What are the responsibilities of community and public health nurses in promoting health and decreasing illness and injury in populations, families, and individuals? Provide specific examples from your community.
Write a two-page paper reflecting on the data you collected and analyzed. How will this data warehouse be useful to you as a professional nurse? Your paper should be at least two pages in length, in APA format, typed in Times New Roman with 12-point font, and double-spaced with 1” margins.
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.
Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
Diabetes is an ailment that occur in humans when the blood sugar/blood glucose rises above the recommended level. The body derives its sugar from blood glucose that comes from the food consumed. Too much glucose in the body may have a negative impact on the body due to the inability of insulin to keep check on blood sugar (Raghavan et al., 2019). These article compares two research articles published by a scholarly journal on diabetes. One of the articles chosen for comparison is Deaths Attributable to Diabetes in the United States: Comparison of Data Sources and Estimation Approaches by Stokes and Preston, (2017). The second journal article chosen on diabetes is Diabetes Mellitus–Related All?Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in a National Cohort of Adults by Raghavan et al., (2019).
1.Summary of the topic you chose with rationale
I chose the topic diabetes because it is one of most prevalent and fast-rising disease in my community, country and the world by extension. Secondly, diabetes is rated as one of the top-5 killer diseases in America which means it requires urgent attention. Medically, diabetes is the inability of the body to regulate the body’s blood sugar resulting into complications (Noubiap et al., 2019). Some of the medical conditions and mental disorders that may be experienced due to diabetes include; stroke, heart disease, depression, anxiety, obesity, high blood pressure, frustration, bodily pain especially at the joints among other related problems. It can either be acute, which means short in nature or it can be chronic which means on-going and long. Type 1 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes that affects millions of people worldwide. It is usually short in nature and lasts between a few days and or weeks. It is usually caused by a number of factors such as unhealthy life styles and other health risks such as bad eating habit. On the other hand, chronic diabetes may go for many months or even longer.
Productivity
One of the negative consequences of diabetes which goes to affect quality of life is reduced productivity. Lack of sleep at night leaves one weak, stressed and frustrated which affects both the quality and quantity in terms of production. Many aspects of modern life are measured on one’s productivity. School, work and jobs are all measured on quality and quantity of production. People experiencing diabetes are not able to be as productive as required by the virtue of the fact that they are not well (Cowie et al., 2018) This reduction in their productivity will affect the quality of lives they live because, high production is associated with much returns and vice versa.
Increased Chances of Accidents
As seen in the results/findings of the two studies, diabetes greatly weakens people’s reflexes which lead to individuals being slow or reacting slower than usual. Slow reflexes increase an individual’s vulnerability to accidents. For example, many drivers with diabetes may cause an accident mainly because they failed to respond to an emergency situation on the road because they did not respond fast enough. A good example is when a driver in front brakes suddenly, the driver behind will need to react to this situation by hitting the brakes hard to avoid a collision. Those with diabetes may not be in a position to react fast enough in such situations.
Worsening Medical Conditions
The many researchers on the relation between diabetes and medical conditions attest to the fact that diabetes can worsen existing medical conditions and, in some cases, though rare may lead to a medical condition. People with diabetes, heart diseases, and other chronic illnesses may see their conditions worsening because of the inability to get adequate sleep. Many doctors nowadays advice their patients on the importance of having as much sleep at night as possible because their recovery squarely lies on having enough sleep, medication and other factors.
A critical function performed by the two articles is two evaluate the vulnerable demographics in society for diabetes. In the article by Raghavan and colleagues, the study focuses trend of mortality in diabetes and related causes of mortality such as cardiovascular among adults. This study is critical because it brings critical information on diabetes and its relation with other chronic ailments such as heart disease and its impact on adults. This study links diabetes with cardiovascular disease. Through the cohort study group, this research shows critical link between diabetes and other conditions that people having diabetes are likely to suffer from.
Conversely, the study by Stokes and Preston is critical because it studies the prevalence of diabetes since 1980-2104. The data contained in this research is critical in evaluating the trends of diabetes from the 1980s till present. For example, this study reveals that the prevalence rate of diabetes in America has jumped from 4.3% to 9.0% in men from 1980 and 2014 (Stokes, & Preston, 2019). The research also shows that the prevalence of the disease for women for the same period jumped from 5.0 to 7.9% for the same period. These statistics are critical for governments because they can use it to monitor and manage the disease.
In healthcare industry, the importance of research and data monitoring cannot be overemphasized. Research deals with creating/finding out new information about diseases/health trends. Data deals with collection of data, access, and retrieval of data. Research plays a pivotal role in the discovery of new treatments while finding answers to the things are not known. Secondly research fill gaps in available knowledge and change the way professionals in the healthcare industry operate (Harding et al., 2019). Concerning data monitoring, the two articles, like other credible research studies improve the quality of patient care by providing critical information concerning specific conditions-for this case diabetes. In the healthcare industry, data benefits the world because they it plays critical multiple roles such as revealing trends diseases and treatments, health surveillance, monitoring disease outbreaks.
Allied health professionals provide critical services that enhances and maintains the quality of care they provide to their patients within the settings of their practice. Allied healthcare professionals such as Athletic Training, mmusculoskeletal, injury geriatric, assessment physiotherapist, and Health Care Provider are some of the groups that benefit from research and data monitoring. The first critical importance of the two articles to allied healthcare workers is that they can use the result of the studies to improve patient care and outcomes. These professionals use critical information contained in research studies to create effective treatment plans and solutions based on the findings of critical research studies.
Name: Mr. V.O
Date of Birth: 5/5/1965
Age: 46
Ethnicity: African American (Nigerian)
Gender: Male
Source: Patient
Date of Assessment: 4/1/2021
Occupation: Photographer
Allergies: Allergic to pollens and house dust mites. The allergens make him have a runny nose and watery eyes
Current Medications:
Childhood Illnesses: Presbyopia diagnosed at 10 years of age.
Allergic rhinitis since childhood
Adult Illnesses: Diabetes diagnosed in 2012
-Hypertension diagnosed in 2012
-There is a history of past hospitalization due to hyperosmolar non-ketotic coma. No previous blood transfusion. No history of TB or HIV. No previous history of surgical procedures.
Immunizations: All up to date. Last tetanus vaccine given on 10th 7/2020
Personal/social History: Studied photography for 2-years at a college level (Associate in Arts degree), He smokes and he is a social drinker.
