For the purpose of this essay I will be reflecting upon the experience of the presentation, which was based on a clinical problem. The focus of the presentation was to identify the complex psychological factors that affect the patient and the fact that we have a part time clinical psychologist who works at the burns centre and in her absence expert advice is not readily available.
Britain is at the forefront of healthcare for people with disfigurement yet many disfigured people report that the health care system has failed to cater their psychosocial problems. One large project found “ over 40% of patients questioned were found to have levels of social anxiety and depression requiring clinical intervention but almost none had been assessed or offered help”. This has been witnessed from clinical experience also that patients presenting to burns unit at weekends and evening are offered very little psychological support, as there is a need for some sort of care pathways or framework to asses patients needs.
Burn injuries, a unique form of trauma, are in many respects one of the worst injuries than an individual can experience. Adjustment to burn injury is a slow process that often results in high distress and anxiety. Of the 250,000 people in the United Kingdom who suffer a burn injury each year, 13000 are considered serious enough to require hospitalisation. Despite care improvements and significantly improved survival, quality of life and long term adjustment to disfigurement following treatment are still variable.
From professional experience it has been learnt that disfigurement is a challenge which professionals can do much to make less daunting and if it is not properly addressed, many patients and their families wi...
... middle of paper ...
...rofessional can Support and Empower. Changing Faces. ISBN 978-1- pp. 1- 17.
Robinson, L.R. (2005) Trauma Rehabilitation. Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams Wilkins.
Scally, G. Donaldson, L.J., (4 July 1998) Clinical Governance and the Drive for Quality Improvement in the New NHS in England. BMJ:pp61-65.
Sheehan Hettiaratchy , S. Hettdziewulski, P., Papini, R. Dziewulski,P. (2005) ABC of Burns. Malden, Mass, BMJ Books.
Williams. E.E., & Griffiths. T. A. (1999) Psychological consequences of Burn Injuries. Burns. 17(6), 478-480.
William. N.J., Williams. S.l., McElroy. (2008) Anxiety in Recovering Severe Burn Injury. Psychology, Health & Medicine. 13 (2): 162-167.
Willebrand. M., Anderson. G, Ekselius. L.,( 2004) Prediction of Psychological Health after an Accidental Burn. J Trauma.;57(2):367-374.
Woodrow, P. (2005) Intensive Care Nursing. London, Routledge.
N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 05 Dec. 2013. http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/womenenc/burns.htm>.
Determining the seriousness and appropriate treatment of a burn requires its classification. Burns are classified according to three factors, the depth and number of affected tissue layers, the total percentage of the body surface that is involved, and the presence of homeostasis disruption or destruction such as respiratory distress, fluid loss, or loss of blood pressure control (Patton & Thibodeau, 2014). According to Mr. MacPherson’s appearance and symptoms, his burns are classified as second-degree or partial-thickness burns. The evidence for this diagnosis according to Patton and Thibodeau (2014), are his presenting symptoms of severe pain and the appearance of blisters, edema, and fluid loss. This type of bur...
“Why do You Call it Plastic Surgery?” Fighting Ignorance since 1973. Web. 14 March 2014.
Ozer, Emily, and Daniel Weiss. "Who Develops Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?." Current Directions in Psychological Science. 13.4 (2004): 169-172. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
‘Since its launch in 1948, the NHS has grown to become the world’s largest publicly funded health service. NHS employs more than 1.7m people and deals on average with 1m patients every 36 hours. It is also one of the most efficient, most egalitarian and most comprehensive. Even though NHS services in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are managed separately and each might have some system differences, they remain similar in most respects and belong to a single, unified system. The NHS core principle is that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth.’ (NHS, 2010) Success of NHS depends on how well the organisation balance quality and customer (patient) satisfaction with adequate financing and long-range goals. Health care organisations such as NHS must deal with government oversight, managed care, new technologies, and increasing pharmaceutical prices.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Fact Sheet. “National Institutes of Health”. Oct 2010. Web. 26 June 2011.
The control center of the human body is none other than the mighty brain. Due to its incredible importance in basic human functioning, both voluntary and involuntary, any injury or trauma to this organ will have a great influence on the body and it's capabilities (Burrus, 2013). Exploring how the brain deals with various injuries and damage proves that the functionality of the brain is fitting to make the brain the power house of the body. But before exploring this with the help of case studies, it is important to first make sense of the the anatomy and functioning of the nervous system as a whole in order to understand how it is affected during injury, the functioning of the body that is lost, the intervention implemented for treatment or rehabilitation and the changes experienced.
The diagnosis of Post –Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) involves clusters of symptoms. They include persistent re-experiencing of the trauma, avoidance of traumatic reminders/ general numbing of emotional responsiveness, and hyper-arousal (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). In order for the possible diagnosis of PTSD the individual needs to have exposed to a
Frances Report (2013) gave a report of what led to the failure of the care Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust provided to patients. He reported that this failure is as a result neglect and of lack of good leadership and incompetence fundamental nursing care by health care professionals such this called for a major change in the culture of the NHS across the country. Hence, the innovation team cultivate the culture of transparency, honesty, tru...
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Smoke exposure at prescribed burns: a study on the effects of smoke exposure on firefighters at prescribed burns. Portland: Forest Service, 1995.
Some people’s obsession with plastic surgery is obviously getting out of control. It starts with only getting one thing fixed or corrected but then quickly escalates and before you know it, a face that once was all-flesh turns into plastic. According to a study conducted by Nigel Mercer (2009), “The number of official cosmetic surgeries has more than tripled to 34,000 since 2003”. The two reasons why plastic surgery should be banned are because of its high health risks, and because of the additional pressure it puts on people to look picture-perfect.
Sandor appears to show multiple symptoms of PTSD as labeled in the DSM-5 when confronted with fire. To be diagnosed with PTSD a person must meet some specific requirements. The first set of requirements is to have been “expose[d] to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence in one (or more)” ways (Nolen-Hoeksema, S., 2014). Sandor directly experienced a traumatic event with fire, which led to serious injury. Half of his face was burned, giving his skin a melted appearance. Another criterion is the “presence of one (or more)…. intrusion symptoms associated with the traumatic event, beginning after the traumatic event has occurred” which in Sandor’s case would be “marked physiological reactions to...external cues that symbolize
Nembhard, I. M., Alexander, J. A., Hoff, T. J., & Ramanujam, R. (2009). Why Does the Quality of Health Care Continue to Lag? Insights from Management Research. Academy Of Management Perspectives, 23 (1), 24-42. doi: 10.5465/AMP.2009.37008001
Bengoa, R. (2006). Quality of care: a process for making strategic choices in health systems.. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Throughout the fire service, firefighters encounter a high level and variety of stress that can cause post traumatic stress disorder. A large amount of people thought the disorder could only affect military personnel; however, an enormous percent of fire service personnel are acquiring this disorder from a wide range of emergency calls or other life altering factors. This disorder has a dramatic effect on the management in the fire department.