Public Health - Emma Story - Lucy And Josh - Case Study Writing Assessment Answer

Public Health Assignment

Assignment Task

Introduction

Registered nurse is the person, who has appropriate knowledge, and practice to carry out efficient nursing services. The registered nurses are also licensed and registered under the proper nursing act. In Australia, the national competency standards have give special autonomy to the registered nurses, to make their own decision in practicing nursing. RN’s are responsible for working, while maintaining the quality and standard of care. There services also involve teaching, supervision, supporting families, child care and evaluation of the patient’s outcomes. The role of registered nurse in child and family care is to use the evidence based skills and knowledge (Stanhope, and Lancaster, 2015).

The role of registered nurse is very vital in providing care and support for the pregnant woman and their family. They possess the responsibility of providing complex care to the patient as well as to their family. The nursing care of the childbearing family is very critical and includes various principles and concepts related to holistic nursing care. The paper will look into the case study of Emma, who is six months pregnant and have a 4 years old daughter and 14 years old son. She is facing problems, with her two children, who are very fussy. Emma is very worried about her coming child and her daughter Lucy, who is difficult to control. The paper will discuss the role of registered nurse in providing care and support to Emma.

Responsibilities of a Registered Nurse

Registered Nurses are required to work according to the scope defined by the code of conduct and law of the state. The registered nurses work as Child and Family health nurses. The RN’s are specialized in child and family health nursing. This is also called as the extended level of nursing, where the nurses work with the model of primary healthcare with families and their children. This kind of nursing can be done in different kind of settings. The services by the registered nurses are offered in home, Community, healthcare facilities, family care centers etc. The nurses can also work as individual case managers. The nature of care is dependent on the patient and family needs (Burfeind, 2009).

Partnership working with the patient is the foundation for the family centered care of the pregnant woman. This partnership could be till the birth of the child or till the early years of the child after birth. The nursing practice in this scenario is based on the well-being and health of the mother and her family.

• It is very important to understand the social, cultural, spiritual and physical needs of the patient and her family.
• It is also important to completely understand the previous situation and challenges that the patient and her family have face.
• It is vital to collect all the evidences of the case in order to provide appropriate care and support.
• The nursing practice should be focused on building strength within family, as family plays the major role in any situation and identifying the potential physical and mental health issues is very important too (Stanhope, and Lancaster, 2015).

Considering the well-being and health needs of the family & children, helps in applying the proper nursing practice with appropriate knowledge and skills. In the family, every individual has different health needs. The registered nurse can play a significant role in providing the pregnant woman with parental support in collaboration with healthcare providers (Burfeind, 2009).

Primary Healthcare Approach

According to World Health organization, primary healthcare approach is very important and essential in the field of healthcare. It is based on socially acceptable, scientifically sound and practical technological skills and practices. This kind of approach should be accessible for every individual. In the case of Emma, she needs primary healthcare approach, as she is six months pregnant and facing depression and stress. Her condition could be critical for her unborn child too (Burfeind, 2009).

This kind of approach is based on social and overall well being of the community. Emma could be assisted where she works or she lives, so that she may understand that what is right for her health. The sound understanding of Primary Healthcare is very fundamental for the registered nurses, who are offering children and family care. Through this approach development and self determination of the family and children can be increased.

Health Promotion

According to the report of the World Health Organization, “health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health. Health promotion seeks to reach individuals, families and communities in places where daily decisions are made and/or where harmful behaviours are manifested with the hope of providing information, skills and services as well as creating an environment conducive for making informed choices. It contributes significantly to the reduction of inequities in health, to ensure human rights, and to build social capital. It ... acts on the determinants of health to create the greatest health gain for people” (World Health Organisation, 2009).

The health promotion in case of Emma can help her to improve her physical and mental health. The health well-being of Emma can be improved by using multiple approaches.

Working in Partnership with Patient and Family

Working in a partnership approach involves the registered nurses to work with patients and their families together in order to achieve a common goal. This approach is based on the concept of share decision making, sharing responsibility, mutual respect and mutual trust. The traditional role of the nurse changes with the partnership approach (Edwards, and Elwyn, 2009). The family partnership approach implies that role of parents is very important for the children in family and parents have biggest influence in the lives of children. The nurses should be able to understand the learning, and managing ability of the parent, when they deal with their children.

Emma could found it very beneficial while dealing with her two children. She could receive the support from the registered nurse in order to handle and understanding the needs of her children. She could also get assistance in learning the ‘correct approach’ to deal with her fussy children. For Lucy and Josh, she could also get assistance regarding their physical and cognitive development.

The approach of community health service (CHS) could also help Emma in providing her with proper skills for preparing Lucy for her school. The registered nurse can help Emma to support her in the development of Lucy. “In disadvantaged communities, children are exposed to multiple risk factors. When one of these factors is low levels of stimulation, social and cognitive development is at risk and may result in a child not being able to develop to his/her full educational potential” (Grace, Bowes, & Elcombe, 2014). For the preschool development, the response of parents and their sensitive response towards their children’s needs is important (Kaars, 2009). The parental involvement in the children development have been recognized in the last few decades. The parental involvement could be understood through different activities. The registered nurse can help Emma in developing skills for carrying out different activities. “These activities are carried out by the parents to assist their children at home and are requested by the teacher in order to share the responsibility for the education of their children with families” (Prinsloo, & Reid, 2015).

Emotions play a very important role in all the aspects of the life. If emotions are also used in the parental and healthcare approach, it can do wonders for the family. Emma could also help her children through this approach. “Better socio-emotional competencies in children are linked with positive expressiveness in parents as well as explaining to the child of the cause and consequences of negative emotions” (Havighurst, et al, 2010).