Family History: His grandpa is John Onuchukwu, who succumbed to Cholera at the age of 96yrs (1871-1967). The grandmother, Elizabeth onuchukwu, died at 91(1886-1977). The cause of death was not determined as she died in sleep. His dad, Benjamin Onuchukwu, died at age 79 (1930-2009) of prostate cancer while the mother, Theresa Onuchukwu died at age 84(1936-2020) of corona virus. He has four other siblings: Josephat Onuchukwu born in 1957, 64 years old today, alive and suffering from presbyopia; Uche Onuchukwu born in1978, 43yrs old today suffers from ulcer; Mark onuchukwu born in 1973, 48yrs old today and has high blood pressure and Chimezie Onuchukwu (1976), 45 years old, suffers from high blood pressure.
He has 2-children 1. Oluebube Onuchukwu born in 2007, aged 14 today, suffers from presbyopia 2. David Onuchukwu born in 2011, aged 10 today, suffers from presbyopia
Nutritional History: three major meals per day with frequent snacks in between.
Subjective Data:
Chief Complaint: I can’t read very well even with my eye- glasses
The client is a known presbyopic patient. He has been using eye glasses since childhood but for the past three months, complaints of inability to read with or without the glasses. He reports that he cannot read clearly prints that are at a close distance to him; he has to move the reading materials away from the eyes. Further, he has a problem reading smaller prints; he therefore uses larger fonts for his phone. He requires a bright light to read and is unable to see in a dim room. Sometimes he strains a lot until the eyes aches. He reports frequent headaches. He also reports squinting quite often. As a photographer, his eyes are the most important organs; therefore, the condition has adversely affected his job and a cause of his current financial strains since he is the breadwinner.
He also reports associated dyspnea only on exertion. He had one episode of chest pain in the past three months. He reports he has had problems achieving a weight loss since childhood. Due to his job, he travels quite often and eats a lot of junk food at different restaurants. He also reports to eat three meals per day with snacks and sweetened drinks in between the main meals. Moreover, he could occasionally miss medications while he travelled. He is a known diabetic and hypertensive patient since 2012.
CONSTITUTIONAL: Denies fever, fatigue. Reports added weight.
NEUROLOGIC: Reports headaches. Denies loss of consciousness
HEENT: Head: Denies head injury. Eyes: Reports blurred vision and pain. He uses glasses. He reports watery eyes on exposure to pollen and house dust mites. Ears: Denies pain, discharge, loss of hearing, tinnitus, and vertigo. No previous ear infections. Nose: reports runny nose on exposure to pollen and house dust mites. He denies congestion, stuffiness, itching, bleeds or sinus tenderness. Throat: Denies sore throat, voice changes and halitosis.
RESPIRATORY: Reports exertional dyspnea. He denies cough, sputum production and hemoptysis.
CARDIOVASCULAR: He is hypertensive. He denies palpitations, orthopnea, limb edema, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea.
GASTROINTESTINAL: Denies nausea and vomiting. Denies abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, flatulence and any bowel changes
GENITOURINARY: Denies urgency, frequency, nocturia, dysuria, burning sensation, flank pains and hematuria. Denies previous or current urinary tract infections
MUSCULOSKELETAL: Denies joint pain or stiffness.
SKIN: Denies rushes, hypo/hyper pigmentations, pruritus or skin infections.
General appearance: An African American male adult in a fair general condition. He walks into the examination room in a normal gait. He is obviously obese. He is relaxed, calm and well composed. He is well kempt and groomed with nicely coiffed hair and with a nice fragrance. He is friendly, and overfamiliar with the environment. He is in a conscious mind. He has a clear and a coherent speech.
He is not in an obvious respiratory distress. He is not pale or jaundiced. No edema, cyanosis, lymphadenopathies. He is well hydrated
Weight=230lbs; Height- 5 feet 4 inches; BMI-39.5 kg/m2;
Vital signs: BP-125/83 mmHg; HR-83 beats/minute; RR- breaths/minute; SPO2-98%; Pain score-0
Skin: He has a dark complexion and black hair. The skin is moist and warm. The skin has a smooth and with normal turgidity. The fingernails are pink in color, oval shaped, and have no pathologic lesions. The toe nails are pink in color, round shaped without pathologic lesions. No primary or secondary skin lesions.
Head & Face: The head is normocephalic with no lacerations, deformities or asymmetry. The hair dark and well distributed throughout the scalp. The scalp is dry with no lesions, infective or inflammatory.
The face is oval shaped. Facial movements are symmetric. No drooping of eyelids, no involuntary facial movements.
Right eye: Present. Primary position, looking straight ahead and the visual axis is parallel to the head’s sagittal plane. Allergic shiners present. Visual acuity is less than 6/12. The eye lids’ opening is symmetrical. There are no lumps, scales, discharge, pus or mucus around the eyelids margins. The conjunctiva is white. The cornea is clear, and has a lustrous surface. The iris is flat and brownish in color with a centrally located pupil. The pupil is round, 3mm in diameter in a bright lit room and constrict to direct light (illumination). The lens is transparent with increased curvature. Extra ocular muscles are intact. On ophthalmoscopy, red reflexes are normal, there is mild macular edema with dot and blot hemorrhage.
Left eye: Present. Primary position, looking straight ahead and the visual axis is parallel to the head’s sagittal plane. Allergic shiners present. Visual acuity is 6/12. The eye lids’ opening is symmetrical. There are no lumps, scales, discharge, pus or mucus around the eyelids margins. The conjunctiva is white. The cornea is clear, and has a lustrous surface. The iris is flat and brownish in color with a centrally located pupil. The pupil is round, 3mm in diameter in a bright lit room and constrict to direct light (illumination). The lens is transparent with increased curvature. Extra ocular muscles are intact. On ophthalmoscopy, red reflexes are normal. Macular edema is not as marked as on the right side. Dot and blot hemorrhage present.
Ear: Both ears are present on either sides of the face. The auricles are symmetric. On otoscopy, the external auditory meatus are clear without wax impaction. The tympanic membrane are translucent and pale gray in color with a cone of light at the 5 o’clock position.
