Seminar 2 : Care Vs Caring + Empathy
How would you describe the difference between care and caring?
I would describe care as, the medical aspect of it, such as monitoring levels and the work aspect of it, whereas caring involves empathy and understanding for the individual beyond their need for medical care. Caring allows you to understand and find compassion for each of your patients, it is not just seeing them as a bed number but as a real person, whom you are seeing on either the best of worst days of their lives. Empathy creates good patient care, and help ensure you’re making them as comfortable as possible. This includes remembering to take your time on each patient, this could be either helping them shower/be clean, getting them water, checking to make sure they don’t need changing etc, and extending it beyond the medical component.
What Brings you Joy? Reflection
- Going to the gym, or going on a walk outside with a good podcast.
- my family and friends
- Being at home, in bed surrounded by my favorite things
- My puppy cuddling me in the morning
- – getting to spend time alone, especially being physically active, helps me set my day up for suscess and brings me peace of mind, especially getting uninterrupted personal time to be alone with myself and not have other worries. Helps with stress reduction and overall healthy body. I am not myself if I don’t get the time to just focus on myself.
- surrounding myself with friends and family who I know love me and brings me comfort, confiding in my mom about all my stresses. I find comfort in my identity knowing I am a good friend and my family is proud of me and my accomplishments. Knowing I am a good girlfriend and my boyfriend can also confide in me and we both relax when we are together
- I find joy spending time in my own space and being able to relax. Like physical activity it is important that I decompress and allow myself to spend time alone, so that I can be a better friend, daughter and partner.
- My dog brings me a lot of joy, as he loves me very much. I have to be responsible for him, and sometimes place his needs above mine. This helps me stay honest and responsible. I feel unconditional love when he spends time with me.
Seminar 6: Care Plan
Patient- Emily Carter (Altered Sleep Pattern)
Age- 35yrs
History of Anxiety managed with therapy)
Main concerns: Sleep and Anxiety, with frequent migraines.
Assessments: polysomnography ( sleep study) and gather more information on anxiety with questionnaire. I would also ask her ways she has learned to cope with her anxiety, to de-stress.
Interventions: Aim to reduce caffeine intake, especially past noon, promote sleep-hygiene (education), encourage to find time to exercise during the day like she used to. Understand why the children are constantly waking up from nightmares, that primary cause.
Education: proper sleep hygiene, ( teach sleep-wake cycles) and explain importance of her environmental factors to reduce stress. Explain why her stress levels are causing an increase in sleep disturbance and increased anxiety.
Multidisciplinary factors: I would recommend Emily seeing a sleep therapist and a therapist to navigate stress with, talk to primary physician about possibility of anxiety- reducing medications’, Paediatrician- help navigate children’s nightmares to reduce frequent wake periods, to help understand why they are having troubles with sleep.
Understanding
This case helps understand that multiple conditions can impact a patient, rather than just one collective problem. Many of Emilys problems were connected from each other, not just individual. That can help us as future nurses understand multi factors that go into diagnosing patients. We have to think critically about what component needs to be altered to create positive outcomes.
Seminar 8: Asynchronous Nature Walk
I took this picture on a walk on the trails by the campus. The walk was beautiful and full of colourful leaves but this photo stood out to me as it brings to question wonder and resilience, characteristics I want to have continuing through nursing school.
Words that come to mind when I think about this image are:
- History, I think about what happened to this car that made this forest its new home, and the things its seen over the years its sat here. I wonder who it belonged to and there is some kind of peace in that because I’m sure that whoever placed it here believed it would be forgotten about, but rather placed now where people see it daily. I like to think that to impliment into nursing is that everyone has a history that we need to learn in order to understand their story, especially as a reminder to some they are never going to be forgotten.
- Resilience, the forest continues to flourish regardless of the broken down vehicle in the way, it did not stop growing while something is in its way. Like in school we will have our ups and down, things might get in the way, but its good to push through no matter what. Not letting anything disrupt our growth.
- Calmness & Tranquility, everything is so calm in the forest. The trees move with the wind and the leaves are falling. I am reminded to slow down in life, and remember that these trees took 100s of years to grow as tall as they are. It reminds me in practice to slow down a little, not everything is a race. It will help ensure in the hospital that I prevent myself from making mistakes.
- Unexpected, when I went on this walk I wasn’t expecting to find a deserted car on the walk, but it was honestly so cool and unexpected in the best way. Kind of how in life sometimes the most unexpected things are some of the experiences that shape us.
- Comfort in Solitude, sometimes long walks alone help me remember that I love spending time enjoying my own presence, as it helps me regroup and reconnect with my experiences, thought and emotions. Taking time alone helps me understand myself better, making me a better person and a will help ensure by taking care of myself I can take care of my patients.
We can integrate spiritual care into nursing as a way to understand and connect with ourselves, allowing us to be better people and professionals. By understanding our own personal values and belief’s we will better understand those of our patients. Everyone has something they belive in and one of our jobs as a nurse and support is to help them through the hardest times, and encouraging them to seek comfort in their beliefs. Connecting with ourselves and others will allow us to better provide holistic care, beyond just medical care.
