Respect And Dignity Case Study

The guiding principles of Catholic Social Teaching have the overarching, dominating theme of human dignity (Condit, 2016, p. 371). The focus is, that human beings were formed in God’s image and in return, humanities purpose is to follow in God’s footsteps and portray the same love and grace (Coleman, 2008) (Condit, 2016, p. 371). Consequently, this affects how human beings interact with each other, requiring commitment, to look after, encourage, maintain and promote each other (Coleman, 2008) (Herbert, 2016, p. 7). One way to apply, this Catholic Social Teaching of human dignity, is to understand the nurse’s relationship with the patient. Nurses need to approach the patient with respect and maintain the person’s privacy, acknowledging that they are a fellow human being, with their own personal characteristics and beliefs (Condit, 2016, p. 371) (Walsh & Kowanko, 2002, p. 143-144, 149).

This principle is to ensure that within the hospital, the patients dignity is respected, they are given their own independence, even if that means by supervision of staff and their safety is protected. It’s the staff’s responsibility to ensure that this need is met. For example, when it comes to giving the patients a bed bath, the staff must ensure that the patient’s privacy is protected by not exposing the patient and making sure no others can see by closing the curtains or by closing the door. The patients in the hospital should be encouraged to make their own decisions. Such as, a member of staff should take the menu around each of the patients in the morning and ask them what they would like to eat for that day. I experienced this first-hand during work placement as I was asked to go around the ward and ask each patient what they would like from the set menu. Another method from the principle is before a patient receives further

During my placement during at an aged care facility, it was an important process to ensure that nursing interventions were carried out to ensure a respectful behaviour of a resident’s dignity, culture, values beliefs and

We all want to be treated with dignity and it is a very important part of an individual’s life. Working in the health and social care profession it is important to help people maintain their dignity so they can keep their sense of self-respect and self-worth. All health and social care professionals should be sensitive and aware of the needs of people and service users. Just because a person has dementia, they still need to be given a choice and not assume that they cannot make a choice. Not everybody is the same, there are different levels of dementia, so getting to know the service user is vital to challenge discrimination. We also need to make sure that the service user or their families are aware of the complaints procedure. Having policies and procedures are put in place and that staff are up to date on their training.

There are, however, barriers to maintaining a patient’s dignity. In a survey of over two thousand nurses’, carried out by the RCN (2008), it was found that nurses’ come across several boundaries in relation to maintaining a patient’s dignity. These boundaries were identified as pressures on bed spaces, shortages of staff and a purpose or target centred culture (RCN, 2008). The caring environment can have a huge impact on dignity, it has the ability to maintain a person’s dignity or degrade and devalue them (Gallagher, 2004). Torjuul and Sorlie (2006) acknowledge that overcrowding and mixed-sex accommodation are barriers to maintaining patients’ dignity and privacy. A caring environment that is spacious, clean, with good facilities promotes dignified care (Baillie et al., 2009).

According to the ANA Code for Nurses Provision 1, nurses must treat and respect every patient with dignity, regardless of

Dignity and privacy are rights that can be forgotten by staff when working in a residential facility like Highfield. They must ensure that the resident’s privacy and dignity are respected at all times. Areas where this is important are dressing and undressing, intimate care, entering private room and examinations.

dignity of the patient are essential components of caring. Caring in nursing is there to meet the

As I was placed in an acute surgical ward in a hospital for my first semester placement, I have practiced this principle throughout my work by taking control and understanding a patient’s dignity and privacy. When admitting a patient in triage, one of the questions in the documentation of the process of admission is about the skin. This involves ensuring there is no broken skin or pressure sores for example. As elderly people and people in wheelchairs are more prone to getting pressure sores or skin breaks on their bottom, it is a nurse’s duty of care

According to trait 1.1 “Respect for Human Dignity” of provision 1, “A fundamental principle that underlies all nursing practice is respect for the inherent worth, dignity, and human rights of every individual. Nurses take into account the needs and values of all persons in all professional

Patient’s decisions may sometimes be affected by various factors i.e. Their surroundings, they are often vulnerable and out of their normal environment. A conventional health care setting may be in a hospital environment where patients are most likely feel sensitive and insecure. Matiti and Trorey (2008:17) conducted interviews involving 102 patients in 3 different hospitals across the United Kingdom, over a period of 18 months. The purpose of these encounters was to annotate what was being said and also the fundamental meaning of how patients believed that their dignity was being put in jeopardy. One of the key aspects of patient dignity is making choices. Whilst conducting these interviews Matiti and Trorey (2008:17) discovered that despite the fact that patients accepted the loss of a little independence within the hospital surroundings, they wanted the freedom to participate in the decisions about their healthcare. Patients’ understanding in terms of choice, authority or participation in care and autonomy varied extensively. A number of patients were grateful that they were given the option to make decisions and that these were acted upon. On the contrary others considered that their right to making choices was contradicted and often their

Human dignity is respect for an individual regardless of sex, race, or gender. This ethical principle promotes respect for life, freedom and privacy. A nurse can promote dignity by providing patient privacy during nursing care procedures, allowing independence, and upholding the cleanliness of the patient. For the nurse, human dignity does not only apply to patients but also to our peer and colleagues. The nursing student can promote human dignity by being respectful to his or her fellow classmates, faculty, and staff. They can also promote dignity by decreasing prejudice, judgment and competition among students (Shaw & Degazon, 2008).

Being respectful and considerate to your patient is necessary for providing excellent patient care. It is also important to be respectful and considerate to your colleagues; arriving on time, being a team player, doing above the minimum as often as you can are all excellent ways to show this. It is essential to ensure that the workplace is an “environment in which all colleagues enjoy equal respect and where they can advance to their full potential.” (Professionalism initiative, 2012) If everyone treated their colleagues with respect, it would make the workplace very hospitable and help provide better patient care, which is the main purpose of nursing. An environment without respect can become hostile and impair the growth of your colleagues and yourself which can lead to giving substandard care to your patients and their families.

Dignity is a core element of nursing care. In nurses' clinical practice, maintaining the dignity of patients is an important issue because a lack of dignity in care can affect the health and recovery of patients. To treat a patient with dignity is to treat them in a way that shows they are valued and important, in a way that is appropriate and respectful to the individual. A patient needs to feel safe and secure in the nurses care and should be made feel comfortable, in control and valued at all times.

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