Tuning fork tests:
-Weber’s test is central
Rhine’s test-air conduction is greater than bone conduction. Normal results
Nose: Normal external nasal anatomy with bilateral symmetrical nares. A transverse nasal crease is present. Using a speculum, the mucosa is moist and pink in color. Normal septum; no deviation, perforations, tumors or ulcers. Turbinates are boggy and pale blue in color. Maxillary sinuses are non-tender
Mouth & Throat: the lips are symmetrical and pink in color. Oral mucosa is moist and pink in color; no ulcerations, erythema or other lesions. The gums are pink in color, no bleeds, not swollen, no odor, no ulcerations. 32-teeth, whitish in color; 2 maxillary incisors are yellow; no dentures or prosthesis. Tongue is pink, central, rough dorsal surface, no ulcers, hairs or furrows, smooth ventral surface, comfortably fits the oral cavity. Palate is pink with a ridged hard palate. Pharynx: Tonsils are present, no enlargement, or exudates. Uvula present and upwardly movable.
Neck: No cervical lymphadenopathies. Trachea centrally located. No palpable central neck mass
Back: Inspection: No deformity, no skin lesions, no surgical scars, no masses. Palpation: No tenderness over the spine and muscles. Shoulder symmetrical
Posterior Thorax & Lungs: inspection: No masses, moves with respiration. Palpation: bilateral symmetrical, normal tactile fremitus, no tenderness or masses. Percussion: Normal resonance. Auscultation: Bilateral equal air entry, bilateral vesicular breath sounds heard. vocal fremitus normal
Breasts, Axillae, and Epitrochlear Nodes: Being male, no significant findings. Absent axilla and epitrocheal nodes
Upper Extremities: Hands: no color discoloration, no masses/swelling, no deformity, warm temperature, no tenderness, wrist, metacarpo-phalangeal and inter-phalangeal joints exhibit full range of motions. Arm: No color discoloration, no masses, no deformity, warm temperature, elbow joint full flexion and extension. Shoulder joints symmetrical, shoulder joint full range of motions. Full neck flexion, extension, rotation and cervical side-bending. Bulk, tone, reflexes are normal. Muscle power of 5/5 in both upper limbs. Radial and brachial pulse present, symmetrical, regular, and of good volume.
Anterior Thorax: Inspection: symmetrical, moves with respiration, no skin lesions, no masses. Palpation: No masses, no tenderness, bilateral equal chest expansion, tactile fremitus normal. Percussion: Normal resonance. Auscultation: Bilateral equal air entry, bilateral vesicular breath sounds heard. Vocal fremitus normal
Cardiovascular: Normal jugular venous pressure. Carotid pulse is present, regular, strong, good volume, no bruits. The precordium is normal and not hyperactive. Point of maximum impulse is at 5th intercostal space, an in mid-clavicular line. S1 and S2 are heard, no thrills, murmurs or any other added sounds.
Abdomen: Inspection: Marked abdominal distension with central obesity. No dilated veins, no surgical scars, no therapeutic marks, moves with respiration. On light palpation, no tenderness is elicited, no masses, no organomegally. On deep palpation, no tenderness elicited, no masses, no organomegally. No tenderness over the costovertebral angles. Liver and spleen not enlarged. Percussion: Tympanic. Auscultation: Bowel sounds heard
Lowe Extremities: femoral, popliteal, dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial pulses are present, regular, strong and of good volume bilaterally. No palpable inguinal lymphadenopathy. No discoloration or ulcerations of the lower extremities. No lower limb edema. Hip joint, knee joint, ankle joint, metatarsophalangeal and inter-phalangeal joints are flexible, and exhibit full range of motions specific for the particular joint. There is normal muscle bulk, tone and reflexes. Muscle power 5/5 bilateral lower limbs. No varicose veins. The right and left legs are neutrally aligned (no varus or valgus deformities). External genitalia is normal, no hernia findings. Negative Romberg’s test
Nervous System: GGCS-15/15. Patient is oriented in time, person and place. CN I, II, III, IV, VI are intact. CN VI, VIII, IX, X are normal. There is normal sensation to pain, light touch and vibration. Normal muscle bulk, tone, and reflexes. Muscle power 5/5 in both limbs.
Risk Profile
1871-19671886-1977Grandfather: John
Died: 96yrs
From cholera
Grandmother: ElizabethDied: 91yrs
Died while sleeping
Cause: Unknown
1869-1959Grandpa: JamesDied: 90
Cardiac arrest
1880-1966Grandma: HannahDied: 86
Stroke
1930-2009Dad: BenjaminDied: 79
Prostate Cancer
1936-2020Mother: Theresa
Died: 84
COVID-19
Valentine: Patient14Presbyopia10Presbyopia1965 to dateAge: 46yrs
DM; HTN; Obesity; Allergic rhinitis; Presbyopia
64Brother: JosephatPresbyopia
1957 to date481973 to date451976 to dateBrother: ChimezieHTN
431978 to dateBrother: Uche
Gastric Ulcers
2007 to date2011 to dateAppendix
Pro Tip: Your ptient has diabetes and may unknowingly have wounds on her unindicated foot due to possible neuropathy.
Finding: Toenails: no ridges or abnormalities in nails
Finding: No supraclavicular lymphadenopathy
Pro Tip: Palpating the lymph nodes helps to identify characteristics relaying information about inflammation
Effective communication is vital to constructing an accurate and detailed patient history. A patient’s health or illness is influenced by many factors, including age, gender, ethnicity, and environmental setting. As an advanced practice nurse, you must be aware of these factors and tailor your communication techniques accordingly. Doing so will not only help you establish rapport with your patients, but it will also enable you to more effectively gather the information needed to assess your patients’ health risks.
For this Discussion, you will take on the role of a clinician who is building a health history for a particular new patient assigned by your Instructor.
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
To prepare:
With the information presented in Chapter 2 of Ball et al. in mind, consider the following:
Post a summary of the interview and a description of the communication techniques you would use with your assigned patient. Explain why you would use these techniques. Identify the risk assessment instrument you selected, and justify why it would be applicable to the selected patient. Provide at least five targeted questions you would ask the patient.
Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the Reply button to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Post Reply, you cannot delete or edit your own posts and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Post Reply!
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
BY DAY 6 OF WEEK 1
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on 2 different days who selected a different patient than you, using one or more of the following approaches:
o Chapter 2, “The History and Interviewing Proce
This chapter explains the process of developing relationships with patients in order to build an effective health history. The authors offer suggestions for adapting the creation of a health history according to age, gender, and disability.
o Chapter 5, “Recording Information”
This chapter provides rationale and methods for maintaining clear and accurate records. The authors also explore the legal aspects of patient records.
o Chapter 2, “The Comprehensive History and Physical Exam” (pp. 19–29)
Use the following resources to guide you through your Shadow Health orientation as well as other support resources:
Welcome and General Course Guidelines
Dr. Tara Harris reviews the overall guidelines and the expectations for the course. Consider how you will manage your time as you review your media and Learning Resources throughout the course to better prepare for your Discussions, Case Study Lab Assignments, Digital Clinical Experience (DCE) Assignments, and your Midterm and Final Exams (14m).
