This paper deals with the attitude and experience of healthcare workers at a nursing home, giving palliative care to old age peoples.
The work of the healthcare assistant is to help healthcare professionals while taking care of the patients. Their job is to assisting qualified professionals in caring of the patients those are in treatment at hospital or home. Their job is too much variable, as the healthcare professionals who provide the services range from doctors to nurse and from midwives to radiologists (Blais, 2015). Their job may overlap with the work of a nurse but they are not allowed to administer or perform nursing procedure.
The main job of the healthcare assistant is to take care of the old age peoples (Hussein & Bolden, 2016). From this they can learn about:
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
A large number of clients looking for a medicinal services support are for the most part not in the perfect perspective. Furthermore, if distinctive client benefit channels offer an alternate affair, it makes them considerably more puzzled and furthermore harms the patient (De Vliegher, 2016).
Medicinal services frameworks must find a way to augment tolerant engagement and maintenance at each phase of client communication some time recently, amid and after the patient’s visit to the doctor’s facility (Zaccagnini & White, 2015).
It is basic for social insurance suppliers to comprehend the whole client travel. They should accumulate data from every client touch-point and make a client collaboration vault, so that the specialists or the reps approach every one of the information at whatever point they get the chance to talk with the client. By following and survey the voyage of the clients, an association can even envision their next demand (Alligood, 2014).
A lot of my work, and the work of my teammates and associates, stay concentrated on medicinal services, changes in the private division, and private coordinated efforts. For supporting suppliers and patients in their endeavors to get the chance to better care we need to improve our system. As I have noticed, the issue of value is not simply or for the most parts an issue of value estimation (Yagos, Olok & Ovuga, 2017). Regardless of the difficulties, numerous doctors and healthcare services associations are gaining their crucial expert sense of duty regarding better care and better health for their patients, and also advance in arrangement changes for health care. But, without further steps for supporting better care at the patient level, advance on both quality change and quality estimation will be moderate (Mowat, & Parsons, 2016).
Conclusion
So it can be concluded that the job of a healthcare worker is too much variable. They used to perform easy medicinal task for example, taking blood and pricking needles into veins. Health care assistants are additionally ready to assist during a crisis situation (De Vliegher, 2016). When the patient dies, the healthcare assistants are in charge of washing and setting up the body before the visit of relatives and transportation to the funeral home. From this they can learn about observation, monitoring, communicating with patients and promoting positive health to the patients
In course of my appointment as a healthcare assistant in a nursing home setting to provide care for the older patients I essentially had to hone my personal skills and attributes that added to the generation of holistic developments and positive outcomes. Measurement and recording of the personal skills in this respect is considered crucial to imply optimal growth and steer positive changes that might aid in treating the patients in a positive and potential manner. Evaluating my personal skills, I am in a position to acknowledge the necessary attributes that are essential to drive positive changes in relation to patient care and handling. In this context, I would like to mention about the skills that I posses and have nurtured over time to imply positive health outcome in the patients through dynamic changes in the professional discourse. Among the personal skills that I have, the foremost is that of the good communication skills and listening skills that further help in making constructive interaction with the patient. They feel comfortable to share their views, concerns and opinions with me and freely discuss other non-health related issues to reach onto a definite conclusion and reliving their burden that might adversely affect their health outcomes. From my personal experience, I have seen that both communication skills as well as listening skills help in easing out the relationship with the patients through suitable behavioral outcomes and attitudes. Positivity is encouraged through such interactions that make it furthermore easier for the professional in charge to proceed with the treatment and care modalities accordingly. Alongside these virtues, the possession of empathy, judgment and decision making skills are also crucial to pave the way for positive developments. Active listening and empathy make for a perfect combination in tackling the mentally ill patients as they feel recognized and feel important on knowing that somebody is actually paying heed to their thoughts rather than simply refuting them. In other instances, I also benefited from possessing the skills of knowing the techniques and procedures to control and prevent the spread of infection in a hospital setting. Further skills of working in coalition with others following an interdisciplinary approach apart from working independently are considered crucial for working in the healthcare industry. Independent initiative towards performing a job is also equally important to deal with specific circumstances of the patient. I try to inculcate all these virtues in my professional experience to obtain better outcomes.
