurse involves the patients in everything that they do as
they take care of them. This topic is important to me due to my occupation as a
critical care nurse at Kaiser Permanente. With the help of the PICOT method, an
analysis of this topic is made easy. The population,
in this case, is a middle-aged man of Asian origin who is in critical
care after a successful craniotomy surgery. The intervention shows the incorporation
of clinical solutions coupled with the input from the man concerning his
preferences. The comparison shows the
alternative where care was given with no
regards to the man’s input. The outcome
shows the expectations of a quick recovery from incorporating patient’s
opinion. The timeframe is the time that is expected to be used to achieve the
desired outcome. In this case, it is six
months.
References
Boswell,
C. (2012). Introduction to Nursing Research: Incorporating Evidence-Based Practice (3rd ed.). Burlington: Jones
& Bartlett Learning.
Dankwa-Mullan,
I. (2015). Precision Medicine and Health Disparities:
Advancing the Science
of Individualizing Patient Care.American Journal of Public Health, 105S368.
Doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302755
Peile,
E., & Fulford, B. M. (2015, July). Values-based practice: Translating
values and evidence
into good clinical care. International Journal of Therapy &
Rehabilitation. pp. 306-307.
Pender, N., Mardaugh,
C., & Parsons, M. (2014). Health Promotion in Nursing Practice (Pender) (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River,
N.J.: Prentice Hall.
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