Date: 28/09/2022

Introduction

This essay aims to reflect on suicide awareness. Office of National Statistics defines suicide as “death given an undergoing cause of intentional self-harm or an injury or poisoning of undetermined intent”. By understanding the factors and causes of suicide thought, awareness of the suicidal signpost, taking proper interventions, providing postvention support, and tackling suicide with high-quality training for the health care professional and the communities, suicide is preventable.

Suicide continuum and causes

Patients feeling suicidal include four main steps: thinking, planning, attempting, and completing. Everyone can become suicidal with no specific onset time and place. Causes may include, under stress, feeling extremely distressed, hopeless, helpless, alone, confused, encountering physical chronic pain, having mental issues, e.g., mental disorder or distress, abusing substances, e.g., drugs and alcohol, concerning housing or financing issues, and even cultural, etc. However, the main reason for the cause is that people always try to avoid talking about suicide, with the misconception that discussing more will bring more suicidal thoughts. Acknowledge the importance of prevention, intervention and postvention care can help the patient to manage and minimise suicide significantly.

Prevention, intervention and postvention

As mentioned above, every single person may have suicidal through at any time, no matter where they are. Therefore, non-judgement communication skills are highly required. Actively listening to patients’ needs, directly asking how they feel and what causes them suicidal thoughts, talking openly, acknowledging, addressing promptly and effectively, and providing early support can prevent suicide.

Proper intervention, such as risk assessment, personalised safety planning, and appropriate help and support, helps patients better cope and enhance problem-solving quickly and effectively. Considering individual needs and referring patients to social support, mental health care specialists, trust therapeutic relationships, and faith groups sensibly and appropriately. Referral needs to be able, available, and accessible at all times to maximise support and help whenever, whatever, or whoever is needed.

Maintaining a good therapeutic relationship and building good rapport can beneficial engagement between help care professionals and patients during the postvention stage. Regularly review and communicate with the patient, amend appropriate personalised safety planning, and walk alongside the patients, providing help and support accordingly.

Summary

In conclusion, suicide is preventable. Health care professionals need to be aware and ensure proper prevention, intervention and postvention support care are provided to patients who may have suicidal through. Be sensitive and higher aware that patients do not always have mental health and that there are no specific categories or groups of patients who may plan and attempt suicide.

Date: 26/09/2022

Introduction

This essay aims to reflect on how I should prepare myself to become more confident and competent when handling aggressive patients, rude family members, and patients with psychiatric issues, managing their unmet expectations, needs, wants or demands, and providing holistic personal care for a patient who exhibits anger or aggression simultaneously after watching a few video clips recorded by health care professionals. Understanding anger, acknowledging appropriate interaction, and de-escalation are beneficial and essential for my future nursing pathway.

Understanding anger

Angry or aggressive patients pose a safety threat; their outbursts can cause potential violence or physical harm to health care professionals and other patients. Angry can be verbal or nonverbal, e.g., exaggerated gestures or complete silence, and an agitation continuum with rage and violence moving up the scale. Therefore, nurses need to understand the anger and communicate effectively and compassionately to help patients to control and manage it.

Interacting with angry or aggressive patients

Firstly, maintain some distance from patients. This action prevents health care professionals from being physically harmed cause by patients but also provides personal space for the patient to ease their anxiety. Secondly, help patients to manage their anger. Being empathetic, listening to their needs or demands, and acknowledging and addressing them accordingly. Thirdly, avoiding the use of restraint. Last but not least, avoiding coercive intervention. Treat patients with dignity and respect (NMC, 2018).

De-escalation process

The goal of de-escalation is to ease the patient’s anger in a compassionate, collaborative way and treat them with dignity and respect. Firstly, speak calmly, reassuring the patient’s concerns and needs but firmly with a lower pitch, volume and rate. Secondly, address and respond patient’s want or demand selectively, answer all informational questions and never ignore the patient. Thirdly, ask open-ended questions, empathetically listen to their needs, and show empathy and understanding. Lastly, maintain safety distancing and with arms down, palms facing posture to deliver the message that I am here to help and not to cause any harm.

Summary

In conclusion, understanding anger, effectively communicating and interacting with angry or aggressive patients, and applying the de-escalation process, is essential skills and technique that I need to understand and master throughout my nursing professional development. These skills could minimise the safety threat posed by angry or aggressive patients. They allow me to prioritise people and provide holistic patient care with dignity and respect.

Reference

Nursing and Midwife Council (NMC) (2018) The Code. Available at: https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/nmc-code.pdf (accessed 26Sep2022)