Learning goals with respect to working in aged care placement for a healthcare assistant include the following:
Achievement of the learning goals was done by means of detailed structuring of the contingency plans that included definite strategies and policies to be implemented with the motive of enhancing the quality of life for the aged patients. In my professional discourse I tried to provide both physical care and emotional support by monitoring their changes with respect to physical and mental health. Recording of increased discomfort in addition to loss of mobility or declining sight or auditory perception, and signs of depression was done on a timely manner to track the changes in their health status. Additional assistance for personal and household activities that are considered as part of routine daily tasks such as that washing, eating, dressing, taking medication and others were resorted to maintain patient safety and hygiene.
The healthcare support industry is shrouded with a plethora of challenges and opportunities. The challenges include the presence of the intercultural and varied ethnicity in the national population that in turn culminate in emanation of varied diseases and disorders within the specific community that pose health related barriers. However, there remain ample opportunity to intervene the situation with proper resources with the likeness of education and health services targeted for the specific population. Prevention of community disorders of both communicable and non-communicable types in addition to social issues like that of alcoholism and addiction may be further prevented within the community setting through application of proper resources and interventions.
The significance of legislations, policies and procedures undertaken in course of implementation and smooth operation in the context of the Healthcare Support Industry is crucial to harbor positive benefits and outcomes. The integration and assimilation of various sectors to support for the provision of suitable facilities and services for the sake of treating the patients with rehabilitative, curative, preventive and palliative care approach is the primary motive of the healthcare industry. The Healthcare Assistants are entrusted with specific responsibilities and are entitled to work under the supervision of various healthcare professionals within the range of hospital or community settings. The jobs of such healthcare personnel are often affixed the identities of support worker, nursing assistants and nursing auxiliaries. The demanding and challenging responsibilities in relation to the job profile are maintained through formulation and regulation of definite legislation. Effects with respect to decisions on policy as agreed upon by the Government are guided through drafting of the legislations. The differences between bill and law are driven by the procedures adopted by the various Government Departments through extensive consultations and interactions. Bills are referred to as legal documents that comprise of proposals for legislations that are passed by the both houses of Oireachtas in the domicile of Ireland while subsequent sign of the President is required for the bill to be granted as the law (health.gov.ie, 2017).
The profession of the healthcare assistants is to abide by certain guidelines and regulation in order to proceed with their fundamental duties of care for the patients as an adjunct facility rendering quality care services to the distressed individuals. Paid or unpaid experience concerning the health and social care, a minimum qualification in healthcare alongside basic proficiency in Mathematics and English or an apprenticeship are desirable to get a job in the field pertaining to healthcare assistant. A check of background done with respect to the Disclosure and Barring Service is also desirable to carry out or perform the role of healthcare assistant. In this regard, various industrial implications with respect to issues that govern industry relations, work health and safety, anti discrimination and workers compensation have been considered vital to safeguard the interests of the employees. Employees working in the healthcare industry are protected under the Employment Rights Act, 1996 that confers considerable protection against afflicting any harm due to the undertaking of reasonable actions under the pretext of health and safety grounds. The employees including the healthcare professionals are guarded against any imminent harm, attack or ill effect that might have occurred because of their proceedings as health and safety care representatives. They must never be denied promotion or must not be dismissed unfairly because of their job performance and liabilities under specific conditions (hse.gov.uk, 2017). However, the healthcare assistants have been agreed upon of working under the supervision of the nurses through consensus reached with respect to conduct of specific mode of care for the concerned patient. Further insights have been provided to appreciate equal opportunity and employment, allaying the possibility of discrimination, bullying, harassment and violence. Work health and safety is further ensured through policies of workers compensation, superannuation and other directives that are amended and updated from time to time to match up with the demands and other necessities.
