Various careers provide distinct benefits and disadvantages. Apart from the exceptional benefits they receive, family physicians face certain challenges related to their jobs. These challenges vary in difficulty, depending on one’s skills and experiences. Some challenges family physicians face include handling difficult patients, preventing germs from spreading, building trust with their patients and dealing with long work hours.
To begin, many family physicians experience difficult patients at least once in their careers. These patients are usually angry, insulting and cruel. The main solution to handling these patients is by “killing them with kindness” and by being compassionate. There was a reason these patients came into the office. Therefore,
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Day by day, various patients come into the office for their concerns. Therefore, there is an increase in risk of sicknesses due to the spread of germs. In order to minimize the risk of getting sick, family physicians must wear protective equipment when necessary. Examples of protective equipment used to prevent the spread of germs to a family physician include masks and gloves. These are important items to use when treating and caring for the patient, especially during an examination of a patient. Additionally, it is significant to practice hand washing since many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean water. By washing their hands after every patient or every examination, a family physician can prevent the spread of …show more content…
Family physicians deal with a wide range of patients and illnesses. Therefore, physicians work very long hours, especially at the beginning of their careers. In order to deal with working long hours, it is important for the physicians to take care of themselves. They must get good rest and make sure to step back from work and breathe, whether through short breaks or long vacations. Also, they must ensure they eat their meals regularly and promote their well-being through exercise. Furthermore, family physicians must make sure they don’t stress about the long hours. Before they go to work, they must withdraw the stress and negativity as it reduces their energy and motivation. Not to mention, it is important not to stress in order to maintain a positive attitude for work and keep motivated. To help keep motivated and maintain a positive attitude while feeling stressed family physicians should be reminded that they are helping others and should reward themselves for the little accomplishments. Exercise is a good stress-reliever as well. It can make family physicians feel good and distract them from their daily
When we see patients, we must remember that we are not simply treating a disease. We are caring for people with lives, hobbies, jobs, families, and friends, who are likely in a very vulnerable position. We must ensure that we use the status of physicians to benefit patients first and foremost, and do what we promised to when we entered the profession: provide care and improve quality of life, and hopefully leave the world a little better than it was
In the health care profession, one of the most important things for physicians and nurses is to avoid being infected by bacteria and viruses from sick patients. Proper use of the correct PPE is one of the keys to ensuring the protection of health care workers. Among other PPE including scrubs, respirators, and eye protection, gloves are very important for the control of disease. However, there is much dissention among physicians about the use of single or double gloving. Different studies have examined the pros and cons of single gloving compared with double gloving, and the impact that each has in the field of medicine.
Melvin Kooner, an anthropologist who entered medical school in his mid-thirties, characterizes physicians as “tough, brilliant, knowledgeable, hardworking, and hard on themselves.” (Kooner, 1998, pg. 374) Many personal conversations with medical students, residents, and attending physicians from a variety of specialties confirm Kooner’s assessment. Doctors work hard, work long hours, deal regularly with life-and-death situations, and make substantial personal sacrifices to practice in their field. These attributes of medical practice can provide a great deal of satisfaction to the aspiring or practicing physician, but can also be a source of professional and personal distress. Burnout or the experience of long-term emotional and physical exhaustion may result from an inability to cope with the demands of work-related responsibilities and personal obligations. If untreated, burnout may lead to more serious consequences such as depression and suicide.
Better infection control practices and hand washing techniques utilized by the general population help to reduce the incidences of easily avoidable conditions, such as impetigo caused by staphylococcal and streptococcal infections. It may be beneficial for public health departments to recommend teachers to teach students on how to properly wash hands and clean high contact fomites.
Treating the patient and family as one, can have improved outcomes, decrease hospital stays, increased patient satisfaction, and improved reimbursements for the hospital. Developing a relationship with not only the patient, but family as well, can pay off in the long run by providing better communication, better quality of care, and trust. The patient and family can be strong advocates for improved performance improvement efforts. Including family in the treatment of the patient treats the “whole” patient through their hospitalization. Involving the family can enhance the patients care.
