Refusal September 28, 2014

During my stage, I had a patient with dementia. When I first went to see him to introduce myself, he wasn't happy because he didn't sleep well. I told him that I understand and I would let him rest, then I explained him what procedures needed to be done and then he got mad. He said that he didn't want to do anything. I let him calm down and told him I would come back in few minutes.
When I returned in his room with the machine to take his vital signs, he started yelling that me and said that he didn't wanted us to touch him. So I went to see my teacher, and she also tried to take the patient's blood pressure but same reaction, he refused.
I tried to resonate him by telling him that what we were doing was for his good. As nurse, I knew the consequences that would happen to him if he would refuse to take his medications,refuse to eat,etc.
So I tried to keep him pushing but it was unsuccessful so the teacher said that we should accept his choices and did not disturb him.
After this experience, I felt like I couldn't bring good to this patient. I was also thinking that we are trying our best to improve our patient's condition, but when they don't want to we have to accept it even if we don't want to. This is in a way forcing them to get better.

       

Nursing ethics
Qais Khedri

Different opinion

Today's blog will about a personal experience I had where my values were different from others.  The situation happened this summer when I went to Calgary to see my family. I didn't have that much of news about them before seeing them. So I met one of my cousin, she is my age. We were talking and I saw a ring on her hand. I asked her why she has it, I thought that maybe she was engaged to someone but she told me that she was married to a men since a year. It was an arranged marriage.

 She was telling me that her mother chose the guy and she had to accept this marriage without arguing. I tried to reason her by telling that she can refuse to be with the guy but she said no (looking anxious). The next day, I and my cousins were about to go out but my married cousin said that she could not come. She told me that her husband doesn't let her go out. Again, I felt very upset inside of me but didn't show it physically. I talked to her big sister and she told me that Samira (married cousin) couldn't go out, her husband was calling her twice a day and she would have to be there to answer, her husband told her to stop school and stop working (because he doesn't trust her). And then the subject of abortion can in. My cousin told me that if she would get pregnant by her husband then she would have to keep to baby even if inside of her she doesn't want to. She feels obliged to stay with him so she doesn't dishonor the family.

  I kept telling her that she is being controlled by this men, but no reaction from her. She was saying that her mother's decision is important for her, she has to accept this man and listen to what he says. At this point, our values were completely different. I told her that she has the right to choose, take decisions, and leave him if she wants to. I think that she doesn't consider freedom as of her main values, she doesn't accept and respect herself as a women that has human right, I think that she is unable to develop her own values because others control them. For me it is different because I think that everyone has the right of living without being controlled.

Today, my reactions are the same as that time. I still feel mad knowing that this kind of problems happens in a country where freedom has a lot of importance. In a professional manner, if I would have to deal with a patient having the same type of problem. I might see patients that are not talking about their issues because they are scared of their husband, controlled by them, I would probably keep my feelings with me but I would also try to resonate that person and maybe I would involve a social worker to the situation. Same reaction with a women talking about abortion. If she doesn't want the child but keep him, then maybe there can be neglection so the life of the baby scan be a threat.

Qais Khedri

Nursing Ethics

September 13th 2014 TRANSITION TO A NEW HOME

Yesterday was my first day in stage and I heard a discussion about something I never really paid attention to. I was in a room where there were two patients. The teacher was setting up to show a technique on my patient. At that time, there was a health professional that came to see the other patient in the room and her family members. That person came to tell the patient and her family that because the patient's heart was not functioning properly, so she would have to move in a nursing home. When she said these words, I realized how hard it can be hard for someone to know that he/she won't be able to go back at home again. And how this decision affects the family members too because they are worried that she might die far from them. The patient's daughter was asking a lot of questions as if there were other possibilities, if she will be safe, etc. I am aware that I shouldn't have had listened to the conversation but it was impossible not to hear them talking. After the experience, I thought of it and noticed how confidentiality should be respected. We have to provide privacy to our patients and respect their confidentiality as much as possible. Even though, the confidentiality was an issue, the health professional was very good in communicating with the patients and family. She was sitting beside the patient, was answering the questions with understandable words, and explained the pros and cons of why it would be better for the patient to try Nursing home. I found her way of communicating very interesting and professional and I can learn from this.

 

Usually when we go on stage in a long-term care centers. We see the patients already in their room, and not really paying attention to since when they are here. This experience will be very beneficial for me because now when I'll go at Nursing home, I will be aware that patients have had their own house, they had a life before coming here and some might not be happy about moving. And this will help in my nursing practice because I will understand the patients in long-term care centers better and reflect more on their past life, family support...

Nursing Ethics                                                             
Qais Khedri

First entry September 6th, 2014

The purpose of this article is to explain my point of view on why I think this journal reflecting will help me through this semester.

By reflecting about events that happened to me, I want to be able to think of my actions (were they good or bad actions, why did I do so). I want to learn about myself because sometimes in life I do something, then I think of it and regret it. Writing down about the decision I took based on the pros and cons of my actions can I think help reduce the feeling of regretting. Expressing my feelings can make me aware of them and then to possibly work on them (if they are negative). I think this will help  me identify the positive aspects of my actions because often when an incident happen, we tend to only think about the negative side. By doing this reflection, I want to see if the situations increase my strengths, affects my self-esteem, my character, my relations with others, etc. There are many situations that are still uncomfortable to me and that I want to work on. Some of them are death (dead body and seeing a family going through the grieving process), patients being abused, patient of my age, etc.. I want to be able to face these new situations and see if my ways of dealing with them has improved. I will often relate the experiences to my nursing knowledge, by trying to incorporate what we learned in class. An example of question to integrate is : how my nursing thinking process has helped me do the right action in the experienced situation. To conclude this first entry, I believe this journal reflecting will help me learn a lot about myself and that it will be very grateful in my future because I will be aware of the reasons and the thinking process that I chose behind my actions.

Nursing Ethics
Qais Khedri