Introduction
Over the last ten weeks, I have taken a course that included a variety of topics that were studied in theory and practice. Some of the topics included adolescent and geriatric care, psychiatric disorders, cultural and social justice issues, rules and regulations in nursing practice, and patient encounters. The present paper is a reflection on my course and practicum experiences with the topics covered in this course and the objectives that were met.
Adolescent Care
Adolescent care was the first subject, and it covered a variety of topics. Theoretical and practicum experiences showed that adolescent care has to cover a variety of special problems that can be faced by this group of patients. Specifically, some of such issues are chronic and serious conditions, mental health illnesses, and autoimmune diseases (Cash & Glass, 2017). Moreover, due to the practicum experience, it also became clear that well adolescents require special care as well.
This is the case because psychologically, adolescents go through a stage of ongoing changes which can cause young individuals to experience stress and pressure and, as a result, engage in activities perceived as stress-management strategies such as substance abuse, violence, alcohol consumption, to name a few (Neinstein, Gordon, Katzman, & Rosen, 2008).
Geriatric Care
Another large portion of units in this course was focused on the provision of nursing care to geriatric patients. The versatility of the topics included in this course indicated that older adults face a wide range of problems related to health and medical treatment. Moreover, as it was emphasized in practicum experiences, just like in the provision of care to adolescent patients, work with older adults has to be based on the inclusion of their family members and caregivers. This principle refers to the provision of patient education concerning diseases as well as medication administration and management.
Patient Encounter, Social Justice, and Cultural Diversity Issues
Moreover, a significant portion of this course was dedicated to the exploration of social justice and cultural diversity issues that are faced by all groups of patients. In a society as diverse as that of the United States, it is critical to keep in mind the impact of cultural differences on the perceptions of health and illness that can be popular among certain groups of patients, the most appropriate communication style that could help boost patient education effectiveness, and social trends and tendencies that can affect patients physically and emotionally. In practicum experiences, the issues of cultural diversity and social justice were closely connected to the practices of patient encounters and coding.
To be more precise, patient encounter theory included verbal and non-verbal communication practices that allowed fast and professional assessment of patients holistically approaching their needs. In particular, this kind of communication and coding in the patient encounter had to take into account various aspects of patients’ lives and problems. In that way, interventions and treatment matched to patients’ needs had to assess and address health problems in combination with their causes, the emotional and spiritual aspects of patients’ everyday lives, as well as their cultural environments and backgrounds.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both course and practicum experiences that occurred throughout the last ten weeks were highly valuable in terms of professional knowledge. The course covered a wide range of issues faced by adolescent and elderly patients. Each of the care problems was approached from multiple perspectives and studied thoroughly in theory and practice.
References
Cash, J. C., & Glass, C. A. (2017). Family practice guidelines (4th ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Neinstein, L. S., Gordon, C. M.., Katzman, D. K., & Rosen, D. S. (2008). Handbook of adolescent health care. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.