Post a brief description of the situation you experienced and explain how incorporating or not incorporating patient preferences and values impacted the outcome of their treatment plan. Be specific and provide examples. Then, explain how including patient preferences and values might impact the trajectory of the situation and how these were reflected in the treatment plan. Finally, explain the value of the patient decision aid you selected and how it might contribute to effective decision making, both in general and in the experience you described. Describe how you might use this decision aid inventory in your professional practice or personal life. Discussion Post Patient Preference Essay Paper
Discussion Post: Patient Preference
As a practicing nurse, I encounter patients of various complications; some with acute diseases and some with chronic ones, and sometimes some with both but recurring illnesses. My main role in handling the patients is to care for them by providing the best medical services possible. Nurses must act in the patient’s best interest in providing healthcare services and at the same time use evidence-based practices to ensure the illness is accurately handled (Grinspun et al., 2018).
I recently had the pleasure of managing the care of a 35-year-old woman whose religious belief is the Islamic faith. The patient had been diagnosed with breast cancer and from her medical history, she had tried various treatment options but none had been able to manage and suppress the growth of the cancerous tumor. By the time she had been referred to our healthcare facility, the patient had opted for surgical removal of the breast, a process that would involve mastectomy with surgical reconstruction of the breast with a flap using abdominal tissues for a donor site, along with that came a foley catheter to help drain urine and periodic monitoring of the flap and surgery site to rule out complications. The patient had chosen this option from the following treatment options that had been presented to her by her physician: “Have surgery to remove the breast (mastectomy). Have surgery to remove just the cancer from the breast (breast-conserving surgery) followed by radiation treatments.” (The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. 2019).
During my first meeting with the patient, I explained the procedure in depth and she was pleased with the information. However, she requested to meet her surgeon along with the hospital’s physician-in-charge. I was also present during this meeting and the patient stated that as per her Islamic belief, she cannot allow a non-Muslim female or male nurse to be her main care giver. She was requesting for a female Muslim nurse instead of me. Although the surgeon and physician-in-charge were hesitant, I understood the patient’s concern and handed over the duties to my colleague who matched the patient’s description. The surgery was successful and the patient is currently in the recovery process under the care of the female nurse. Discussion Post Patient Preference Essay Paper
ORDER NOW A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
As a nurse, I believe in granting patients their wishes during treatment. In the case of the cancer patient, changing nurses enabled the procedure to be performed smoothly without unnecessary stress especially on male-female patient-nurse care (coupled with religious differences). The patient was of the Islamic faith and from her description, it is a taboo for a female to expose her body (not necessarily private parts) to the other people especially of other religion other than Islam. If such happens, dire consequences may follow, including divorce and eternal punishment by Allah in the after-life. In such cases, adhering to the patient’s needs is paramount and vital for upholding the patient’s social life and managing the illness.
There is a close connection between Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) and Shared Decision Making (SDM). According to Kirkscey (2018), Evidence-based medicine (EBM) and shared decision making (SDM) are both essential to quality health care, yet the interdependence between these 2 approaches is not generally appreciated. Evidence-based medicine should begin and end with the patient: after finding and appraising the evidence and integrating its inferences with their expertise, clinicians attempt a decision that reflects their patient’s values and circumstances. Healthcare practitioners should strive to use both, at the right time, when handling patients.
References
Grinspun, D., Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2018). Advancing Optimal Care with Robust Clinical Practice Guidelines. Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice.
Kirkscey, R. (2018). Bioethical communication: shared decision-making and relational empathy. Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 11(3), 164-174. https://doi.org/10.1080/17538068.2018.1447757
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. (2019). Patient decision aids. Retrieved from https://decisionaid.ohri.
Discussion Post Patient Preference Essay Paper