Nurse at Home-nursing (part 2)

For me, being a nurse means
hard work and devotion. It is also for me
a call. I see the meaning why I am doing this.

Home-nursing continued.....

My task.

At home-nursing.

It means conducting visit and supervision at places where patients live. 

Most patientslive in their private homes, but there are many who lives in retirement homes  and housing for senior citizens. My job is to perform duties for each patient based on the task-list I am carrying with me.

To help them with practical matters by reasons of sickness or disability they are not able to do the task themselves . It can anything from help in the laundry, food warming, shower or bath, medicine related supervision and administration, assistance with personal hygiene or to help and assist them in doing various task in daily life.

A very sick person living at home of their choice and for some other reason like terminal patient who wishes to spend their last moments at home with the family, requires much more supervision and monitoring.This is a primary task and responsibility of a nurse.

Furthermore, nurses do a lot of tasks which are not directly medical related like informing, guiding and teaching the patient, the relatives or the dependents of the patient, students and other target groups needing health information, guidance and education.

How i do things my way.

Out in the field, upon entering the home of my patient...I am trying to use as much as I can my senses to catch everything that can be captured through (smell, see, hear and feel) to be able to make a comprehensive observations and assumptions about the patient and around the patient.

In some special cases I've used my intuitive capacity to assess difficult situations when the logical reasoning is no longer sufficient. And it has proved true in many situations, based on my experience in the past. Previous work and life experience are valuable factors for me to help me deal with difficult tasks and situations.

I make suggestion, assess situations with respect to patients capacity and health conditions. I propose preventive measures with patient and the relatives necessary for instance use of a personal lifter or elevator making the move or transfer of the patient (from bed to chair or vice-versa) easier and to protect and secure the patient and the health personnel who carry-out the task. 

I believe and know that a nurse has the power by virtue of her profession, to execute task in relation with the patient. But a person by virtue of autonomy has the right to decide for himself, thus creating a dilemma for the nurse on certain situations where a nurse  feel the need to execute a task (paternalism) over the patient, creating  a polar situation where two opposing power contradicts each other. This is an ethical dilemma that needs an ethical reflection. Facing a difficult situation like this, it’s always a great help to discuss with the superior nurse or the group-leader. It is but vital to have a regular group-meeting on ethics and ethical dilemmas. Ethical reflections are necessary to become better and fit in this profession.

A nurse primary task is to give the necessary assistance help and supervision according to the task vested on you considering patient’s health and mental capacity and situation.

To be able to do a good job, a nurse must observe a holistic view of a person meaning the person's physical, mental, social and spiritual dimension as a unit or as one. That as a person he/she is an indivisible unity of a body. 

A nurse must be able to see a holistic human being with different needs behind his illness.

. In this view, a nurse will be able to provide a comprehensive care to the patient. Thus the meeting with the patient and the nurse, be meaningful.
The importance of this should not be underestimated.