Date of Learning: 08/09/2023
Time: 09:30-16:30
Learning Activity 1: Introduction to Public Health Policy, Screening, and the Role of the Nursing Associate.
Today is our first session after our three weeks of summer break from university. We were welcomed by our two new lecturers, Paulette Ragan, and Scott Rodden. The lecturer at this early part of our class session was Paulette. The class started with a brief introduction of ourselves (the students) and our lecturer. The module assignment was introduced to us students and we identified that our Moodle access for the module was not available. However, Paulette shows us on the digital board how it is laid out. She began to discuss and explain our module assignment. She discussed the assignment criteria and how it is assessed.
The module assignment consists of a poster/leaflet and a report. It covers a demonstration of an understanding of the theory and its application to practice regarding public health and health promotion. As a student, I am required to develop a poster/leaflet and submit a 1,500-word report to support and discuss the need, evidence base, and relevance of the information shared.
The learning outcomes for today’s session are to understand the module learning outcome and understand the definitions of health and well-being, public health, health promotion, and health education. To enhance my knowledge of the role of nursing associates within the topic areas and to gain an overview of what is expected for the assessment of the module.
In this learning activity, we discussed what it meant to be healthy. I wrote keywords such as self-awareness, health status, diet, and physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health. We then discussed influences on health such as cultural background, family, religion, media, social environment, and social policies. I was given a questionnaire which described the important of aspects my health and we compared each response with each other. We then had a group discussion about our results in which we all agreed that everyone is different and can be influenced by different beliefs and perceptions in life.
It was discussed that health encompasses these dimensions – physical, emotional, intellectual, sexual, social, spiritual, and societal. We also discussed models of health professional’s perceptions such as the medical, holistic, biopsychosocial, ecological, and wellness models.
The medical model is disease-oriented which focuses on the physical dimension rather than others. Health promotion in the medical model focuses on giving information to individuals to ensure they understand the pathology. The holistic model embraces the concept of well-being. It integrates health education and prevention activities when it comes to health promotion. The biopsychosocial model incorporates both medical and holistic models of health. It considers individual and group circumstances that may affect health. The ecological model is a framework that considers the individual and social environments mutually affect each other. Multiple factors are considered that might affect the lifespan such as individuals (genetics and behaviours), interpersonal (social support), institutional and community environment (work, school, transport etc.), broader social, economic, and political influences (social policies, law and social norms). The wellness model builds on the principles of the holistic model. It strives to improve the quality of life regardless of health status. It highlights the need for individuals to be resilient by adapting to changes.
In this learning activity, we looked at a website which statistically shows different countries which indicate individuals’ life expectancy, ecological footprint, and well-being. In the UK the average life expectancy is 81.3 years, the ecological footprint is 3.95 and well-being is 7.16/10. The website gave plenty of information about all the countries in the world that are affected by ecological footprint which affects the rates of life expectancy and wellbeing of the people.
Health promotion is enabling people to increase control and awareness to improve health. It is about an individual’s behaviour towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions. It is a core function of public health to promote health and support governments, communities, and individuals to cope and address health challenges. The World Health Organisation has been delivering health promotion worldwide.
Promoting health includes health education, which is teaching health and how to live healthily. It is a component of health promotion; it is about learning about health and illness. Public health is the art of promoting and protecting health and well-being by preventing ill health and prolonging life through organised efforts of society.
In this learning activity, I learned the importance of health promotion as a nursing associate and how important it is to be involved. I must contribute when it comes to identifying the health needs of the community and the most appropriate ways of intervening to improve their health. I must provide relevant information and support to promote and optimise positive health.
Learning Activity 2: Introduction to Delivery of safe and effective person-centred care.
In this learning activity, I will be reflecting on an episode of learning from the module – delivery of safe and effective person-centred care. We had a brief introduction; it was the first time we met the new lecturer, Scott. Following the brief introduction, we started discussing the module and assessment criteria.
The assessment is based on a case study in which I will need to demonstrate my ability to apply theory to practice by demonstrating my understanding and knowledge of holistic assessment, planning, and delivering person-centred care. The assignment consists of a 2000-word essay to be submitted on the 19th of January 2024. The module learning outcomes are to describe the key stages of the nursing process, demonstrate the ability to conduct a holistic nursing assessment using appropriate frameworks, tools, or techniques, demonstrate principles of planning care through shared decision-making and lastly, identify the key components of high-quality person-centred care. After discussing the module assignment, we began to discuss today’s session.
For today we covered person-centred care. In this session I identified the principles of person-centred care and applied them to practice, we explored barriers and facilitators to person-centred care, and we identified how person-centred care is advocated through policies and regulated by the law.
We started the class with a group activity. We were asked by the lecturer what we think care means. My group wrote down some keywords and discussed each word in the whole class on why we think those words mean care to us. Person-centred care focuses on the needs of an individual, it is about ensuring that preferences, needs, and values are considered when it comes to clinical decision-making. It is about supporting individuals in a way to promotes their independence and treating them with dignity and respect. I particularly like how my lecturer defined person-centred care as a centre/core of the decision-making process.