A pivotal concept in healthcare is applicable to the health and safety management whereby all parties involved encompassing both the employers as well as the employees will be required to maintain the efficacy of the system and regulations under progress. The Act passed on the year 2005 is vital in this regard that emphasizes on maintaining the health, safety and welfare at work for the sake of preventing ill health conditions ad workplace injuries. The procedure for the safety of the employees are maintained further in this context by securing and managing the paraphernalia associated with the prevalent working condition. Further, in this context, risk assessment has been identified as crucial component of the process of safeguarding and protecting the rights of the individuals under consideration. The risk management process is found to be a conglomeration of several other sub steps. The initial process that make up the risk management includes identification of the type of hazards that might potentially harm the workplace environment and eventually affect the individuals. Hazards may be of different types depending upon the origin. They may be of physical, chemical, biological or anthropogenic types. In the next step, risk assessment is carried out to estimate the likely outcome, identify the vulnerable population, the frequency and effect of such exposures to potential hazards. The existing control measures that are already available are also reviewed under this step. In the final step implementation of effective control measures are imperative to steer the safe management of the patients through novel and effective approaches and treatment modalities. Mitigation of the risks is thus brought about by such procedures (www.hsa.ie, 2017). Thus, the importance of legislations in the healthcare industry is of paramount significance to safeguard the health of both the employees as well as the healthcare service recipients, the patients.
Time management is a vital criterion in a clinical setting where virtually every minutes or seconds matter. In this connection, the importance if meeting deadlines is considered crucial to carry out an assigned task within the stipulated timeframe. The clients are thus ensured utmost safety and efficacy subjected to fulfillment of the deadline. Optimal outcomes and enhanced quality of life for the patients are implied through this deadline by further accounting for improving the employee morale, enhanced employee skill set and increasing the productivity of the concerned workforce. Pertinent to the healthcare professions, abiding by the deadline is considered crucial for the missing of deadlines may lead to criminal prosecution because of possible negligence to duty that might severely thwart the patient condition (Calheiros & Buyya, 2014). In my professional pursuit, I was once assigned the duty of administering the prescribed medications on the basis of the medication chart suggested by the physician. Non-adherence to such professionalism had potential threats for the aged patient who was suffering from sore throat and high fever. Therefore, to ensure conformance to the deadline provided I set alarms to get reminders about the time of administering medications to the patient and thus avoided any adverse consequence.
In order to perform effective navigation in workplace alongside aiding in the increase of productivity, interpersonal skills are considered as important. These are referred to as life skills that are used in everyday lives and have the potency to enable he interaction and communication with other people both individually as well as in groups. They are desirable traits in the professional front as avenues that foster effective communication, expansion of opportunities and increased relatedness for the practitioner besides showing increased social awareness that increases credibility and trustworthiness through transparency (Cronin, 2014). I utilized this skill in my work placement to bring forth the best possible resolution for a patient who was facing issues related to mental health. I noted down the behavioral responses, gestures and thoughts articulated by the dementia affected elderly patient to seek guidance and prudent advice from the professionals relevant to the specific domain. I extensively collaborated with other practitioners such as that of a psychiatrist, counselor and mental health nurse by informing them about the proceedings relevant to the patient to steer optimal outputs. Thus, I was successful in using my interpersonal skills to make informed decision through collaborative approach for suggesting the most suitable solution meant for effectively addressing the patient condition.