Module 1 Introduction
Dr. Tara Harris reviews the overall expectations for Module 1. Please pay special attention to the registration requirements for your use of Shadow Health for your Digital Clinical Experience (DCE) Assignments as well as the criteria for the DCE Assignments (3m).
Building a Comprehensive Health History – Week 1 (19m)
o Chapter 2, “History Taking and the Medical Record” (pp. 1)
This comprehensive shadow health assessment of Tina Jones enables the student to master the art of patient data collection, with head to toe history taking and physical assessment.
The process is highly involving, time-consuming and may require one to complete in different sessions, yet the goal is to be able to assess a patient in one sitting, taking as minimal time as possible. We can help you complete this and other shadow health assessments as and when needed, with excellent scores assured. Comprehensive Assessment Tina Jones Shadow Health Transcript
All Lines (645) Interview Questions (210) Statements (41) Exam Actions (394)
Hello, my name is Tammy. I will be conducting an interview and a physical exam.GreetI have a few friends I’ve known since middle or high school, and we’re all pretty close. Plus I have my friends from church.
What is your relationship like with your family?QuestionSubjective Data Collection: 50 of 50 (100.0%)
Hover To Reveal…
Hover over the Patient Data items below to reveal important information, including Pro Tips and Example Questions.
Indicates an item that you found.
Indicates an item that is available to be found.
Category
Scored Items
Experts selected these topics as essential components of a strong, thorough interview with this patient.
Finding: A confirmed reason for the visit
Finding: Reports needing a pre-employment physical
Pro Tip: Initially establishing a chief complaint allows the patient to express their reason for seeking care, primary concerns, or condition they are presenting with.
Example Question: Can I confirm that you are here for a physical?
Finding: Reports no current acute health problems
Pro Tip: Initially establishing a chief complaint allows the patient to express their reason for seeking care, primary concerns, or condition they are presenting with.
Example Question: Do you have any current health problems?
Finding: Asked about last visit to a healthcare provider
Finding: Last visit to a healthcare provider was 4 months ago
Pro Tip: Establishing a timeline for which healthcare providers Tina has seen will allow you to develop a comprehensive health history.
Example Question: When did you see a healthcare provider?
Finding: Reason for last visit was annual gynecological exam
Pro Tip: Establishing a timeline for which healthcare providers Tina has seen will allow you to develop a comprehensive health history. Asking Tina why she saw a healthcare provider might indicate any recent health concerns or problems.
Example Question: Why did you see a healthcare provider?
Finding: Last general physical examination was 5 months ago when she was prescribed metformin and daily inhaler
Pro Tip: Establishing a timeline for which healthcare providers Tina has seen will allow you to develop a comprehensive health history.
Example Question: When was your last physical exam?
Finding: Asked about current prescription medications
Finding: Reports taking diabetes medication
Pro Tip: The medications that a patient takes indicate their health concerns or problems, health literacy, and current treatment plans. Asking Tina if she has been taking medication for her diabetes will indicate her treatment plan and the degree to which she is following it.
Example Question: Have you been taking medication for your diabetes?
Finding: Reports using a daily inhaler
Pro Tip: The medications that a patient takes indicate their health concerns or problems, health literacy, and current treatment plans. Asking Tina if she still has her inhaler will indicate her treatment plan and the degree to which she is following it.
Example Question: Do you use a daily inhaler?
Finding: Reports taking prescription birth control pills
Pro Tip: The medications that a patient takes indicate their health concerns or problems, health literacy, and current treatment plans.
Example Question: Are you taking any form of birth control?
Finding: Followed up about diabetes medication
Finding: Medication is metformin
Pro Tip: Follow up questions about Tina’s medication history will help you to understand her treatment plan and recent health history.
Example Question: What is the name of your diabetes medication?
Finding: Started taking metformin 5 months ago
Pro Tip: Follow up questions about Tina’s medication history and timeline will help you to understand her treatment plan and recent health history.
Example Question: How long have you been taking metformin?
Finding: Reports that eating probiotic yogurt helps with side effects and they have abated over time
Pro Tip: Follow up questions about Tina’s medication history and timeline will help you to understand her treatment plan and recent health history.
Example Question: Have you noticed any side effects from the metformin?
Finding: Followed up on metformin frequency and dose
Finding: Reports taking metformin twice daily
Pro Tip: Follow up questions about Tina’s medication history and timeline will help you to understand her treatment plan and recent health history.
Example Question: How many times a day do you take metformin?
Finding: Metformin dose is 850 mg
Pro Tip: Follow up questions about Tina’s medication history and timeline will help you to understand her treatment plan and recent health history. Comprehensive Assessment Tina Jones Shadow Health Transcript
Example Question: What is the dose of your metformin?
Finding: Asked about asthma medication
Finding: Reports using Flovent inhaler twice daily
Pro Tip: Asthma exacerbation can result in increased wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Asking if Tina’s been using her inhaler more frequently since exacerbation can indicate how she’s been treating her symptoms since exacerbation.
Example Question: How often do you use your daily inhaler?
Finding: Has a Proventil rescue inhaler
Pro Tip: A patient’s medication reveals a current treatment plan and healthcare access. Asking Tina if she has a rescue inhaler for her asthma will indicate her treatment plan and the degree to which she complies with it.
Example Question: Do you have a rescue inhaler?
Finding: Last use of Proventil inhaler was three months ago
Pro Tip: Soliciting a shallow history of a patient’s medication history can reveal recent exacerbation. Asking Tina when she last used her inhaler will indicate when her symptoms most recently required medical treatment.
Example Question: When did you last use your rescue inhaler?
