Discuss the reasons why it is important to study families and family nursing.
Question description
1. Discuss the reasons why it is important to study families and family nursing. (I am an ICU nurse-2 years, medical surgical nurse- 1 year, geriatric nurse 2 years)
Write atleast 12-16 sentence discussion post
2. Write reply post constructive feedback or argument for these two discussion posts reply 4-6 sentences.
3. Use Friedman, M. M., Bowden, V. R., & Jones, E. G. (2003). Family nursing: Research, theory, and practice (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. as the source.
1. Angelias post
In my 19+ years of nursing, I can count on one hand the number of times I have cared for a patient that had no family presence/support. Family, after all, is at the heart of our humanity, and “has long been seen as the most vital context for healthy growth and development” (Friedman, Bowden, & Jones, 2003, p. 5). As nurses, we should not overlook this truth: We cannot fully do our jobs without the support of family. Family members have an influence over patients that far out-reaches any influence we might have during our limited interactions. It is the family who will return home with the patient and provide the critical resource for delivering information (from and to), care, follow-up, and promotion of health for the patient long after we have cared for the patient (Friedman, Bowden, & Jones, 2003, p. 5).
In Labor and Delivery, I have observed distinct cultural differences in the importance of family. As an independent, adult, American woman, it was difficult for me to see that in some cultures/at some ages, it is natural for a patient to look to a spouse or parent for an answer, even if it is about what they are feeling. I expected that when I asked the patient a question, that the patient would answer the question. It was incredibly frustrating for me when a spouse or their mother answered instead. I did not realize that when afraid or ill, patients may rely on their family members to act as a “buffer” between themselves and strangers (such as nurses asking endless personal questions) (Friedman, Bowden, & Jones, 2003, pp. 4, 214). Because a family member is better equipped and more experienced at speaking a patient’s “language” than we are, we need to view them as invaluable tools for communication and execution of plans of care. It is also important to remember that if we lack understanding of a patient’s culture, we can mistake their cultural norms for “non-compliant, deviant, crazy, immoral, or illegal” behavior (Friedman, Bowden, & Jones, 2003, p. 215).
References
Friedman, M. M., Bowden, V. R., & Jones, E. G. (2003). Family nursing: Research, theory, and practice (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
2.Nicholas Shows
Discuss the reasons why it is important to study families and family nursing.
Due: 2/28/18
There are two basic purposes mentioned in our text regarding the purpose of family. The first is to meet the needs of society in which the family is a part of, and the second is to meet the needs of the individuals in it (Friedman, Bowden, & Jones, 2003). These two functions are necessary for human adaptation, they must be part of the family unit and cannot be fulfilled separately (Friedman et al., 2003). It is important to understand that the family unit serves to protect and support the members of the family and they serve to be the mediator between the individual in the family and society (Friedman et al., 2003). This is very important when it comes to nursing and providing care for patients and their family.
In nursing it is important to realize that the family unit must be seen as a focus of our care. Families help with discharge, understanding, support, planning, continued care, safety, and logistics for each patient. When family focus care is provided healthcare effectiveness has been found to improve (Friedman et al., 2003).
Family focus care is important to study and understand because it is vital to our patients. It will give us a better understanding of the importance of family and help us implement it into our care. Studying family may also help us in our personal lives and help us understand how important family is to us or show us that family should be important and we can make changes in that aspect of our lives.
References
Friedman, M. M., Bowden, V. R., & Jones, E. G. (2003). Family nursing: Research, theory, & practice (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.