In the healthcare context, possession of sound and succinct knowledge with respect to technological skills is a necessity to deftly handle the patient situation. Healthcare efficiency, safety, quality and cost have undergone a considerable change in the past few decades, courtesy of the technological advancements made in this genre. The healthcare professionals have also been well equipped and upgraded from time to time about the potential uses of these utility devices. Thus, in conjunction with the theoretical knowledge it is also vital to possess the technological knowledge about a particular topic to steer positive changes especially in the healthcare context (Walston, Bennett & Al-Harbi, 2014). An instance from my personal experience may be elucidated to provide a deeper probe into the matter. My advanced training course on cardiopulmonary emergency services provided me with the desired training that enabled me to combat an emergency situation where an elderly patient was running out of breath and exhibiting symptoms of dyspnoea following his diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). With the help of my knowledge from training days, I promptly resorted to switching on the oxygen tube to provide oxygen therapy for improving the delivery of oxygen to tissues. On assessing the urgency, I placed the face mask and placed the oxygen tube on the patent’s trachea that finally relived his breathlessness and improved his condition.
The Health Information and Quality Authority works strictly under the regulation of certain structured guidelines by providing guidelines with respect to various issues such as that of statement of purpose, written policies and procedures, individualized assessment and personal plan, healthcare, positive behavioral support, protection, people’s rights, communication, visit, personal possessions among others (fedvol.ie, 2017). In my professional practice I abided by these guidelines and a proof of my compliance may be presented where I emphasized on the choices of the elderly patient who chose to taking diet based on his Hispanic background and shunned any other food that do not aligned to his cultural lineage. Thus, I made effort to provide him with Hispanic food only thereby working in compliance with the people’s rights dictum.
The duty as a healthcare worker and specifically as a healthcare assistant it is vital for the concerned professional to follow and comply with the healthcare guidelines that might steer in performing in accordance with the acceptable norms and practices. As a healthcare assistant, I got the opportunity of serving the elderly patients admitted in wards in a nursing home setting. This exposure offered me with plethora of opportunities to gain insight and valuable information relevant to the geriatric patients. I tried to help these patients by assisting them with their daily activities. I particularly helped them out to perform the daily chores. Assistance was provided in performing activities like that of feeding, providing shower or bathe, offering medications and helping in ambulatory movements. I tried my level best to persuade the patients to conform to these activities independently and requiring as little intervention as possible. I encouraged them to undertake their activities as self reliantly as practicable so that they do not face any issue after discharge from the nursing home. The diverse and numerous case studies were exposed to me and I came to know about the commonest of the geriatric problems related to forgetfulness such as that of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, movement related disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as that of Parkinsonism and others. Other pathological conditions such as that of urinary catheter infections and other nosocomial infections were also made aware through practical experience following exposure to the older patients. Thus, a continuous professional development was indicated through this work placement. However, alongside the positive aspects of working in such placements, I also encountered certain notable difficulties and challenges in dealing with the elderly patients in the geriatric wards. The most prominent of such challenges was difficulty in interacting with the aged patient who could not express their concerns and issues with complete clarity because of their age factors. The frequent changes in behavior or mood swings also posed hindrance to the performance of the work of the healthcare assistant. Moreover, the end of life care through palliative infrastructure was also provided by means of my work experience. I tried to collaborate and inform my immediate seniors about every move I took in caring for the elderly patient thus making it easier to account for holistic treatment modalities that might provide effective resolution. Thus amidst the positive directions of gaining ample knowledge and practical experience of the problems and activities of the geriatric population, the negative aspects also created barriers in fulfilling the desirable duties to its optimal level.
Participation and progress during work experience
We the health care workers had to provide health care and emotional support to older peoples who need assistance with daily tasks. We are there to provide these services in private homes, hospitals and nursing home. We used to assist our seniors, they may be a doctor or nurse or any other specialist (Rowe, Fulmer, & Fried, 2016). This includes helping elderly individuals with customary exercises, for example, dressing, washing, eating, taking prescription, keeping up a sheltered and clean condition for the customer, and urging them to draw in with their group where conceivable.
