Leadership in Public Health

Leadership In Public
Health
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
CONTEXT - SPECIFIC TO EUNICE’S CASE..............................................................................3
PROFESSIONAL/CLINICAL KNOWLEDGE AND EVIDENCE BASED TREATMENT........6
CINICAL REASONING AND DECISION MAKING..................................................................8
LEADERSHIP.................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Mental health nursing is also called psychiatric nursing which is the specialised area of
nursing practice that includes care of people who suffer from mental health disorder in order to
assist them to recover and enhance quality of life. The main role of Mental Health nurse is to
promote and support recovery of a person, assist them to live independently and fulfilling lives.
The role of nurses to develop effective relationship with individuals who utilize Mental Health
Services along with their families and carers (Brown, 2015). This is an essay report which is
based on the scenario happened in elderly functional unit where a patient 'Eunice' was admitted
to ward and presenting with psychosis symptoms.
This is a reflective essay in which I reflect on a scenario from the area of my nursing
practice, i.e., mental health nursing. In this, I critically explore my professional knowledge,
leadership skills and decision making skills which promote effective practice. It covers context
specific to the case of Eunice along with clinical or professional knowledge and evidence based
on the treatment of disease and disorder from which the patient suffered. Apart from this, clinical
reasoning and decision making is provided along with the leadership skills and qualities which I
applied on the case scenario. At last, a conclusion is provided which cover brief summary based
on the overall report.
CONTEXT - SPECIFIC TO EUNICE’S CASE
Mental health issue is the growing concern associated with public health and it is prevalent
not only in the United Kingdom, all around the world. It is one of the main cause of overall
burden of disease worldwide. Major depression is one of the leading cause of disability all over
the world and is main contributor to ischemic heart disease and burden of suicide. Psychotic
depression is also stated as major depressive disorder with some psychotic features (Callaghan,
and Gamble, 2015). It is a serious issue that needs immediate treatment as well as close
monitoring by mental health professional (Psychotic Depression, 2020). It is a very common
mental disease which can adversely influence many areas of life of an individual and impacts
mood, behaviour and physical function of a person involving sleep and appetite. Individuals with
depression often lose their interest in activities as well as face trouble in performing day to day
activities. Sometimes, they may even feel that life is not worth living. It is estimated that there
are around 20% of individuals suffering from depression also have psychosis symptoms.
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In case of Eunice, she was present to Elderly Functional Unit symptoms of psychosis. She
was diagnosed with psychotic depression and was having chemotherapy as she was also
suffering from lung cancer. She started presenting with symptoms of aggressiveness and
Paranoia towards staff. She refused to take her medications as she believed that the doctors and
nurses were poisoning her. She constantly to be aggressive towards care professionals and was
take meditation multiple times.
There are some symptoms of psychotic depression including feeling sad, hopeless, no
interest in anything, fatigue, disturbed sleep, feeling worthless and guilty, thoughts of suicide or
death, changes in appetite, loss of pleasure in things. According to the National Health Services,
the cause of psychotic depression is not understood completely. There is no single reason of
depression and it may have many distinct triggers (Psychotic depression, 2019). For some
stressful events in life such as divorce, financial worries, bereavement or serious illness can be
cause. It is sometimes possible to determine the cause of psychosis disorder as a particular
mental health condition like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and severe depression. It can also be
triggered by drug misuse, alcohol misuse, traumatic experience, physical condition like brain
tumour, stress and side effects associated with prescribed medicines. Apart from this, there are
several complications associated with psychosis including self-harm and suicide (Cleary, and et.
al., 2016).
Usually, treatment of psychotic depression is provided in hospital settings. The patient is
closely monitored by mental health professionals and different medications are provided to
stabilize the mood of an individual including antipsychotic medications and antidepressants. The
antipsychotic drugs influence neurotransmitters which enable communication between nerve
cells in brain areas which regulate ability of an individual to perceive as well as organised
information regarding world around them. In case of Eunice, she was given with lorazepam 0.5
mg which is an antidepressant medication in order to make her feel relaxed and calm.
According to a study, it has been found that around 80% of individuals with psychotic
depression present between age of 16 to 30 years. These people require treatment for first
episode psychosis. As per the Office National statistics, the prevalence of mental health in
children who are between the age of 5 to 16 years was 9.6% (Delaney, 2017). A Welsh study
found high incidence of psychosis in urban dwellers in comparison to the people living in rural
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