Finding: Has used Proventil inhaler twice in the last year
Pro Tip: Asthma exacerbation can result in increased wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Asking if Tina’s been using her inhaler more frequently since exacerbation can indicate how she has been treating her
Patient Details:
Name: VO
Gender- Male
Age: 56 years
African American (Nigerian)
Date of assessment – 4/1/2021
Photographer (occupation)
Chief Complaint – I can’t read very well even with my eye-glasses
History of Presenting Illness: VO is a 56-year-old African American photographer who presents to the clinic with complaints of inability to read very well with or without his eyeglasses. He has been having problems reading small prints that he could read with his glasses about a half-decade ago. Whenever he tries to read newspapers or books at a close range, he develops a moderate frontal headache thereafter for which he has to take over-the-counter pain relievers. He, therefore, has to move the objects at armlength to read them properly.
This problem had been progressively worsening in the past five years. The decision to visit the clinic was prompted by the increased frequency of headaches whenever he tries to watch television at close ‘normal’ distances. He sometimes has to adjust the brightness of his phone and television screen brightness to read and watch television properly.
He denied double vision but reports blurry vision when trying to focus on nearer objects but not far objects. There is no history of excess tearing or eye discharge, eye redness, burning sensation, or itching. There are no eye medications he is using for his symptoms. His last eye exam was 10 years ago and the no significant changes.
Medications:
Allergies: VO is allergic to pollen and dust. He develops a runny rose and watery eyes whenever he is exposed to these allergens. There are no known drug allergies including penicillin and sulfur-based drugs.
Tobacco Use: VO is a known smoker with 1.1 pack-years of tobacco smoking
Alcohol and Drug Use: he is a social drinker. He drinks about two bottles of beer during weekends and social occasions.
Childhood Illnesses: he was diagnosed with presbyopia at age 10. No other significant illnesses are reported. He no history of measles, mumps, or poliomyelitis during his childhood
Adult Illnesses: he was diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes mellitus type 2 at age 47. He is not epileptic or asthmatic. There is no history of past surgeries. He reports being hospitalized once in 2012 for 3 days at the time when he was diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension. He has never been diagnosed with or treated for any mental illness. He has one sexual partner with whom he practices safe sex. The last flu shot received was seven months ago. He is seronegative for HIV/AIDS infection
Family History: VO’s father died of prostate cancer at 79, his mother died of coronavirus at 84, his paternal grandfather died of cholera at 96, and the paternal grandmother died at 91 in her sleep and the cause of her death was unknown. His elder brother, 64, suffers from presbyopia, the immediate younger brother, 48, is hypertensive, while other siblings 43 and 48 suffer from Peptic Ulcer Disease (PUD) and hypertension reactively. He has two children, both boys 14 and 10, who both suffer from presbyopia. The genogram for family history is attached in the appendix section of this paper.
Personal and Social History: VO is married and lives with his wife and children. He enjoys photography as an occupation and during leisure. He studied photography in college for two years. He likes playing with his children after school during his free time. His activities of daily life (ADLs) majorly involve movement from place to place doing photography for his clients. He is not a staunch Christian but is religiously affiliated to the core Christian values and teachings. He never takes coffee or cocoa but prefers soya for his beverages and breakfast. His diet is mainly composed of carbohydrates with the lowest sugar, salt, and plant proteins amounts but he is not a vegan.
He loved colas and French fries in his twenties and thirties but stopped these foods in an attempt to stay ‘fit and healthy’ diet-wise He exercises regularly in the morning as directed by his primary physician but reports that his present condition has not allowed him to work out in the morning because the morning sunlight is not ‘adequate enough to allow him to see properly. He sleeps for a minimum of six hours a day and prefers sleeping early in the night. VO drives with his seat belt on and observes all traffic rules. He prefers seeing a medical doctor whenever he is sick and he does not use traditional therapies and alternative medicine.
General: no fever, weight loss of gain, weakness, or fatigue
HEENT: Head – no history of head trauma, lightheadedness, or dizziness; Ears – no ringing in the ears, ear pain, discharge, vertigo, or loss of hearing; Nose – no nasal congestion, irritation, blockage, drainage, bleeding, or stuffiness; Throat – no sore throat, no halitosis, no throat irritation, difficulty or pain during swallowing
Skin: no rashes, itchiness, color changes, dryness, scaly skin, skin moles, or nail spooning.
Neck: no pain, stiffness, lumps, or history of neck trauma
Respiratory: no cough, chest pain, shortness or difficulty in breathing, or chest tightness. The is no history of chest x-ray examination
Cardiovascular: no chest tightness, edema, palpitations, orthopnea, or paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea
Gastrointestinal: there is no pain or difficulty in swallowing. He has no loss of appetite, nausea, or vomiting. There is no history of heartburn or change in bowel movements or habits. No history of constipation, diarrhea, bloating, or excessive burping. There is no history of melena stool, pain with defecation, or rectal bleeding. He reports no hemorrhoids. He also denies eye yellowing, abdominal pain, or hepatitis infection
Genitourinary: he reports occasional nocturia and urinary frequency. However, the is no urinary retention or incontinence. He has no hematuria or abnormal urethral discharge. He denies perineal and penile itchiness or pain. There is no dysuria, flank pain, suprapubic pain, urinary hesitancy, or urinary urgency. He has no genital ulcers or erectile dysfunction. He reports no weak urinary stream, terminal dribbling, history of UTIs. His last PSA was normal and he was informed that the DRE exam findings during the last checkup were normal; about ten years ago. He also denies a history of scrotal or groin pain or masses
Musculoskeletal: no history of joint pain, redness, stiffness, weakness, or swelling. No muscle weakness or swelling was reported. He denies a history of arthritis and lower back pains.
Psychiatric: no anxiety, depression, or suicidal ideations
Neurologic: no paralysis, numbness, tingling sensations, muscle weakness, syncope, seizures, or tremors. He denies memory or speech problems.
Hematologic: no anemia, easy bruising, nose bleeding, delayed healing, or past history of blood transfusion
Endocrine: no intolerance to heat or cold, no goiter, no excessive thirst or hunger
General: He is in good general condition, alert, and cooperates well with the examiner. He is not in any obvious respiratory distress. He has his spectacles on but appears to be straining with sight. His skin is dark in color, his eyes are brown, the hair is black.
