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Nursing Knowledge and Dementia Care

   

Added on  2020-03-01

9 Pages2252 Words13 Views
Healthcare and Research
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Running head: REFLECTIONReflectionName of the student:Name of the University:Author Note:
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1REFLECTION1. Event descriptionThis assignment highlights one event of my nursing career that has a special significance.I have used Carper’s ways of knowing, located within the event and identified the impact of eachof the ways of knowing. I had been associated with a mental care centre, where elderly peoplesuffering from Dementia were being treated. I have been associated with the treatment of theseelderly patients. People suffering from Dementia tend to forget things very easily (Alzheimer’s2015). The symptoms include memory loss, communication and language problem, unable tofocus or pay attention, loss of reasoning and power of judgement. Moreover, patients sufferingfrom Dementia also experience immobility and visual perceptions (Mill et al. 2016). Thepatients, who have been suffering for a long time, tend to become arrogant and violent. Theytend to harm the other patients as well as the doctors and nurses treating them. Being one of thecare workers, I have often faced violence from the patients suffering from Dementia. Moreover,since they tend to forget things and suffer from short-term memory loss, hence they often forgetwhether they have eaten their food or taken their medicine. Patience and empathy are the onlyways to keep the patients from being violent (Garrett and Cutting 2015). During the period oftreating the patients, I have learned a lot and experienced various way of knowing. Treating thepatients suffering from Dementia is critical, since I have to be patient and empathetic towardsthem. Since Dementia has, no definite medicine to completely cure it, hence care and therapy arethe only treatment for the well-being of the patients suffering from Dementia. 2. Ways of knowingIn nursing and healthcare, Carper’s fundamental ways of knowing is a classification thatcategorises the various sources of knowledge and beliefs in the professional nursing practices
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2REFLECTION(Terry et al. 2017). The ways of knowing could be categorised into four fundamental patterns.These are as follows.1. Empirical knowingThis refers to the knowledge that is organized systematically into theories and laws andhelps in explaining the suffering of a person along with predicting the cure of the suffering. Theempirical knowing is based on science and highlights the theoretical knowledge that a medicinepractitioner needs to know. The empirical knowledge is believed to be factual and reliable.However, it is a generalised knowledge that is applicable for the initial treatment. This kind ofknowledge acquired is useful for a reflective practitioner and has to be interpreted according tothe situation encountered. In the chosen event, the empirical knowledge includes the therapies and treatment forDementia (Steen et al. 2014). As a medical practitioner, the knowledge that I have gained, fortreating the Dementia patients are included in the empirical knowing. Dementia cannot becompletely cured. However, the various symptoms of Dementia could be lessened and preventedfrom getting worst. Acetyl cholinesterase inhibitors could be used for the patients suffering frommild Dementia. These patients suffering from Dementia with Lewy bodies, such that thehallucination could be reduced (Zolnierek, 2014). The Acetyl cholinesterase inhibitors also slowsdown the rate of the heart beat, hence ECG before and after the treatment has to be done.Another treatment to curb down the effect of Dementia is Memantine hydrochloride. This is amedicine that works by blocking the effects of a chemical on the brain. This is usually used totreat people suffering from severe Dementia. Patients who are not responding positively to theAcetyl cholinesterase inhibitors also undergo this treatment.
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