The mission of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) is to build healthy communities by supporting qualified health care providers dedicated to working in areas of the United States with limited access to care. With this mission, we know that patients often need health care providers to better understand them as a whole. This is particularly important among underserved populations receiving care. Please tell us what does patient centered care mean to you and provide an example.
Essays should be limited to 2,500 characters or less in Times New Roman 12 font in Microsoft word document.
National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Essay
Patient-Centered Care
Patient-centered care involved providing responsive and respectful care to patients while integrating the patient’s preferences, values, and needs in the treatment plan. This means that patients are actively involved in their care and thus the specific health needs of the patients determine the health care decisions. The emotional, spiritual, mental, social, and financial aspects are also considered when treating patients. Patient-centered care aims to empower patients to be actively involved in their care (Fix et al., 2018). This, therefore, requires all healthcare providers to address patient needs for individual patients and develop good communication skills to effectively address the emotional, spiritual, and mental needs of the patient. These aspects need good communication skills. In patient-centered care, healthcare providers are patient advocates and therefore focus on not only providing effective care but also ensuring patient satisfaction. National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Essay
BUY A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
During patient-centered care, care is delivered within a comfortable and healing atmosphere that is peaceful and supportive. For example, the hospital environment has a healing aura characterized by healing color schemes, pet therapy programs, relaxing and soothing music, and healing gardens. The healthcare providers are also very supportive and emphatic and already ready to listen and assist patients to ensure an increased level of satisfaction Santana et al., 2018). Social support is also integral in, patient-centered care. Therefore, friends and families of patients should be integrated into patient care to promote the healing process of the patient. Friends and family can support the patient physically, emotionally, and financially. They can also assist the patient to understand instructions from healthcare providers and the treatment regimen and make valid post-care inquiries.
An example of patient-centered care among inpatients is doing away with strict visiting hours and involving the patient and family members (as per the patient and not necessarily blood relations) during clinical rounding and shift change to ensure they are part of the care team, taking part in discussions about the patient and care decisions. The infrastructure in hospitals providing patient-centered care encourages family collaboration by providing a home-like atmosphere that meets patient needs, as well as the needs of the family members.
Another example of patient-centered care is where the care puts more emphasis on the problem of the patient and not their diagnosis. Patients develop personal and trusted relationships with their healthcare providers. Healthcare providers are empathic and compassionate towards patients and focus on providing holistic care (Santana et al., 2018). Healthcare providers view the needs of the patient as a whole and provide services or refer patients to social workers, mental health providers, financial counselors, peer support groups, religious leaders, and daily living assistance. This ensures that the holistic needs of patients are addressed.
References
Fix, G. M., VanDeusen Lukas, C., Bolton, R. E., Hill, J. N., Mueller, N., LaVela, S. L., & Bokhour, B. G. (2018). Patient-centered care is a way of doing things: How healthcare employees conceptualize patient-centered care. Health expectations: an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 21(1), 300–307. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12615.
Santana, M. J., Manalili, K., Jolley, R. J., Zelinsky, S., Quan, H., & Lu, M. (2018). How to practice person-centered care: A conceptual framework. Health expectations: an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 21(2), 429–440. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12640.
National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Essay