In addition we had to help them with individual and family activities. Also we had to maintain the patients for changes in physical and emotional well-being, which may include: expanded inconvenience, loss of versatility, a decrease in hearing or sight, or indications of sadness (Phelan, & McCormack, 2016).
There are lots of various learning openings accessible in social insurance – formal classroom instructing, viable exhibitions and on the web and separation learning programs, for instance. Be that as it may, building up our new learning and abilities require not really include taking a formal instruction course. We can, for example; gain from our patients/customers by asking how they feel they advantage (or don’t profit) from the care we and the group give them address our director about masterminding to work intently for some time with an accomplished partner who can enable we to build up our practice in a particular range (Nelson, & Staggers, 2017).
Future plans for health assistant
Being a health assistant I am quite happy but not fully satisfied as I had to work harder for the caring of the old age patients. I had to monitoring them throughout the day. So I want to shift my job from healthcare assistant to physical therapist, radiologic technician, laboratory technician or healthcare administrator.
References
Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theorists and their work. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Blais, K. (2015). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives. Pearson.
Calheiros, R. N., & Buyya, R. (2014). Meeting deadlines of scientific workflows in public clouds with tasks replication. IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, 25(7), 1787-1796.
Cronin, C. (2014). Workplace learning–a healthcare perspective. Education+ Training, 56(4), 329-342.
De Vliegher, K., Declercq, A., Aertgeerts, B., & Moons, P. (2016). Health Care Assistants in Home Nursing: The Holy Grail or the Emperor’s New Clothes? A Qualitative Study. Home Health Care Management & Practice, 28(1), 51-56.
Fedvol.ie. (2017). Summary of HIQA Regulations: (Adult version). www.fedvol.ie. Retrieved 12 June 2017, from https://www.fedvol.ie/_fileupload/Quality%20&%20Standards/HIQA/Summary%20of%20HIQA%20Regulations.pdf
Health.gov.ie. (2017). Legislation | Department of Health. Health.gov.ie. Retrieved 12 June 2017, from https://health.gov.ie/publications-research/legislation/
Holloway, I., & Galvin, K. (2016). Qualitative research in nursing and healthcare. John Wiley & Sons.
Hse.gov.uk. (2017). Employment protection. Hse.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2017, from https://www.hse.gov.uk/involvement/empprotection.htm
Hussein, K., & Bolden, A. (2016). ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDENTS’KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCES, AND ATTITUDES OF MUSLIM AMERICANS.
Mowat, R., & Parsons, M. (2016). Exploring the Role of Health Care Assistants as Mobility Activators for Older People in an Assessment, Treatment and Rehabilitation Ward. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 32(2), 21.
Nelson, R., & Staggers, N. (2017). Health informatics: An interprofessional approach. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Phelan, A., & McCormack, B. (2016). Exploring nursing expertise in residential care for older people: a mixed method study. Journal of advanced nursing, 72(10), 2524-2535.
Rowe, J. W., Fulmer, T., & Fried, L. (2016). Preparing for better health and health care for an aging population. Jama, 316(16), 1643-1644.
Walston, S. L., Bennett, C. J., & Al-Harbi, A. (2014). Understanding the factors affecting employees’ perceived benefits of healthcare information technology. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 7(1), 35-44.
Www.hsa.ie. (2017). Health and Safety Management in Healthcare Information Sheet. https://www.hsa.ie. Retrieved 12 June 2017, from https://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/Healthcare_Sector/Health_and_Safety_Management_in_Healthcare.pdf
Yagos, W. O., Olok, G. T., & Ovuga, E. (2017). Background To explore the benefits, barriers and disadvantages of implementing an electronic record system (ERS). The extent that the system has become ‘normalised’into routine practice was also explored. Methods Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 members of NHS staff who represented a variety of staff groups (doctors, midwives of different grades, health care assistants)… BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 17(1), 1-10.
Zaccagnini, M., & White, K. (2015). The doctor of nursing practice essentials. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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