Patient Care And Outcome Essay

As individuals, we are going to have different personal views and beliefs, towards issues that we are faced with in life. Every person has the right to think, write or say what ever they wish to, as long as their actions do not affect, harm or threaten any other person. However, when working within an institution involving care for the general public, your own personal beliefs and values can have an effect on how you will approach and act when faced with a certain situation. As a healthcare professional, it is of the utmost importance, that you are self aware and realise what your own beliefs and values are and not allow them to affect any other individual. We all have our own understanding of what is right and wrong, as everyone is different. As you grow and develop into life, your life and work experiences can make you judgemental also sinnical towards certain people and situations. The balance is to remain open-minded and not try to influence other people because of your personal beliefs. Working as a health care professional, means that you have to treat every person as an individual, no matter what their colour, race, gender, beliefs, values or actions may be. Allowing your own opinions or beliefs intruded on the care you give, could have very serious consequences on the patients healthcare and outcome. An example is, a nurse may have strong options about people who self harm and attempts suicide on a regular basis. The nurse may be faced with a patients who does just that and needs her nursing care, but the nurse thinks the patient is a time waster and looking for attention. This could leave the nurse in a dilemma, if her beliefs and options were that strong, she would need to evaluate her thoughts, step back and decide how she will give unbiased care. On being reflective, she would be using her self awareness skills allowing her to have an open mind and try to understand why the patient is doing it. However if the nurse allowed her strong options to be  known then the patient would feel very upset, maybe angry and uncomfortable, leading the patient to self harm again, creating a very unsafe, unsympathetic and awkward situation. The nurse’s behaviour would have a detrimental affect on the patient. The patient may act impulsive and aggressive, making the outcome a different one to what it should have been. For a nurse to behave in this manner is totally unacceptable also un professional. This shows that personal judgements made on a person, can affect the care and outcome given to that patient. In conclusion, it is imperative that as a healthcare professional, we do not impose our personal beliefs, values or opinions on any other person, we need to accept diversity and deliver the highest possible standard of care to every individual. Remembering that every individual has the right to be treated equally and with respect.