Summary: In this journal Deborah Ward speaks about how hand washing is only the first step in infection prevention and that there are many other steps that must be taken such as the use of sterile gloves. Mrs. Ward talks about client home care and how with these clients it is not always easy to keep a sterile environment. Deborah Ward explains how when using alcohol rubs is that they need to be used just as thoroughly as soap and water. While alcohol rubs are handy hand washing should still be taking place every time a nurse enters a patient's room. Mrs. Ward explains how as the nurse you should always be doing risk assessments for what form of personal protective equipment you should be utilizing while working with clients. She also explains
This literature review will analyze and critically explore four studies that have been conducted on hand hygiene compliance rates by Healthcare workers (HCWs). Firstly, it will look at compliance rates for HCWs in the intensive care units (ICU) and then explore the different factors that contribute to low hand hygiene compliance. Hospital Acquired infections (HAI) or Nosocomial Infections appear worldwide, affecting both developed and poor countries. HAIs represent a major source of morbidity and mortality, especially for patients in the ICU (Hugonnet, Perneger, & Pittet, 2002). Hand hygiene can be defined as any method that destroys or removes microorganisms on hands (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). According to the World Health Organization (2002), a HAI can be defined as an infection occurring in a patient in a hospital or other health care facility in whom the infection was not present or incubating at the time of admission. The hands of HCWs transmit majority of the endemic infections. As
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have become a serious problem for patient safety worldwide, and their prevention is a high priority (World Health Organisation, 2009). Because of the severity of the problem, many hand hygiene guidelines and compliance initiatives have been promoted by large organisations such as the World Health Organisations(WHO) (Hand Hygiene Australia, 2013 ). Numerous studies have proved that HAIs are often transmitted via the hands of HCWs, therefore hand hygiene is paramount, and it is believed to be the most important measure for preventing HAIs (World Health Organisation, 2009).In September 2007, " Uniforms and Workwear : An Evidence Base for Local Guidelines” was introduced by the Department of Health in the UK. (Department of Health, 2007). It is now well known as the BBE guideli...
(2014) shed light on two key components for infection control, which includes protecting patients from acquiring infections and protecting health care workers from becoming infected (Curchoe et al., 2014). The techniques that are used to protect patients also provide protection for nurses and other health care workers alike. In order to prevent the spread of infections, it is important for health care workers to be meticulous and attentive when providing care to already vulnerable patients (Curchoe et al., 2014). If a health care worker is aware they may contaminate the surroundings of a patient, they must properly clean, disinfect, and sterilize any contaminated objects in order to reduce or eliminate microorganisms (Curchoe et al., 2014). It is also ideal to change gloves after contact with contaminated secretions and before leaving a patient’s room (Curchoe, 2014). Research suggests that due to standard precaution, gloves must be worn as a single-use item for each invasive procedure, contact with sterile sites, and non-intact skin or mucous membranes (Curchoe et al., 2014). Hence, it is critical that health care workers change gloves during any activity that has been assessed as carrying a risk of exposure to body substances, secretions, excretions, and blood (Curchoe et al.,
Infection control, a term that describes procedures taken to reduce the spread of infection. The dental office is a place where many people are treated including patients with infectious disease such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and many other highly contagious diseases. It is imperative that in any dental office setting the prevention of the spreading microorganisms from patient to patient, patient to staff, or staff to patient is done in high precaution. Infection control has two main objectives; to protect the patients from harmful pathogens as well as dental team members. Infections can cause or add pain, deteriorate a persons health, and in worst cases even result in death. In order to understand the infection control in a dental facility, you must understand the standard precautions required by organizations that regulate or recommend infection control, the kinds of preventive measures taken, as well as when these measures should be taken.
“Researchers in London estimate that if everyone routinely washed their hands, a million deaths a year could be prevented” (“Hygiene Fast Facts”, 2013, p. 1). Hands are the number one mode of transmission of pathogens. Hands are also vital in patient interaction, and therefore should be kept clean to protect the safety of patients and the person caring for the patient. Hand hygiene is imperative to professional nursing practice because it prevents the spread of pathogens, decreases chances of hospital-acquired infections, and promotes patient safety. There is a substantial amount of evidence that shows why hand hygiene is important in healthcare
As healthcare workers, we use multiple tools to aid in assessment and care for our patients. These tools can serve as a vector for bacteria and viruses once it encounters a pathogen. Per the Centers for Disease Control, “1.7 million American patients
patients from acquiring microorganisms that may be on the hands of nurses. WHO also states that a health care worker should remove gloves after caring for a patient and not wear the same pair of gloves when caring for more than one patient. However, wearing gloves does not provide complete protection and also stated that wearing gloves does not take the place of hand hygiene. In addition to monitoring of glove usage should be incorporated in the routine hand hygiene skills and competency.
The key to preventing most of these infections and diseases is properly washing my hands and knowing when to wash them. I can’t see germs with my naked eye, so I wash them when they are dirty, before, during, and after food preparation, before I eat, after using the restroom, touching soiled clothing, animals, animal waste, the trash, or sneezing, coughing, and blowing my nose, and before and after treating wounds and sick people. There is more to washing my hands than soap and water. I must scrub all surfaces of my hand, including my wrist, the back of my hand, between my fingers, and under my fingernails for at least twenty seconds. The combination of scrubbing and an antibacterial soap helps to remove germs. Then I rinse my hands in warm water, drying them well with a clean hand towel, paper towel, or air dryer. If soap is unavailable, I use an alcohol based hand sanitizer.
It is essential to practice hygienic hand washing habits. This helps prevent the spread or germs or illness.