Advocacy is defined as care that is tailored to the individual, is coordinated, is supportive, and treats the individual with respect, compassion, and dignity. Empowering a person to have a voice and influence over their care is one method to make person-centred treatment possible (Tomaschewski-Barlem, 2017). Excellent verbal and nonverbal communication skills are essential for advocacy since it is impossible to represent individuals when their needs are not fully understood effectively (Hubinette et al., 2017). Effective communication techniques can build relationships of trust in which people feel secure, cared for, and respected (Sundqvist et al., 2018). Thus, the paper aims to discuss the definition of advocacy and how the communication tactics employed in the situation you have chosen either assist or provide a barrier to the usage of the idea of advocacy.
Because of their proximity to clients and their potential to be in the greatest position to provide care and treatment, nurses are thought of as the best patient advocates. Nurses must serve as a spokesperson for the vulnerable and have a genuine concern for their patient’s physical and mental well-being, making advocacy a part of their very nature (Abbasinia et al., 2020). Nevertheless, despite professional training and expertise, appropriate communication techniques are not always used, leading to neglect and detrimental effects on one’s health, as was seen in the briefcase.
Person-centred care ought to empower the patient, yet this demeaning experience was shameful and hopeless. John, an elderly and fragile man, has been residing in a nursing home since his wife’s passing. The nurses in the video are working a full schedule and juggling competing for needs for their time, which can cause stress, poor patient communication, and a higher risk of workplace mistakes (Nsiah et al., 2019). When it comes to vulnerable groups like the elderly, who may often feel like a burden, it is necessary to dedicate some time and provide them with a respectful attitude (Gage-Bouchard, 2017). The brief time nurses spent dressing John did not include any attempt at meaningful conversation. They engaged in earnest conversation while ignoring his repeated demands for his glasses. Their chat drowned out his requests, and it appeared he was interfering with their work. It would have aided in regaining a sense of autonomy and self-worth if the nurses had actively listened and replied. Ignoring John’s cries for his spectacles disempowered him and demonstrated full disrespect for his physical, social, and emotional well-being.
There were none in John’s instance since his caregivers never made eye contact with him and always stood next to or behind him. The question of whether John would disclose any significant medical issues with his caregivers is raised because he did not seem to have any relationship with them (Nguyen et al., 2022). When a person frequently feels like they are in the way, improved connectedness through social interaction and physical contact can affirm them and give them a sense of worth (Montague et al., 2018). Observational skills are crucial when establishing therapeutic interactions, especially in environments like nursing homes where patients could be reluctant to disclose problems due to their condition (Nsiah et al., 2020). It gives medical professionals the chance to learn vital information about their patients and to recognize patterns and routines so that any unusual behaviour may be checked (Jansson et al., 2017). The improvement of patient advocacy is helped by the ability to recognize these demands.
The potential need for advocacy in hospital environments is critical to strengthen all individuals at their weakest points. It gives space for a patient-centred treatment in which patients are provided with autonomy and respect. Nursing professionals, for example, support the vulnerable because it is not only essential to their work but also closely related to it. It is also inevitable that it will be advantageous to direct people to more competent organizations in terms of resources, skills, and information to assist patients as advocacy needs for some patients become more complex.
Reference List
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Gage-Bouchard, E. A. (2017) ‘Culture, styles of institutional interactions, and inequalities in healthcare experiences’, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 58(2), 147-165.
Hubinette, M., Dobson, S., Scott, I., & Sherbino, J. (2017) ‘Health advocacy’, Medical teacher, 39(2), 128-135.
Jansson, B. S., Nyamathi, A., Heidemann, G., Duan, L., & Kaplan, C. (2017) ‘Validation of the policy advocacy engagement scale for frontline healthcare professionals’, Nursing ethics, 24(3), 362-375.
Montague, E., Chen, P., Xu, J., Chewning, B., and Barrett, B., (2018) ‘Nonverbal interpersonal interactions in clinical encounters and patient perceptions of empathy’, Journal of Participatory Medicine.
Nguyen, E., Wagoner, R., Healey, P., Adams, J., & Seignemartin, B. (2022) ‘A scoping review of legislative advocacy training in healthcare professional education’, J Hosp Health Care Admin, 6, 161.
Nsiah, C., Siakwa, M., & Ninnoni, J. P. (2019) ‘Registered nurses’ description of patient advocacy in the clinical setting’, Nursing Open, 6(3), 1124-1132.
Nsiah, C., Siakwa, M., & Ninnoni, J. P. (2020) ‘Barriers to practicing patient advocacy in healthcare setting;, Nursing Open, 7(2), 650-659.
Sundqvist, A. S., Nilsson, U., Holmefur, M., & Anderzén‐Carlsson, A. (2018) ‘Promoting person‐centred care in the perioperative setting through patient advocacy: An observational study’, Journal of clinical nursing, 27(11-12), 2403-2415.
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