NUR1201: Aboriginal Woman's Healthcare Experience Case Scenario Task

This report presents a case scenario analysis of an Aboriginal woman's healthcare experience, focusing on the challenges and opportunities in providing culturally competent care. The assignment utilizes the NSQHS Standard 2 (Partnering with Consumers) and Erikson's 8-stage framework to evaluate the patient's experience. It explores the nursing philosophy of family-centered care and the nursing governance standard of leadership, culture, and governance, highlighting the importance of trust, effective communication, and the inclusion of family in the care process. The report contrasts ineffective care, such as assumptions about patient knowledge, with effective practices that prioritize cultural sensitivity and patient involvement. The analysis emphasizes the need for healthcare providers to understand and respect the cultural values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, promoting better patient outcomes and satisfaction. The report concludes by advocating for the integration of these strategies into the healthcare system to improve the overall patient experience and build trust within the community. The report also makes references to the importance of home cooked food and family support during the treatment of patients from the Aboriginal community.

Running head: SCENARIO TASK
Case Scenario – Recording ‘The 40 Age Experience- (Female Aboriginal Woman)
Student Name
University Name
Author Note

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SCENARIO TASK
We, as community nurses, have often ignored the pleas of the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people which need to be changed with utmost priority to deliver the best
quality care to them. The chosen case scenario is the 40 Age Experience by a Female
Aboriginal Woman. The Standard 2 set by the NSQHS as Partnering with Consumers and the
8 stage Framework by Erikson will be the main theories and framework for the essay. In
addition to this, nursing philosophy and a nursing governance standard will also be identified
as per the case study chosen. The theories that will be identified in the essay will provide
valid discussion for its suitability and relevance with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
case study. After this, an analysis will be carried out of the case to understand the ineffective
and effective care that the patients of these backgrounds have been offered by hospitals. It is
after this that the application of the theories will be discussed to understand the effectivity of
these theories and framework in a real-life situation.
The theories that have been identified in the case study are described in brief. Each of
the theories and the framework has been linked with the case study to identify their relevance.
The nursing philosophy which is chosen is family-centred care. This approach provides
support and care for the whole family of the patient and the patient themselves (Durey et al.,
2012). Special attention is given to their well-being concerns with the quality of care and
patient satisfaction. In this case study, considering the two positives, family for an Aboriginal
is an integral part of life which they nurture when a family member is ill and also when a
patient is taken ill, the family and other people as a mob, arrive in the hospital to show
support. Governance, leadership and culture are the chosen nursing governance standard.
This enables professionals to learn about the theory of quality and safety in the system
(Reeve et al., 2015). In this case study, considering the two negatives, the culture of the
people should have been respected with presence of proper leadership and governance. There
was no governance or any form of leadership observed in the organization for the Aboriginal

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SCENARIO TASK
people. As per the Partnering with Consumers Standard, it revolves around providing an
environment for clear communication to patients about the care and its importance. This will
enrich the satisfaction of the patient which will improve the system of the organisation (Grant
et al., 2013). In this case study, the partnership with consumer or patients is one of the major
areas where focus must be laid upon. Trust/Mistrust, Autonomy/Shame, Initiative/Guilt,
Industry/Inferiority, Identity/Role Confusion, Intimacy/Isolation, Generativity/Stagnation and
Integrity/Despair are the 8 stages which make up the framework made by Erikson (Bennett,
2015). Trust/Mistrust seems to be appropriate in this case because considering the negative,
the aboriginal people have been long neglected with the quality care because of which they
lose faith and trust in the organisation. To curb this issue, the organization has been
implementing recruitment of nursing workforce of Aboriginal to cater services more
efficiently. The nurses who are deployed to offer quality care to the patient must keep these
points in mind to make the patient feel comfortable. In the next paragraph, the analysis of the
scenario with ineffective and effective care of the aboriginal woman will be discussed.
In the case scenario relating to the Aboriginal woman, the assumption of the nursing
professionals of patients having a slight knowledge of the treatment and the medication can
be termed as ineffective (Tobiano et al., 2016). Due to the lack of knowledge, they and their
family members fail to an active part of the treatment. This type of behaviour from the nurses
is not acceptable as they can have detrimental effects on the health of the patient. This can
lead to the patient not getting the quality care that they have hoped for. This might lead to
agitation among the family members and can prove to be violent. As answered by Raelene
upon questioning by Natasha, she shared that in spite of her being a nurse, she has observed
other nurses to not provide the patient with the necessary information about their treatment or
diagnosis or medication by assuming they may know. This practice by nurses leads to errors
in their delivery of care with high complications and low compliance among the patients

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SCENARIO TASK
(Peiris et al., 2012). Due to the complications, the family may lose the patient which will be
traumatic for the family. According to Raelene, it would be best to assess the knowledge of
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people regarding the topic and then inform theirs
about the optimum care. In the following paragraph, effective care will be provided which
will be linked with the case study to better analyse the scenario.
It has been mentioned by Raelene that presence of family as a mob during the
treatment can be beneficial for the patient belonging from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander (Vance et al., 2016). She further adds that involvement of the family in carrying out
daily activities of the patient like brushing the teeth or bathing or changing the bed can create
a sense of belongingness among the nursing professional and the family of the patient. In
addition to this, there is a scope of shared decision-making among the family, patient and the
medical professionals. This enables the increase in knowledge about the treatment that is
being offered to the patient of the family. The patients who are in their end-of-life deserve the
last few moments with their family which should be granted to make them die peacefully
(Shahid et al., 2013). Natasha asks whether food should also be provided to which Raelene
replies yes. Home-cooked food will make the patient feel homely in the hospital environment
which will keep their moods uplifted as well as their families. The values and beliefs are dear
to the Aboriginal people which are respected by the incorporation of the family into the
quality of care offered to the patient. The social and the emotional well-being of the patient
are enhanced with the presence of family members beside them during the treatment of their
illness (Gee et al., 2014). The Aboriginal people have been observed to come together as a
mob when one of their tribe is in death bed or in a critical condition. This is the
belongingness that they have been building in their culture which should be incorporated into
the hospitals to increase the outcome of the patient.