Week 9: Communication Feedback Activity
Scenario 2- Samantha Killins
- Nursing Supervisor: As the nurse supervising this student, I would question if there was something bigger reflecting why the student was hesitant/ shy to participate such as them having a lack of confidence in their ability or anxiety surrounding tasks. I would understand what it is like to be a student and that it takes time to build confidence as a nursing professional. It can be easily recognized that it is anxiety inducing to preform around peers in these situations, especially such those as rounds or fear of being wrong.
- Further Assessment: To further assess the situation with the student, I would consider speaking with the student in a quiet and private area to not make them feel worse or targeted to discuss how they are feeling within their group. Opening a line of communication with them will be effective in ensuring that all factors I can do are met. I would discuss the importance of the student having the capacity to preform tasks without having to be asked as it will create good habits for them into their careers and overtime accomplishing these task will build their confidence and skill abilities. I would also communicate with them if there is anything I can do to help them consolidate their learning such as positive feedback, aid preforming tasks they may want to practice in, and other possible ways that may help the students integrate into the hospital. I would also take the time to ask my peers and others who have observed this student wither or not they share similar concerns that I do, as it is possible that although they may have trouble within a larger group setting, they may have strong bedside demeanour, as it is important to understand and observe everything prior to accessing further actions . After a couple rotations/ shifts implementing some of these strategies as well as giving the student time to adapt, they may experience a greater confidence abilities.
- Nursing Students Perspective: In the position of the student I may not always realize I am not participating as much as I should be. Especially as a new student it may be incredibly anxiety producing to seek up during rotation, or potentially be wrong/ make a mistake within care. I will take the feedback that my supervisor provided well, and accept their offer to help with skills to boost my confidence in the hospital. I would also step outside of my comfort zone to find ways to complete task without being asked, as well ask more questions on things I want to improve on. Understanding that my supervisor is not intending to single me out but to help me improve my ability as a nursing professional. I may also find it helpful at the end of each shift, ask my supervisor if there are things/ skills I should improve on and shift feedback to improve each time I enter into shift.
Week 10: Diabetes Management/ Education Project
Welcome! Our group offers support for those who have just been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes or who are looking for support with navigating life as someone with Type 1 Diabetes or as a family member/ spouse. We will provide a brief overview of the two distinguished types, along with risks, signs, symptoms, additional resources, and other information. Thank you for joining us. We know this can be difficult to navigate. We welcome anyone here to learn about Diabetes! Thank you.
Type 1 Diabetes: An auto-immune destruction of insulin-producing cells that cause a deficiency (lack) of insulin. Type 1 occurs in younger children and is not due to lifestyle factors.
Type 2 Diabetes happens when your blood glucose (sugar) is too high, and the body cannot produce enough insulin to give your cells energy. It is seen in more older people, and those who are overweight are more prone.
Risk Factors:
Type 1: Having a parent or other family member increases your chances of inheriting Diabetes. If you are younger, your chances of developing Type 1 Diabetes increase.
Type 2: Being overweight or obese, having non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, ages 45+, African American, Latino, Hispanic ethnicity and living a relatively sedentary lifestyle. Also, smoking cigarettes and having high blood pressure can increase your risk for Type 2 diabetes.
Signs and Symptoms:
Appear in Both Types:
- Frequent urination
- Thirsty
- Blurred Vission
- Numbness in hands and feet
- Fatigue
- Slow to heal wounds
- Increased number of infections
Type 1:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Severe Stomach Pains
Type 2:
Symptoms can appear much later than when they begin
- unintentional weight loss or weight gain
Contact your Primary Health Care provider to screen for Diabetes if you are over the age of 45, are overweight with an inactive lifestyle, or begin to see signs of the reassuring symptoms.
Diagnosis and Treatment:
- Performing a fasted glucose test (FPG) requires 8 hours of no food
- Blood sugar measured over 2-3 months (A1C)
- Oral sugar (glucose), after 8 hours fast
Shoppers DrugMart offers Average Blood Sugar (HbA1c) tests, as well as offered
https://www.shoppersdrugmart.ca/en/health-and-wellness/pharmacy-services/on-site-testing?province=ON
To Treat Type 1 and 2 Diabetes:
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle and healthy weight.
- Type 1 is treated with insulin treatments and is not reversible. Administration can be with an insulin pump or injections.
- Type 2 is treated with changes in lifestyle or with insulin. Consult a dietitian to help improve nutrition.
Prevention Stratagies:
By incorporating healthy lifestyle changes, such as being active and eating a nutrient-dense diet, patients can reduce their risk for Diabetes. Also;
- Not smoking tobacco products
- Limiting alcohol
- Proper sleep hygiene
- Managing healthy blood pressure
Additional Resources:
Health Canada: Further resources into how to manage and live with Diabetes, as well as additional treatment options.
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/chronic-diseases/diabetes.html
Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC): This centre offers a Diabetes Care Clinic, local support for diagnosis, help with understanding and navigating Diabetes, and education for patients and family members. It also contains reference forms for proper diagnosis and treatment plans.
Contact: PRHC Diabetes Care Clinic, (705) 876 5838
https://www.prhc.on.ca/healthcare-services/diabetes/
Peterborough Family Health Team: Workshop on Blood Sugar to help reduce the risk for Diabetes: Register for a two-hour workshop on managing or reducing the risk for Diabetes and helping with nutrition and physical activity.
https://www.peterboroughfht.com/programs-and-workshops/blood-sugar-basics-workshop