Nutritional and Vital Signs: Weight = 230lbs, Height -5 feet 4 inches, Blood pressure reading: 125/83 mmHg, Pulse rate – 83bpm, SPO2 saturation – 98% in room air, Respiratory rate = 22 bpm, BMI = 39.50C
Pain assessment-no pain, 0/10
Head – no bruises, no scars, no masses;
Neurological: an examination of cranial nerves I and III – XII essentially normal
Ears: external auditory meatus is clear and clean, no wax impaction, no drainage or discharge. The tympanic membrane is non-erythematous and non-bulging. Weber’s and Rinne’s test revealed no hearing abnormalities bilaterally;
Nose: no discharge, no bleeding, no alar bruises or scars, no allergic shiners, both nares are clear and patent, there is no septal deviation or masses, no polyps or mucous plug seen, no turbinate hypertrophy, the nasal mucosa is pink
Mouth: good oral hygiene, no ulcers, no thrush or bad breath, there are no dentures or missing teeth, there is no ankyloglossia; there are moist mucosal membranes,
Throat & Neck: uvula and hard palate are seen, there is no tonsillar enlargement, there no pharyngeal erythema or tonsilloliths; pharyngeal mucosa is pink
Neck: no neck masses, no neck stiffness or rigidity, thyroid gland not palpable, no jugular venous distention, no cervical lymphadenopathy
Eye Examination:
Inspection: brown eye color, pupil size 3 mm, the pupils are equal round and reactive to light bilaterally, no nystagmus, the extraocular eye movements intact and full; the sclerae are white and anicteric. The conjunctiva is clear. The cornea is clear and the corneal reflex is intact in both eyes. There is no diplopia or orbital and periorbital edema. The eyebrows are rough, kinky, and black. The eyelashes are normally positioned, with no ptosis, fasciculations, redness, or swelling of the eyelids. The eyelids can open wide and close completely without pain or straining. The eyelids are symmetrical
Palpation: no lacrimal gland tenderness, no nodules below the eyelids,
Visual acuity:
Near vision – 20/120 OD, 20/120 OS, and therefore, 20/120 OU at a near distance
Distant vision – 20/200 OU
Ophthalmoscopic examination: there are no hemorrhages, hard exudates, or laser scars. Both discs are cream-colored and margins well defined. The arteriole-venule ratio in both eyes is 3:5 and no venous pulsations are noted in both eyes.
Chest and Lungs Examination: symmetrical chest wall moving with respirations and expands symmetrically bilaterally; the trachea is centrally placed, normal breath sounds, no rhonchi, wheezes or stridor, no egophony or tactile fremitus. No dullness or hyper resonance areas on percussion.
Cardiovascular: Regular rate and rhythms, normoactive precordium, S1, and S2 sound heard, no added sounds, normally placed apex beat.
Abdomen: abdomen is non-distended and non-tender, normoactive bowel sounds and no palpable masses, spleen, and kidneys not palpable, the liver span is 9 cm by percussion. No bruits were heard
Genitourinary: no penile or testicular lesions. No groin mases or hernias. The anal tone was normal, no rectal bleeding, prostate non-tender, the surface is smooth with midline sulcus palpated, no prostate enlargement.
Extremities: no cyanosis, edema, cyanosis, or finger clubbing. Peripheral pulses were present.
Musculoskeletal: no joint deformities, swellings, warmth, redness, or tenderness. There was no limitation in ranges of motion in all joints.
Random blood sugar: 162.1 mg/dL
Thyroid function tests ordered and results pending
VO is a 56-year-old African American who presents with a progressively worsening inability to read near writings and blurry vision for the past five years. He was diagnosed with presbyopia at age 12 and there is a positive family history of presbyopia in the first-degree relatives. He visits the clinic today because of the frequent headaches and eye strain associated with the inability to read writings at close distances and eye-straining. He is a known diabetic hypertensive on care since age 47. Physical exam reveals reduced visual acuity in near distances. His presentation and past history are consistent with functional presbyopia worsened with the advancing age.
His presbyopia is suggested by the reduction in acuity at near and normal acuity at distant examinations. There is a familial component of his presbyopia as his two sons and his brother suffer from presbyopia. His symptomatology including straining while reading blurry vision, and difficulty reading near objects highly suggest presbyopia (Ball et al., 2018). Other possible differential diagnoses for his presentation include hypermetropia, astigmatism, diabetic retinopathy, and obesity. VO is nearly morbidly obese with a BMI of 39.5.
Hypermetropia, also known as hyperopia, presents with farsightedness. The strain to read near objects causes headaches from eye-straining. However, hyperopia is common in adults but is not related to advanced age. Blurry vision is common in both hyperopia and presbyopia as seen in this patient but the blurry vision in hyperopia can occur at any distance (Cunha et al., 2018).
The patient has been diabetic for the past eight years. The quality of the management of his diabetes is not known. The possibility of diabetic retinopathy cannot be ruled despite the inconclusive retinal physical eye exam. Astigmatism is also a possibility in VO as suggested by the presence of blurry vision. A further ophthalmologic exam is required to distinguish astigmatism, diabetic retinopathy, hyperopia in this patient.
Treatment: the mainstay of VO’s management would be prescription lenses. VO’s treatment would include multifocal contact lenses for his presbyopia. In addition to his glasses, he would receive these multifocal contact lenses that would adjust for any over-correction of the near distance deficits. Assessment of additional magnification power (ADD) required and refraction error would direct the selection of specific lenses (Grzybowski et al., 2020) best for this patient. Multifocal type of lenses would be advantageous over monovision lenses in that there would be a reduction in contrast sensitivity with the multifocal approach (Akella & Juthani, 2018).
Patient Education: the patient would be educated about the application and usage of the lenses. He would also be made aware of the potential adverse events that would warrant an emergency revisit to the clinic. Patient education about lifestyle modification such as weight reduction and promotion of physical exercise would help in the management of his comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. He would be advised on how to use his lenses when reading books, newspapers at close distances. This would prevent occasional headaches associated with eye-straining. Self-monitoring and management of blood sugar and blood pressure at home would be highly encouraged to avoid occult elevated blood sugar and pressures that would worsen his optic health in absence of medical care.
Health Maintenance: His health maintenance would include continued treatment of diabetes and hypertension. Measurement of the HbA1c would assess the quality of control of his blood sugars in the past 3 months. Elevated A1c would warrant adjustment of his hypoglycemic drugs. Maintenance of his blood pressure levels within the normal ranges will be important for the best response to the nonpharmacological management of presbyopia. Assessment of his diuretics as contributing factor to the worsening of his presbyopia (Fricke et al., 2018). Diuretics have been associated with the maintenance of presbyopia (Gordon Schanzlin New Vision Institute, 2017). Family-based care is also an important aspect of VO’s care and treatment. Some of his first-degree have been diagnosed with presbyopia. Assessment of the impacts on mental health would be necessary to promote family-centered care. Evaluation of family roles would help in promoting medication adherence. The need for family counseling would be assessed
Follow-up: the patient would be seen again in two weeks to assess his adaptation to new lenses and the need for adjustments. Expected adverse events would include dizziness, nausea, and poor assessment of deaths by the patient. These adverse events usually disappear after two to three weeks of management by contact lenses.