Development Millstone for Lucy

The development milestone is important to recognize the normal development of a child. The development milestones are of different kinds. First is the physical millstone, which includes the development of large and fine motor skills. The cognitive milestone refers to the child’s ability to learn, listen, think and solve problems. In the case of Lucy, she requires to develop her cognitive skills, where she could understand her own emotions and positively respond to the social interactions. For improving her cognitive skills, Emma can consult to proper healthcare professional, who can assist her child (Grace, Bowes, and Elcombe, 2014).

Development Milestone for Josh

The development milestone for Josh could be related to his physical, psychological and cognitive development. The role of registered nurse is very significant in this case. She could understand the situation from Emma and according to her report about her son; the nurse could refer her to a professional healthcare provider. The community healthcare service plays an important role in overall well-being and development of children in a family. The behavioral problems of children could be understood and proper approach could only be decided according to that only (Grace, Bowes, and Elcombe, 2014).

Family Centered Care

Family centered care is the best approach for Emma. She requires proper support and assistance to handle her pregnancy and her two children in absence of her husband. The preparation classes, interviews and assistance are offered for the pregnant mothers and help their families to get involved in family care. This kind of approach involves various approaches to achieve a common goal of the family.

• Respect: Mutual respect and is the most important element of the family centered approach. Parents should have respect towards their children, and children should learn to respect the emotions and physical condition of their parents. Pregnancy should be an healthy life event for the complete family. All family members and care givers should be involved in the process. Emma can take the support of her partner’s parents in order to handle her two children and they can also be involved in the overall process. Attitude filled with respect towards every member of the family will support pregnant woman. “It is one of the most significant developmental stages of life – emotionally and socially” (Jiminez, Klein, Hivon, & Mason, 2010).
• Knowledge: The woman should be able to take the wise decisions. The pregnant woman should be educated about her condition, her pregnancy, and other aspects. The role of registered nurse is very vital in this approach. She can help Emma to make her understand about her physical conditions. The nurse can help Emma, to support her with physical and mental assistance. The nurse should make the efforts based on the case study of the patient (Bellin, et al, 2011).
• Openness: Open communication between patient and healthcare provider is very important. The registered nurse can help Emma to talk about her fears and anxieties openly. Keeping the confidentiality is important in this case. There should be circle of trust and openness among the caregivers, patient and family (Bellin, et al, 2011).

Emma can talk to her children and other family members about her condition. She can make them understand her feeling and beliefs. The open communication of Emma with her son Josh could be very beneficial in this case. As he is in the age, where he could understand the problems of his mother and can support her mother in taking care of his younger sister Lucy.

• Confidence: Confidence building can be done by the nurses and the healthcare providers. Boosting the confidence in the pregnant woman, can help her cop with family and pregnancy problems. For the quality family centered approach, imbuing confidence in woman and her family is very important (Stanhope, and Lancaster, 2015).

Importance of Healthy Communication

For a pregnant woman, support and love from her family, partner and caregivers is very important. The beliefs, values and views of the woman should be respected and accepted by the family and healthcare providers, to provide healthy environment. Various communication and interview sessions can be arranged by the registered nurses for the mental and physical well-being of a pregnant woman.

• Emma could be called to attend antenatal classes. This will prepare her for her delivery and new child.
• Emma should be offered evidence based information and support regarding her pregnancy.
• The nurse should inform Emma about the care service, dietary information and medication if required.
• The improved communication between the patient and the healthcare provider is very beneficial. The patient can talk about her fears and other problems. With effective communication nurses and healthcare professional can help the patient to improve her mental health and release her stress (Dutta, 2007).

A woman during pregnancy goes through different mental situations. A woman like Emma, who already has two more children, is under high stress. The health improvement communication approach and client interviews can help her to cop-up with her mental stress (Dutta, 2007). The nurse can also help her in getting appointment with child psychologists and children healthcare providers for the cognitive and psychological development of her children. Nurse can also talk to Emma’s partner’s family, to give her emotional support. Family centered approach in Australia is developed for such families, who are unable to improve their health and could not make balance with social conditions.

Working with patient and her family, helps the healthcare providers to improve parental mental health. The woman, who lives under stress during her pregnancy, may have severed outcomes on the new born. Modern practices and principles of sound care for the pregnant women are highly promoted in Australia. The family centered approach is also important for hard to reach families. The families living in the rural areas often do not receive proper healthcare facilities (Dutta, 2007). The pregnant women in the rural areas do not receive proper assistance and support during the pregnancy period. Such conditions results in harmful health effect on mother and child. The family centered approach can help such women and their families to be prepared for a new child. Health care professionals and registered nurses play the most important role in providing better mental and physical health to families.

Conclusion

The paper reviews the case study of a six months pregnant woman Emma. Emma has two more children, one girl of 4 years and one boy of 14 years. Her children are very energetic and hard to control. Her son Josh is facing problem in fitting at new school. And her four years old daughter Lucy is also out of control. Emma is preparing her daughter for school. According to the case study, role of registered nurse could be very essential in the case of Emma. The role of registered nurse is to provide quality care, support, assistance and team management.

Registered nurses are those, who have proper skills and knowledge for providing the quality care to the patients. The registered nurses have varied responsibilities related to providing care. Her responsibilities include researching the case study, preparing care plan, administering medication, supporting patient and families, monitoring health of patient and educating individuals and their families about effective healthcare.

The role of registered nurse changes from traditional care giver role to modern supporting role. She can assist the patients by informing them about their health and helping them to improve their condition.