Renegotiating and Reinforcing Appropriate Care Portfolio
Task Description You are required to submit a portfolio of evidence demonstrating your extensive engagement with the unit’s learning outcomes and professional reflection throughout the semester. This will be submitted as a systematic accumulation of work which demonstrate having undertaken activities / discussions / reflections and research. Mandatory (minimum) items that should be included in your portfolio include;
- Four (4) discussion board activity entries (minimum of one from each module), demonstrating your engagement with concepts posed by the lecturer/tutors and/or responding to other students. For assessment, select what you consider are your best discussion entries from the modules. These must be attached as appendices to your summary paper.
- Reflective episode of practice where you cared for a patient in the last year of life, and where an aspect/goal of care changed. Discuss. This piece should draw on your professional experience, personal reflection and extensive exploration of literature and unit resources. The episode of practice should be attached to your summary paper
• Summary paper of 800 words reflecting upon your personal and professional significant insights attained through undertaking CNA409, referencing to your discussion posts, interactions with fellow students and highlighting new knowledge gained through shared communication and researched academic literature. The summary should capture examples from your practice where relevant. The portfolio should be constructed as a single document with an introduction, the summary paper, reflective episode, four of your best discussion posts and a conclusion. The introduction and conclusion do not form part of your word count and should be brief. Documents that are uploaded into the assignment folder as single items will have marks deducted against the grading criteria.
Mortality is one of the undebatable paths of life that one must undergo. Modern trends have given rise to a different view of aging and terminal diseases, not as a stage of life but rather some illness. The new point of view has led to shift from the past end of life care practices to more realistic services. More attention is currently emphasized by the health care experts. Involvement with individuals at the last years of life is a universal duty which we all have to play a role. My experience as a physician with patients and their families convincing them to end the life-sustaining intercessions has taught me a lot. I have called relatives to the hospital and watched them grieve at the death of their beloved. Although this is not a light duty, what comforts me is that I play a role in the patients and their families at the most critical point of their lives. Mourning, sadness, confusion, grief and all the emotions that every individual adopt after death is announced at times get me caught in the trap. This has made me adopt different viewpoints about death and life each time a person dies.
Summary
Physicians have many discussions about the end of life to engage in some of which may be addressed through legislation. The development and funding of end of life in hospitals are highly regarded by the National End of Life Care Program. Health care homes are considered the best environments for the end of life care (Abhay, 2016). However, the public is still uncertain about the practices at the end of life care homes. The community knows little about how much care is given to their patients. The question about whether their needs are well met remains a controversy.
Experts at the end of life care departments often emphasize on the centrality of a personalized care (Butcher, 2010). The care homes staff may be knowledgeable of the primacy of personalized care to their clients but fail to sustain an individualized care. Sparing time to sit with the dying individuals and ensuring their comfort may not simply be met possibly because of the limited staff. Handling every patient individually could mean that some will stay unattended. Establishing informal relationships with the residents helps create a motivation and avoid withdrawal (Butcher, 2010). The building of personal relationships makes the staff more approachable which makes those on their way out more reassured.
The individuals living their last days need to maintain their dignity and respect (Duderstadt, 2013). Family, friends and the staffs in the health care facilities should help the patients sustain their self-respect by paying attention to their needs and their interests. This can be enhanced by helping maintain their cleanliness, assisting them in keeping their hair neat and offering other services such as pedicures, manicures and trimming their chin. Respect can also be shown by recognizing and acknowledging personal, ideological and cultural differences (Duderstadt, 2013). Care providers ought to put aside their own beliefs, faiths and ideological subscriptions in service of their clients.
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