Referral: VO would be referred to an ophthalmologist for specific eye treatment and evaluation. He would be referred to a nutritionist for dietary management, obesity control, and dietary control of elevated blood pressure.
Psychiatric interviews largely depend on established rapport between the client and the clinician. Set up of the environment, communication skills and ethical principles determine the effectiveness of the interview. In the Vignette 5, the clinician provides comfort for the patient, facilitating and maintaining rapport. Their face to face sitting position allows for observation of nonverbal cues. The clinician allows the client to fully express himself without unnecessary interference. The tone is calm and conducive to assure trust and care towards the client’s concerns. The clinician also has controlled participation in the interview, giving time for the client to speak freely. However, the clinician seemed to use some open-ended questions such as “Have you had any thoughts of injuring yourself,” which limits the level of input given by the client. Open-ended questions while exploring sensitive and ambiguous topics helps the client to take a lead in their thoughts.
The interview is superficial in exploring every topic. The clinician is brief, and transits from topic to topic, rather than following the leads provided by the patient. This mode of interview exempts crucial information necessary in making a clinical decision. The question on use of drugs was direct and leading, and the client seemed to find it uncomfortable. Use of indirect statements, as observed by Srinath et al. (2019), tends to patients feel at ease when responding to questions. Further, the physician fails to follow up on the client’s breakup and possible withheld pain. Ideally, Tony sounds to have been heavily affected by the break-up, an aspect that poses a threat to his wellbeing, and possibly life.
Physicians recommend psychiatric assessment for children and adolescents who present with emotional or behavioural problems. A thorough and comprehensive assessment may take hours or days. To adequately diagnose a child, the clinician needs to relate with the child by examining the patient’s psychosocial background and identify the uncommon presentations. This is however not consistent, continuous and collaborative within the assessment schedules. Establishing an alliance with a child is time conscious. An assessment also guides the parents in developing a personalised plan of care based on a clearer understanding of the child’s needs.
Early and correct diagnostic tests are recommended on need basis to prevent further deterioration, and to enable early treatment. DSM-V guidelines provide over 160 different scales for use by clinicians in diagnosing different psychotic disorders. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Test (ADHDT) tool, often filled by clinicians, teachers or parents, helps identify present symptoms of ADHD in children. The scale assesses hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. The assessor rates against every listed symptom (35) as no problem, mild problem or severe. Another scale used to assess children and adolescents is Anorectic Behaviour Observation Scale (ABOS) (van Noort et al., 2018). Often, parents have the responsibility of filling this scale to assess for eating disorder in children or adolescents. The items assessed correspond to items present in the self-reporting tool and the clinician-filled tool.
Treatment plans for psychiatric disorders are either psychotherapy or pharmacological, or both. Psychotherapy takes many forms depending on the issue and age of the client. Some of the forms of therapy specific to children include parent child interaction therapy (PCIT), and mentalization based therapy (MBT) used among children and teens (Griffiths et al., 2019). The former is used to support families experiencing disconnection between the child and the parent, guiding them towards achieving positive relationships. The latter form works on teens that have difficulties with self-identity. The therapy helps such patients grow into their better selves. Assessment conducted on children and teens is largely dependent on subjective details provided by the parent. Presence of the symptoms assessed borrows from behaviours observed over time. In this case, the caregiver is the child’s spokesperson.
Racism simply refers to a situation where both prejudice and discrimination, often backed by legal authority and institutional control, exist within a community, much to the detriment of one group that forms the community. Racism is propagated by deeply entrenched social, historic and cultural inequities that have become normalized by a specific group of people over a long duration of time (Williams et al., 2019). Racism is oppressive and morally wrong as it involves the use of an individual’s authority, power and influence to treat other human beings in a manner that is not just or simply unfair.
Most non-indigenous people residing within Australia are not aware of the constant racism that Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people go through almost every day. This condition is not helped by the constant scrutiny by the police and other law enforcement agencies (Markwick et al., 2019). The media plays another key role in propagating this culture of racism by constant stories of embezzlement, corruption, child abuse, low school attendance rates and drug and substance use which further taint the image of the first people.
This culture of racism has greatly contributed to the deterioration of the people’s physical and mental health. This is quite evident due to the cases of depression, psychological distress and substance use that have become prevalent (Kairuz et al., 2020). This has also greatly contributed to transgenerational trauma. The author points out the great need to establish an effective response that recognizes the continuing state of racism, and implement programs and other ways of dealing with the problem of racism.
I am an Indian student who came to Australia a while back to further my education. Before my arrival here, I had little to no knowledge regarding the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In my country, discrimination has also been quite rampant since the olden days. Untouchability and segregation, commonly referred to as caste system and religious discrimination have been rampant for a long time.
The caste system in my country has been described as the longest surviving social hierarchy. This system groups individuals into various groups based on ritual purity. This caste system varies from one region to another, and an individual is considered a member of the caste if he or she is born into and remains a member until he or she expires. As Kumari and Mohanty (2020) notes, the country’s constitution effectively abolished the system in 1950, yet it remains quite rampant and applicable especially in the rural neighbourhoods of India.
Allocation of resources and other amenities by the state often proceeds based on the caste system. Situations have emerged where the state installs electricity only in the upper caste neighbourhoods and neglects sections occupied by members of the lower caste. Further examples of caste disparities also exist in healthcare, especially regarding the provision of medical amenities.
Religious discrimination has also been quite rampant in my country. In fact, the country has recently witnessed increased intolerance between Hindus and Muslims. These tensions have even resulted in physical assault and murder of several individuals. Despite the existence of such religious atrocities, caste system remains the most dominant form of discrimination in India (Khubchandani et al., 2018). Very many people, especially those belonging to the lower caste, have been murdered and undergone torture from individuals belonging to higher castes. Just recently in 2018, reports emerged that a thirteen-year-old girl was murdered in front of her mother by a man belonging to a higher caste after the young girl raised claims of sexual advances towards her by the man.
