Advance Nurse Practice in Reproductive Health Care
Reflection
Implementing a script is a difficult task in the healthcare setting since nurses have to use the mantra used by archeologists, proceed with caution. During the implementation, it was important to consider the sensitive information that would require to be phrased in a good way to avoid negative emotions. Patients in reproductive healthcare could have experience miscarriage or sexual dysfunction. It was important to be sensitive to the needs of every patient (Geerse et al., 2019). Another consideration during the implementation was the need to have elaborate information about a patient. The information involves the medical history, the chief complaint, the mental health, current medication, and the past hospitalization (Geerse et al., 2019). Comprehensive objective and subjective data about the health of the patient were important in understanding the health condition of patients.
It was important to be careful to remember that every patient is unique. Patients suffer from different conditions and respond differently. As a nurse, I did not assume that all patients suffer from reproductive health conditions due to one specific cause. During the implementation, I was mindful of observing the ethical and legal considerations in the healthcare practice (Höglund & Larsson, 2019). The first step was to inform the patient about the healthcare procedures. The information was important to ensure they give informed consent. I had to assure the patients about confidentiality, privacy, and disclosure. I realized that I had to use simple language to speak to different patients in the healthcare practice. Another consideration was to ensure I employ all the available knowledge to prevent patient harm but to ensure quality healthcare outcomes (Höglund & Larsson, 2019).
Healthcare interviews can present difficult moments for the patients and the practitioners. It is difficult to ask patients about the causes of their reproductive health issues. For instance, patients who have been taking birth control medicines may experience difficulty conceiving. It is difficult as a healthcare practitioner to state that taking the medication contributed to the current condition (Handley et al., 2019). It is important to be sensitive to the needs of the patients. Healthcare workers should ensure they address the patients while being sensitive to their emotions. During the conversations, it was important to give hope to the patients that despite the healthcare challenges, there is a better life ahead. Another difficult moment was when patients indicated that they are homosexuals. I had an interaction with a patient who stated that she is a lesbian and was trying to conceive. She believes that the drugs she has taken in the past could be the cause of her current predicament. It was tough to respond to the questions since they can bear a significant impact on the health, emotion, and personality of a patient (Handley et al., 2019).
I have realized that patients are of different personalities and have diverse expectations. Patients require a sensitive approach that will create a rapport with the practitioner. Sensitivity will trigger trust and ensure patients can share their deepest emotions, frustrations, and expectations (Landry, 2017). I learned that I need to change my approach by balancing sensitivity and telling the truth. For instance, patients with negative behaviors such as drug abuse may experience reproductive health diseases. It will be important in the future to find the best ways to communicate to the patients that their negative behavior is contributing to their current health conditions.
References
Geerse, O. P., Lamas, D. J., Sanders, J. J., Paladino, J., Kavanagh, J., Henrich, N. J., … & Block, S. D. (2019). A qualitative study of serious illness conversations in patients with advanced cancer. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 22(7), 773-781.
Handley, M., Bunn, F., & Goodman, C. (2019). Supporting general hospital staff to provide dementia sensitive care: A realist Assessment. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 96, 61-71.
Höglund, B., & Larsson, M. (2019). Midwives’ work and attitudes towards contraceptive counselling and contraception among women with intellectual disability: Focus group interviews in Sweden. The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care, 24(1), 39-44.
Landry, J. (2017). Delivering culturally sensitive care to LGBTQI patients. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 13(5), 342-347.
