Desklib Logo

Fostering Dignity and Respect: A Case Study of Thembi Khumlao

Verified

Added on  2024/07/03

|13
|1101
|416
AI Summary
This case study explores the ethical dilemmas and moral concepts surrounding the care of Thembi Khumlao, an 8-year-old girl living with her mother who suffers from schizophrenia. Thembi's safety is at risk due to her mother's mental illness, creating a conflict between respecting Thembi's wishes to stay with her mother and ensuring her well-being. The case highlights the importance of interpersonal communication, control, and dignity in healthcare, emphasizing the need for strategies that prioritize the patient's best interests while upholding their rights and autonomy.

Contribute Materials

Your contribution can guide someone’s learning journey. Share your documents today.
Document Page
FOSTERING
DIGNITY
AND
RESPECT

Secure Best Marks with AI Grader

Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
Document Page
INTRODUCTION
Ethical dilemmas
Moral concepts
Rights in health and social care
Document Page
CASE SCENARIO
The current case presented is of a 8 year old girl named
Thembi Khumlao.
The girl is born to a single mother who is suffering from
schizophrenia.
The survival of the patient with her mother is getting difficult
due to her mental illness.
This case presents true example of ethical dilemmas and
moral concept conflicts where the girl’s wishes to stay with
her mother are violated in a sense to preserve her safety.
Document Page
ETHICAL DILEMMA
The first dilemma identified in the given case is to violate the
patient’s wish over her safety.

Secure Best Marks with AI Grader

Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
Document Page
ETHICAL DILEMMA
Other ethical dilemma encountered is that the only guardian
and care taker the girl has is her mother and every legal
regulations requires the consent of a guardian in the case of
minor but here the guardian being the threat and incapable
of making decision for her again creates a conflict. The
patient can not take decision and the guardian can not too so
the decision making is done in best interest creates a
conflict for healthcare professionals.
Document Page
ETHICAL DILEMMA
Communicating with the adult patient is easier than
convincing the younger patient. Here the given case is of a
girl 8 years old where the communication gap and
inconsistency can produce severe conflicts and failed care
process.
Decision making should be in best interest of the patient this
can not be ensured as the wishes of the patient are going
against the practices.
Document Page
INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION AND
CONTROL
Interpersonal communication is key to form a rapport with
patient and conserve her dignity and well-being.
As interpersonal communication will help the girl understand
what the problem is and why she needs to stay away with a
foster family from her mother.
The communication will promote understanding and inbuilt
decision making process where the patient can differentiate
between the good and bad for herself.
This will provide her more trust and build a rapport with the
care takers that she can reduce her anxiety levels.

Paraphrase This Document

Need a fresh take? Get an instant paraphrase of this document with our AI Paraphraser
Document Page
INTERPERSONAL
COMMUNICATION AND
CONTROL
To restore the control in patient’s life and give her dignity and respect
back choices can be planned as strategies and presented for her. This
way she will be centre of care and as patient centred care is
established the control and decision making process comes in hand
of the patient that gives them the sense of confidence and control
over their life (Hargie, 2016).
Choices can be given where she can meet her mother weekly twice or
as per the rules and the choices of meeting her in the surroundings
and what days can be left on her by keeping other factors such as
timing of meet as per care taker’s advice and making sure the
meetings are held only after the mother has taken her medications to
ensure patient safety.
These interpersonal communication can be build only when
healthcare professional communicate daily with the patient take
feedbacks and implement strategies to reduce her issues and make
her understand what the practices are doing is making her safe and
healthy.
Document Page
DIGNITY
The loss of dignity is characterized by loss of control over
one’s own life and decisions related and dependency on
others for living.
In given case the control can easily be lost as the patient is
minor and all decisions taken are by the care takers and the
foster home people she lives with that can hamper her
dignity.
Document Page
RESTORING DIGNITY
As discussed the dignity will be restored when the patient
will understand that her control is still in her own hands and
whatever choices are given are in her best interest (Matiti,
2015).
In given case foster family being important factor should be
taken into consideration where the regulations and routine of
family is a challenge mostly for such patients who are trying
to cope.

Secure Best Marks with AI Grader

Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
Document Page
PERSONAL VALUES
As a care giver I feel no factor discriminates my practice as age,
race, religion or custom the services provided are equal and same
for every individual.
I try to ensure that care provided is not biased regarding any
factor.
Due to these believes the 8 year old is not seen as a child but a
patient overall and same care is given as an adult is provided with
and her wishes respect and dignity is maintained as any adult
patient’s dignity will be (Munoz, Macaden, Kyle and Webster,
2017).
Because of these values as a future professional my quality of
care will be enhanced and customer satisfaction will increase and
it will also enhance my professional development.
Document Page
CONCLUSION
Ethical dilemma are presented every now and then in
healthcare where either choices are not fit to satisfy the
customer demands.
These dilemmas are not resolved by making direct choices
but strategies that will ensure respect and dignity of the
patient.
Fostering respect and dignity of an individual is most
important part in health and social care.
Document Page
REFERENCES
• Doherty, R.F. and Purtilo, R.B., 2015. Ethical Dimensions in the Health
Professions-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
• Monrouxe, L.V., Rees, C.E., Dennis, I. and Wells, S.E., 2015. Professionalism
dilemmas, moral distress and the healthcare student: insights from two online
UK-wide questionnaire studies. BMJ open, 5(5), p.e007518.
• Pozgar, G.D., 2014. Legal and ethical issues for health professionals. Jones &
Bartlett Publishers.
• Matiti, M.R., 2015. Learning to promote patient dignity: An inter-professional
approach. Nurse education in practice, 15(2), pp.108-110.
• Munoz, S.A., Macaden, L., Kyle, R. and Webster, E., 2017. Revealing student
nurses' perceptions of human dignity through curriculum co-design. Social
science & medicine, 174, pp.1-8.
• Pringle, J., Johnston, B. and Buchanan, D., 2015. Dignity and patient-centred
care for people with palliative care needs in the acute hospital setting: a
systematic review. Palliative medicine, 29(8), pp.675-694.
• Hargie, O., 2016. Skilled interpersonal communication: Research, theory and
practice. Routledge.
1 out of 13
circle_padding
hide_on_mobile
zoom_out_icon
[object Object]

Your All-in-One AI-Powered Toolkit for Academic Success.

  +13062052269
info@desklib.com

Available 24*7 on WhatsApp / Email

[object Object]
Unlock your academic potential

© 2024   |   Zucol Services PVT LTD   |   All rights reserved.