Racism against the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people have been rampant for a while now. Through my interaction as a nursing student with the First People, I have realized the increased incidences of psychological stress, depression and substance use all resulting from the normalized state of racism (Wylie & McConkey, 2019). Through my interaction with the First People, I constantly try to learn and familiarize myself with these people’s culture, beliefs and history. The racism has caused great suffering to them and their past generations, a situation that has not been helped up to date as a result of constant propagation of stereotypes against them by the media. Different campaigns to address this deeply rooted culture have not yielded much fruit.
As stated earlier, before coming to this country, I had very little knowledge about the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The knowledge I have acquired here has been mostly stereotypes that have been propagated by the mainstream media. However, after interaction with the First People and conducting research, I have come to the realisation that several factors in the past have greatly contributed to the current deterioration of the physical and mental health of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people; one of them being the constant racism that they have experienced.
Research indicates that racism and discrimination against the First People in Australia is a reality that is made worse by collective experiences, history of abuse, dispossession, transgenerational trauma resulting from colonisation. Data between 2015 and 2017 indicated that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people born between that time frame had a lower life expectancy when compared to other non-indigenous people (Gwynne et al., 2019). The disease burden and rate of suicide was also higher than among the First People.
Racism and other forms of discrimination greatly meant that Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people have limited or no access to vital health amenities. Most health services were only readily available for the non-indigenous people with the First People being discriminated against. This greatly impacted their physical well-being. Low socioeconomic status among a majority of the First People coupled with low literacy levels resulting from discrimination in the offering of job and education opportunities consequently caused further decline in the physical health status of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people (Rheault et al., 2019). Mistreatment and other forms of physical torture as a result of being viewed as an inferior people was also a contributory factor in the decline of their physical health status.
Exposure to racism results in stress, anxiety, constant feelings of sorrow, low self-esteem, mistrust and anger. These play a key role in the development of mental health issues among the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people. According to Maina et al. (2018), this explains the increased rate of depression, psychological distress, drug and substance use among these people. The transgenerational trauma experienced as a result of racisms and other atrocities meted against them have also contributed to the cases of mental health observed.
Initiatives such as ‘close the gap’ initiative have contributed very little in addressing the issue of health inequality. The agreement signed in 2018 by the then prime minister Kevin Rudd and the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people, aimed at addressing the health inequality in the country and achieving equality in the health status and life expectancy rate among all the inhabitants of Australia (Deravin et al., 2018). Ten years later, the initiative had achieved very little. The failure has been greatly attributed to addressing lifestyle factors that affect health while ignoring racism which is key in the determination of the health status.
Critical thinking can simply be described as a reasoning process whose aim is to make meaning of an experience. It can also be termed as a descriptive, analytical and critical analysis that can be presented through word of mouth, in writing or via art. It is a key skill in critical thinking and practice (Kaya et al., 2018). Reflective practice in itself facilitates continuous learning even throughout practice. My perception of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people have been greatly altered following my research. The great health problems facing these people are due to long-term discrimination, racism and other ills against them.
This research has enlightened me on the fact that discrimination due to being different is not only experienced in my country, but that it has also greatly affected even people who were the original inhabitants of a place as observed in this scenario. Great developments in healthcare should ideally translate to improved healthcare. This is, however, not the case in this scenario clearly depicting the impact of social determinants in the overall health of individuals.
The adoption of the western biomedical model of health has also greatly contributed in undermining general health. The model, which is in use in most of the western world, focuses on health solely in terms of biological factors (Rice & Sara, 2019). It greatly overlooks how the spiritual, emotional and mental well-being of an individual is critical in the overall health of an individual. This is one of the major causes of overlooking how racism and discrimination play a key role in impacting a person’s overall well-being.
One way of addressing the great suffering experienced by the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people is practicing cultural safety. Cultural safety entails the creation of an environment that is spiritually, socially, emotionally and physically safe. Kowalski and Anthony (2017) contend that it constitutes the demonstration of respect, seeking knowledge of different culture, demonstrating reciprocity and continuously engaging the community. Cultural safety strives towards addressing power imbalances within the health care sector that have been passed on over the years.
Embracing our own culture is a key step towards embracing cultural safety. It is also critical to familiarize ourselves with other cultures while fostering a culture of respect for the diverse cultures (Hall, 2018). Establishing good relationships with the patient goes a long way in creating rapport and better understanding of the diverse cultures, beliefs and history of various individuals. As nursing students and practitioners, we should continually strive towards culturally safe practice.
Following the realization that the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people are likely to face discrimination in almost all aspects of their lives including health care, it will be my responsibility as a nursing practitioner to constantly champion for their rights and ensure that they are fairly treated. It is critical to ensure that their rights are upheld as they seek health services. Consideration of the socio-cultural factors impacting health while looking after the First People is important in ensuring that all health aspects are addressed.
I will employ good communication skills during care delivery. Good communication is essential in the establishment of a good rapport between me and my patient. good communication also enables me to fully understand my patient. The patient is able to fully express his situation in an environment defined by good communication without any fear (Tuohy, 2019). Better understanding of my patient’s culture, beliefs and thoughts through proper communication is an important component of delivering good quality care and consequently positive outcomes.
Further understanding the culture and beliefs of the First People is critical in delivery of care as a nursing practitioner. This will enable me to deliver health care that is respectful and mindful of my patient’s culture and beliefs. Respect is very important in the delivery of care and it goes a long way in rewriting the social injustices that the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people have faced over the years.
Good nursing practice entails treating every individual with the highest form of dignity and humanity. this encompasses critical understanding of my patient’s needs, demonstrating compassion and providing care in a manner that clearly demonstrates the utmost respect for all (Brandão et al., 2019). Engaging in good nursing practice will enable the First People to feel more at ease and enable them to be more open about their health issues. this will consequently translate into better health outcomes and generally reducing the issue of discrimination and racism that is directed towards them.
As discussed in this paper, it is important to understand the impact that the socio-cultural factors have on the general well-being of individuals. The Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people have constantly faced discrimination and racism since the colonization of Australia. Both racism and discrimination have greatly contributed towards the current health trends observed among the First People. The media is constantly stereotyping these people due to the number of vices witnessed among them. As a nursing student, I have, however, come to the realization that the many years of racism and discrimination that these people have faced have greatly contributed towards their status.
Learning these people’s cultures, beliefs, history and leading campaigns to address the oppression they constantly face even up to date is critical in eliminating racism and creating an environment where everyone is treated equally. This will go a long way in addressing the health concerns of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people.