Health Committee Report

There are many professional pathways within psychology that an individual may apply themselves to for their career. These include: clinical, forensic, health, and educational psychology. The professional career pathway within applied psychology which will be discussed in this essay is the field of clinical psychology. Clinical psychology aims to reduce the amount of psychological distress an individual experiences and enhance the promotion of psychological well-being. Clinical psychologists attend to both mental and physical health problems including addiction, anxiety, depression, learning difficulties and relationship issues in order to help individuals resolve their problems. Clinical psychologists predominantly work within hospitals, mental health groups and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Clinical | Careers, 2016).

Evidence has linked a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine. There is a positive correlation between a patient’s spirituality or religious commitment and health outcomes. A spiritual assessment as a part of a health assessment is a practical step to incorporating patient’s spiritual needs into practice. The FICA Tool and HOPE Questions provide serve to assist clinicians in the spiritual assessment process. By examining the research done using these tools, it has been determined that the FICA Tool is easy to use and provides basic data on a patient’s spirituality. The FICA tool is both reliable and valid. The HOPE Questions are

Many doctors are reactive when it comes to treating their patients treating the symptoms as they come, and don’t focus on teaching their patients ways to avert the onset of disease. “Health psychology can be applied as preventive treatment or as treatment for a pre-existing illness.” (Fogel). Health psychologists have the opportunity to treat the physical needs of

Using this assessment tool, I interviewed a hospital patient and his relatives. There are lots of ways that these guide questions can be used and while interviewing, I realized how different methods of asking the patient may affect patients’ attitudes towards the issue. Whatever one chooses to use, any method cannot be very effective if sincerity and willingness of the assessor are not present. This is in accordance with the studies about restructuring healing hospitals (Chapman, 2003; Eberst, n.d.) which suggest that hospital facilities and equipment are not enough to cure patients. The hospital management should have people who have positive attitude towards their work and the patients. A healing environment should practice a culture of ‘radical loving care’ (Chapman, 2003; Eberst, n.d); thus, in the process of asking these questions, one should be more careful and sensitive about the patients’ feelings and attitude about the subject matter.

Clinical psychology is just one of the many subfields that psychology has to offer. Those who choose to enter clinical psychology aim to help people with addiction, emotional stress, mental illness, or any other type of mental problems. Knowing what a clinical psychologist does in their practice is important in understanding their profession. A clinical psychologist's education is the most prominent part of their career; without it, they cannot be considered a psychologist. The process and requirements of employment for psychologists are scattered, varying from state to state, as well as their salary and where they may be employed. The future and growth of clinical psychology can only be

M. H. states that she is generally in good overall health. No cardiac, respiratory, endocrine, vascular, musculoskeletal, urinary, hematologic, neurologic, genitourinary, or gastrointestinal problems.

In January 10, 2018 I attended a committee meeting from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm at Mashburn Hall (306 HOB). The political experience was intimidating and empowering. I was frightened of being surrounded by representatives, organizations and community leaders in the health care sector, but at the same respectful and grateful. Consequently, I acquire knowledge in specific healthcare policy topics such as, the existence of the Health Quality Subcommittee, its responsibilities/goals and the nursing role in policy.

The interdisciplinary team in charge of Mr. Thompkins must take into consideration the beliefs and/or philosophies of this patient when it comes to completing the plan of care. This team must honor and respect those beliefs in all decisions made. According to the spiritual assessment performed, spiritual support is given according to the wishes and needs of the patient.

We will be examining substance abuse among adolescents in Orange County (OC) and assessing the contributing factors and different interventions currently offered. Adolescent substance abuse is difficult to identify because, unlike diseases, there are generally no physical manifestations. Therefore, proper education and resources geared towards at-risk adolescents must effectively address the underlying contributors of substance abuse. National statistics generally suggest that poverty is directly related to substance abuse. However, Courtney Perkes, a writer for the Orange County Register, notes that wealth is associated with substance abuse among teens, especially those living “in south Orange County and

For health care providers to deliver the best holistic care that patients deserve, a thorough spiritual assessment must be included during their care. With more research showing a relationship between supporting a patient’s spirituality with their health and ability to cope with illness, it is now a requirement of organizations to include a spiritual assessment to maintain accreditation with The Joint Commission. The minimum required of a spiritual assessment by The Joint Commission is to determine the patient’s religion and

“Spiritual assessments are one of many ways the religion and spirituality are present in modern healthcare” (Cadge & Bandini, 2015, p. 431). From a personal perspective, the best way a healthcare professional can address the spiritual and religious needs of a patient when a life-threatening situation appears, is to first perform a spiritual assessment to the patient upon admission, second after being properly informed about the patient preferences, look for the proper spiritual services that best fulfill the patient’s needs and offer those available services to the patient. When treating patients, medical professionals need to be supportive throughout the patient’s course, listen to the patient’s needs and concerns, offer the available spiritual services, and be mindful of the patient’s spiritual history (Puchalski, 2001, p. 4). For some patients, spirituality is necessary to cope with life threatening situations and is the moral duty of healthcare professionals to help patients to accept their illness and find peace with their life’s.

Spirituality is a delicate topic, and some may not be open to talking about their beliefs. Spirituality is generally understood to be an essential aspect of being human (Lyndo-Lam, 2012). Assessing the spiritual needs of patients is a key component in the nursing process. A compassionate and thoughtful nurse can make a patient feel more secure, making it easier for him to express his spirituality. The participation of both patient and health care provider is vital in promoting spiritual health. The main focus of a spiritual assessment is to gather information regarding the patient’s spiritual needs in order incorporate them into the plan of care, so as to treat

Hope creates a God’s presence and help us persevere in difficult situations. This allows us to channel hope to patients and that they are not alone, God will always be there for them. Patients who lose hope tend to be self-destructive and have no goals in life, this can be detrimental to patient health recover.

There are hundreds of different careers in the medical field ranging from neurosurgeons to nurse practitioners. Psychiatry deals specifically with the diagnosis and treatment of mental, behavioral, and emotional ailments. The main purpose of a psychiatrist is to help people coop with issues and stress in their environment that make it difficult to lead a normal and healthy lifestyle. These issues may arise from abuse, addiction, mental disability, disease, or physical injury. It is the psychiatrist’s job to ensure the patient can maintain a healthy attitude and continue to provide for themselves. A Psychiatrist may choose to specialize in many sub classes of mental health including children and adolescents, geriatric psychiatry, addiction,

As there are many different professions within the health industry, there are many contributions that it makes to the society and community. Through different occupations, such as psychologist, people within the community are able to target specific help for different requirements. This could be for diseases, physical and mental health (1).