Elevating the Voice of the Patient

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Recommended: Review of related literature about communication skills

In any healthcare setting, a patient should be able to influence their own care and treatment. However, there may be particular obstacles that may prevent a patient from voicing their opinions regarding their care and treatment. The purpose of this essay is to discuss three barriers: how a patient can overcome not being empowered; staff having limited knowledge and insufficient training regarding certain mental health issues and poor communication. These barriers will be related to recent clinical experience. The aim of this essay is to consider how each of these barriers diminished the voice of the patient and how these were overcome.

Empowerment is a relatively new concept in healthcare; it follows the theory that every person should be entitled to make decisions about their own healthcare (Gohde, 2011). It is important that a patient can feel empowered – that they can feel instrumental in their own care – so that they may begin to recover. In previous years, patients were passive recipients of care (Latvala, 2000) but now they are more active in making decisions about their care. Patient empowerment is vital in promoting a positive outcome for a nurse – patient relationship (Spence Lashinger, 2010). An example of patient empowerment is the experience of Emily, who is a twenty-five year old female with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. Emily was diagnosed eight years ago and subsequently is well known to her local NHS Psychiatric Services. Emily was recently admitted into a Psychiatric Admissions Ward at her local NHS hospital under a Compulsory Treatment Order (Scottish Government, 2004) after attempting suicide following an episode of severe starvation. When the student nurse commenced placement at the ward in which Emily h...

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...an Eating Disorders Review (8) page 293-300

Sanfter JL (2011) “Quality of Life in Relation to Psychosocial Risk Variables for Eating Disorders in Women and Men” Eating Behaviours 12 (2) page 136-142

Scottish Government (2004) The New Mental Health Act – What’s It All About? A Short Introduction. Available online at www.scotland.gov.uk/publications/2004/01/18753/31686, first accessed 28/04/2011

Sheldon LK (2009) “Communication for Nurses”, Second Edition, London, James and Bartlett, page 81-82

Snell L, Crowe M, Jordan J (2010) “Maintaining a Therapeutic Connection: Nursing in an Inpatient Eating Disorders Unit” Journal of Clinical Nursing 19 (3-4) page 358

Spence Laschinger HK (2010) “Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Nurse – Patient Empowerment: Applying Kanter’s Empowerment Theory to Patient Care” Journal of Nursing Management. 18 (1) page 4-13

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