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SCENARIO TASK
The theories and the framework that has been mentioned in the above paragraphs help
in understanding the exclusivity of the ideas in healthcare. The inclusion of the family-
centred care to the patient helps in the better treatment of the patient. Indigenous
communities in the primary health care services have been implementing this strategy to
improve the quality of care and the patient satisfaction of the treatment. Presence of proper
leadership and culturally competent nurses will enable effective communication to the patient
about the high-quality care that will be provided to them. Leadership ensures a professional
code of conduct among the nurses and medical professionals about safety and quality
(McSherry et al., 2012). The customers are an integral part of the healthcare system who
outlines the health service of the organization. Customers from diverse backgrounds are
contacted to help in the planning and evaluation of the system. These help in implementation
of a plan or a design which is suitable for customers from all backgrounds. This makes the
organization approachable by a number of communities thereby building a relationship
among the people. Stage 1 of Erikson’s 8 stage framework has been thought to be suitable for
this case study. The trust/mistrust has been part of the healthcare system for a long time. The
patients have not been able to build trust with the nursing professionals because of various
reasons like cultural incompetency, knowledge incompetence or improper handling. The
Aboriginal patients have been long neglected because of their different cultural background
which needs to be stopped with highest priority. The nurses need to understand the
importance of culture in their profession and build a sense of trust with the patient. The bond
of trust with the patient will ensure a better and a higher positive outcome with improved
patient satisfaction which will be fruitful for the organization.
Everything considered it can be said that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
have been disregarded in the service of healthcare being provided because of them belonging
from a different background. Different theories and framework have been discussed to

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SCENARIO TASK
understand what benefit can be achieved if they are implemented. These strategies need to be
incorporated into the healthcare system for better patient outcomes and satisfaction. The
overall patient experience is enriched by the inclusion of these methods. The family of the
patient feel belonged to the treatment procedure which enhances the treatment outcome on
the patient. It is evident that the patient feels secured when one of their own takes care of
them in an outside setting. Communication of the procedure that will be undertaken by the
organization needs to be conveyed to the family to avoid any trouble.

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SCENARIO TASK
References
Bennett, B. (2015). Developing identity as a light-skinned Aboriginal person with little or no
community and/or kinship ties.
Durey, A., Wynaden, D., Thompson, S. C., Davidson, P. M., Bessarab, D., &
Katzenellenbogen, J. M. (2012). Owning solutions: a collaborative model to improve
quality in hospital care for Aboriginal Australians. Nursing inquiry, 19(2), 144-152.
doi:10.1111/j.1440-1800.2011.00546.x
Gee, G., Dudgeon, P., Schultz, C., Hart, A., & Kelly, K. (2014). Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander social and emotional wellbeing. Working together: Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice, 2, 55-68.
Grant, J., Parry, Y., & Guerin, P. (2013). An investigation of culturally competent
terminology in healthcare policy finds ambiguity and lack of definition. Australian
and New Zealand journal of public health, 37(3), 250-256. doi:10.1111/1753-
6405.12067
McSherry, R., Pearce, P., Grimwood, K., & McSherry, W. (2012). The pivotal role of nurse
managers, leaders and educators in enabling excellence in nursing care. Journal of
Nursing Management, 20(1), 7-19. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2011.01349.x
Peiris, D., Brown, A., Howard, M., Rickards, B. A., Tonkin, A., Ring, I., ... & Cass, A.
(2012). Building better systems of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people: findings from the Kanyini health systems assessment. BMC Health Services
Research, 12(1), 369. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-12-369

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Reeve, C., Humphreys, J., Wakerman, J., Carter, M., Carroll, V., & Reeve, D. (2015).
Strengthening primary health care: achieving health gains in a remote region of
Australia. Medical Journal of Australia, 202(9), 483-487. doi:10.5694/mja14.00894
Shahid, S., Bessarab, D., van Schaik, K. D., Aoun, S. M., & Thompson, S. C. (2013).
Improving palliative care outcomes for Aboriginal Australians: service providers’
perspectives. BMC palliative care, 12(1), 26. doi:10.1186/1472-684x-12-26
Tobiano, G., Bucknall, T., Marshall, A., Guinane, J., & Chaboyer, W. (2016). Patients’
perceptions of participation in nursing care on medical wards. Scandinavian Journal
of Caring Sciences, 30(2), 260-270. doi:10.1111/scs.12237
Vance, A., McGaw, J., Winther, J., & Rayner, M. (2016). Towards an aboriginal knowledge
place: cultural practices as a pathway to wellness in the context of a tertiary
hospital. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 11(1), 244-261.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18357/ijih111201614989