In this learning activity, we discussed fundamental standards of care which are laid out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC are independent regulator for health and social care in England. Hospitals and other healthcare providers are rated accordingly by the CQC. There are core values of person-centred care. The NHS England values involving people in their care. There are 8 values in person-centred care this are individuality, rights, privacy, choice, independence, dignity, respect, and partnership.
The principles of person-centred care discussed during this class session and how important it is when it comes to supporting individuals. It is about offering coordinated and personalised care, support, and treatment. Person-centred care is supporting an individual to recognise and develop their strength and abilities to enable them to live an independent and fulfilling life. Person-centred care is important when it comes to patient experiences which improves the quality of care and achievement of health outcomes.
In this learning activity, I learned the importance of delivering person-centred care. It benefits patients as they are more likely to be involved and satisfied with the care provided. Individuals are more likely to engage in positive health behaviours and to have better health outcomes. Person-centred care shares power and responsibilities with both patient and nurse about care planning. It involves effective communication and therapeutic relationships.
KSB Addressed:
Knowledge:
| K1 | Understand the code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates (NMC 2018), and how to fulfill 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| K18 | Understand and apply the principles and processes for making reasonable adjustments |
| K20 | Know how people’s needs for safety, dignity, privacy, comfort and sleep can be met |
| K21 | Understand co-morbidities and the demands of meeting people’s holistic needs when prioritising care |
| K33 | Understand when to seek appropriate advice to manage a risk and avoid compromising quality of care and health outcomes |
| K34 | Know and understand strategies to develop resilience in self and know how to seek support to help deal with uncertain situations |
| K37 | Understand the challenges of providing safe nursing care for people with complex co-morbidities and complex care needs |
| K38 | Understand the complexities of providing mental, cognitive, behavioural and physical care needs across a wide range of integrated care settings |
| K39 | Understand the principles and processes involved in supporting people and families with a range of care needs to maintain optimal independence and avoid unnecessary interventions and disruptions to their lives |
| K40 | Understand own role and contribution when involved in the care of a person who is undergoing discharge or a transition of care between professionals, settings or services |
| K41 | Know the roles, responsibilities and scope of practice of different members of the nursing and interdisciplinary team, and own role within it |
| K42 | Understand and apply the principles of human factors and environmental factors when working in teams |
Skills:
| S1 | Act in accordance with the Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates (NMC, 2018), and fulfil all registration requirements |
| S4 | Take responsibility for continuous self-reflection, seeking and responding to support and feedback to develop professional knowledge and skills |
| S5 | Safely demonstrate evidence-based practice in all skills and procedures required for entry to the register: Standards of proficiency for nursing associates Annex A & B (NMC 2018) |
| S6 | Act as an ambassador for their profession and promote public confidence in health and care services |
| S7 | Communicate effectively using a range of skills and strategies with colleagues and people at all stages of life and with a range of mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural health challenges |
| S8 | Recognise signs of vulnerability in self or colleagues and the action required to minimise risks to health |
| S9 | Develop, manage and maintain appropriate relationships with people, their families, carers and colleagues |
| S10 | Provide, promote, and where appropriate advocate for, non-discriminatory, person-centred and sensitive care at all times, reflecting on people’s values and beliefs, diverse backgrounds, cultural characteristics, language requirements, needs and preferences, taking account of any need for adjustments |
| S13 | Apply the aims and principles of health promotion, protection and improvement and the prevention of ill health when engaging with people |
| S14 | Promote preventive health behaviours and provide information to support people to make informed choices to improve their mental, physical, behavioural health and wellbeing |
| S15 | Identify people who are eligible for health screening |
| S16 | Promote health and prevent ill health by understanding the evidence base for immunisation, vaccination and herd immunity |
| S18 | Apply knowledge, communication and relationship management skills required to provide people, families and carers with accurate information that meets their needs before, during and after a range of interventions |
| S21 | Monitor the effectiveness of care in partnership with people, families and carers, documenting progress and reporting outcomes |
| S22 | Take personal responsibility to ensure that relevant information is shared according to local policy and appropriate immediate action is taken to provide adequate safeguarding and that concerns are escalated |
| S23 | Work in partnership with people, to encourage shared decision making, in order to support individuals, their families and carers to manage their own care when appropriate |
| S25 | Meet people’s needs for safety, dignity, privacy, comfort and sleep |
| S32 | Work collaboratively and in partnership with professionals from different agencies in interdisciplinary teams |
| S33 | Maintain safe work and care environments |
| S34 | Act in line with local and national organisational frameworks, legislation and regulations to report risks, and implement actions as instructed, following up and escalating as required |
| S43 | Contribute to team reflection activities to promote improvements in practice and services |
| S44 | Access, input, and apply information and data using a range of methods including digital technologies, and share appropriately within interdisciplinary teams |
Behaviours:
| B1 | Treat people with dignity, respecting individual’s diversity, beliefs, culture, needs, values, privacy and preferences |
| B2 | Show respect and empathy for those you work with, have the courage to challenge areas of concern and work to evidence based best practice |
| B3 | Be adaptable, reliable and consistent, show discretion, resilience and self-awareness |