Apprenticeship Learning Log

 

Date of Learning: 18/02/2025

Time: 9:30 – 16:30

Title of learning activity: Introduction to promoting health and well – being across the lifespan.

Person Centred Care.

 

Diary of Learning activity

(itemise learning activity and reflect on the main points of learning from each. You should identify for each entry the relevant KSB)

Reflection on Learning Activity (include model of reflection e.g. Driscoll or Gibbs):

 

Today we started a new Module 2024.25 Promoting health and well – being across the lifespan – CNR 020C113S

 

Health – According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”

Well – being – is not just the absence of disease or illness. It’s a complex combination of a person’s physical, mental, emotional and social health factors. Wellbeing is strongly linked to happiness and life satisfaction.

Well – being could be described as how you feel about yourself and your life.

Health promotion – is the process of enabling people to increase control over their health, and to improve, health aspect. It moves beyond a focus on individual behaviour towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions.

Health Education England is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. Its function is to provide national leadership and coordination for the education and training within the health and public health workforce within England. It has been operational since June 2012.

 

Role of the Nurse in Public Health

Public health nurses focus on:

• preventing illness,
• promoting health,
• protecting populations.

Their work is not just clinical but also deeply rooted in the social determinants of health and community well-being.

Key Roles:

• Health Surveillance: Monitoring disease trends and outbreaks (e.g., vaccinations, COVID-19 response).
• Community Assessment: Identifying at-risk populations and assessing needs for interventions.
• Advocacy & Policy Influence: Advocating for policies that improve access to healthcare, healthy environments, and equity.
• Program Implementation: Delivering public health programs (e.g., smoking cessation, maternal health).
• Emergency Preparedness & Response: Assisting during pandemics, natural disasters, and other public health emergencies.

Role of the Nurse in Health Education

Health education is all about empowering individuals and communities to make informed health choices. Nurses are uniquely positioned to educate due to their trust-based relationship with patients.

Key Roles:

• Health Promotion: Teaching about nutrition, exercise, mental health, etc.
• Disease Prevention: Educating about screenings, vaccinations, and lifestyle changes to avoid chronic illnesses.
• Individual Teaching: Providing one-on-one education on managing conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension).
• Group Education Sessions: Running workshops or community events (e.g., parenting classes, sexual health education).
• Cultural Competence: Tailoring health messages to diverse populations for better engagement and understanding.

Skills to Support Nursing Roles:

• Communication and teaching techniques
• Cultural sensitivity and inclusiveness
• Data analysis and interpretation (epidemiology basics)
• Leadership and interprofessional collaboration
• Knowledge of local health systems and resources

Person-Centred Care (PCC) is a fundamental principle within the NHS (National Health Service) that puts people at the heart of their own care. It’s about treating individuals with:

–  dignity

                   –  compassion

–  respect

Working collaboratively to ensure their preferences, needs, and values guide all clinical decisions.

 

 

KSBs addressed:

 

K1: Understand the Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates (NMC, 2018), and how to fulfil all registration requirements

K2: Understand the demands of professional practice and demonstrate how to recognise signs of vulnerability in themselves or their colleagues and the action required to minimise risks to health

K3: Understand the professional responsibility to adopt a healthy lifestyle to maintain the level of personal fitness and well-being required to meet people’s needs for mental and physical care

K4: Understand the principles of research and how research findings are used to inform evidence-based practice

K5: Understand the meaning of resilience and emotional intelligence, and their influence on an individual’s ability to provide care

K6: Understand and apply relevant legal, regulatory and governance requirements, policies, and ethical frameworks, including any mandatory reporting duties, to all areas of practice

K7: Understand the importance of courage and transparency and apply the Duty of Candour

K8: Understand how discriminatory behaviour is exhibited

K9: Understand the aims and principles of health promotion, protection and improvement and the prevention of ill health when engaging with people

K10: Understand the principles of epidemiology, demography, and genomics and how these may influence health and well-being outcomes

K11: Understand the factors that may lead to inequalities in health outcomes

K12: Understand the importance of early years and childhood experiences and the possible impact on life choices, mental, physical and behavioural health and well-being

K13: Understand the contribution of social influences, health literacy, individual circumstances, behaviours and lifestyle choices to mental, physical and behavioural health outcomes

K14: Understand the importance of health screening

K15: Understand human development from conception to death, to enable delivery of person-centred safe and effective care