University Assignment: Erikson's Stages and Patient Care Reflection

This assignment delves into Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development, specifically focusing on the "Young-old" stage (75-84 years) and applying this knowledge to the patient experience depicted in the "House Call" video. The student reflects on the video, which highlights the importance of patient-centered care and the negative impacts of adverse attitudes towards the elderly. Using Gibbs' reflective cycle, the student explores the positive aspects of Dr. Mark's empathetic approach and the negative consequences of Mrs. Connie's separation from her cat. The assignment emphasizes the importance of considering the psychological, mental, social, and emotional well-being of patients, aligning with ethical codes and the value of personalized care. The student highlights the need for effective communication and cultural competence in healthcare to improve patient outcomes and demonstrate empathy, kindness, and caring in their nursing practice.

NUR1201 Week 9 Worksheet
“Topics: Erikson’s 8 Stages of human development: 10th stage of Growth and Development
Young-old (75 - 84)”
Name of the Student
Student ID
Name of the University

NUR1201 Week 9 Worksheet
Activity 2
Health services must be designed to safeguard dignity and self-reliance and minimize
distress in the elderly. Many healthcare practitioners maintain adverse and stereotypical
attitudes towards the elderly. The video “House Call” is an excellent lesson to those
healthcare professionals who are doing their jobs mechanically. The video has both
positive and negative aspects of healthcare. The negative aspects is a psychological one.
Mrs. Connie, the elderly lady, had a fall and broke her arms. She had nobody to look after
her as she was alone. She had a companion, Oscar, a cat, whom she loved most. She was
shifted to a retirement residence for round the clock care but cats were not allowed there.
She was devastated because of her separation from the cat. This shifting was done
without consulting her. The positive aspect was that Dr Mark, the doctor who was
attending her could understand her sentiments and arranged another care home where
pets were allowed and Mrs. Connie could stay comfortably with her cat, Oscar. Erik
Erikson (1902–1994) was a stage theorist who transformed Freud's contentious
psychosexual theory into an eight-stage psychosocial developmental theory. Two
competing thoughts must be effectively resolved during each of the eight phases of
Erikson's growth to make an individual trustworthy, contributing to a community. If these
duties are not handled, there are inadequate emotions. The conflicting ideas for stage
eight are integrity vs despair which is the underlining subject in the video “House Call”
("Integrity vs. Despair in Erikson's Psychosocial Development Theory", 2019). Value
statement 5 in the ICN code of ethics for Australia states that “Nurses value people’s
interests in making free and informed decisions. This includes people having the
opportunity to verify the meaning and implication of information being given to them

NUR1201 Week 9 Worksheet
when making decisions about their nursing and health care” ("Nursing and Midwifery
Board of Australia - Professional standards", 2009). The video has really given a new
twist to my concept in nursing and I could feel for particularly aged patients regarding
their helplessness and they should be given more patient personal care.
Reference:
Integrity vs. Despair in Erikson's Psychosocial Development Theory. (2019). Retrieved
15 September 2019, from https://www.verywellmind.com/integrity-versus-
despair-2795738
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Professional standards. (2009). Retrieved 15
September 2019, from https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-
Guidelines-Statements/Professional-standards.aspx

NUR1201 Week 9 Worksheet
Activity 3
Stage 1 Description
This activity is based on reflection using Gibb’s reflective cycle which is one of the best
models for reflection ("Gibbs' reflective cycle", 2019). The period of development
according to Erikson’s eight stages is known as late adulthood. Erikson called this task at
this stage as integrity vs. desperation. He said that late adulthood individuals have a
feeling of satisfaction or a feeling of despair in their life. People who feel proud of their
achievements is an example of integrity, and with little regret can look back on their life.
But individuals who at this point are not successful can feel as if their lives have been
wasted. They concentrate on what they would have, what they should have, and what
they might have been. They have a feeling of bitterness, anxiety and desperation at the
end of their life. The "House Call" video demonstrates both beneficial and negative
elements of Mrs. Connie's elderly lady's care experience. The subject of the beneficial
experience is integrity and despair. Integrity is based on her love for the cat, Oscar. Due
to a fall, she broke her arm and was shifted to a retirement residence for round the clock
care, which saddened Mrs. Connie because she was relocated from her beloved home,
which was her comfort area, and was also separated from the cat she Oscar who was her
only companion. Depression and despair were developed. However, Mrs. Connie was
satisfied when Dr. Mark, the physician, recognized her emotional and psychological
needs and planned to move Mrs. Connie to another care facility where cats were allowed
and she could live comfortably with her companion.
2. Feelings and thoughts

NUR1201 Week 9 Worksheet
The story of Mrs. Connie led me to understand that not only the physical wellbeing of a
patient should be thought about from the nursing point of view, but also the
psychological, mental, social, and emotional well-being points. If a patient is affected by
my treatment plan emotionally, the patient will still not be satisfied, regardless of what
strategy I can provide. I realized that I would prefer personally focused care instead of a
mechanical method and that the most significant element for person-centric care is proper
communication with the patient to know about her personal details ("Kozier and Erb's
Fundamentals of Nursing [3rd Australian edition] - ResearchOnline@JCU", 2016). I
must consult with the patient freely and collect needed input and communicate to the
doctors and other support staffs so that necessary personalized care can be arranged for
the patient. The 2012 ICN Nursing Ethics Code states “the nurse’s primary professional
responsibility is to people requiring nursing care. In providing care, the nurse promotes
an environment in which the human rights, values, customs and spiritual beliefs of the
individual, family and community are respected” ("THE ICN CODE OF ETHICS FOR
NURSES", 2012). My second point is that reflecting my practice is a useful instrument
for assessing my work performance and I can make necessary changes in my approach if
I find that I was not right at certain points in my earlier assignment (Tashiro, Shimpuku,
Naruse, Maftuhah & Matsutani, 2012). The customer service is the motto in all
organizations and there are some organizations which value and assess customer service
in the health setup ("Home | Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health
Care", 2017).
3. Values and belief

NUR1201 Week 9 Worksheet
Ethics and values in health professionals are strongly linked, making it difficult for the
nurse to balance the client's ethical principles. Values influence beliefs and attitudes
rather than conduct, although they often affect conduct indirectly. A value system is a set
of internal convictions of an individual which guides how the individual acts and helps to
determine the person's decisions in life. Cultural values refer to lasting ideals or systems
of faith involving an individual or society. Cultural procedures define particular
approaches to the care of nurses in the scenario. Cultural care, cultural awareness,
cultural understanding and abilities are aspects of cultural competence. Nurses may learn
to have cultural competency in caring for them. I found the video “House Call” highly
educative. It has given me a good lesson about the problems faced by our aged patients
who are lonely and helpless. The last phase of life is very painful which everybody has to
pass one day. I am a nurse and I have got a gifted profession where I can reach out to
such patients close to their hearts. They deserve the best possible medical attention with
empathy, kindness and caring (Ferguson, Ward, Card, Sheppard & McMurtry, 2013).
We are healthcare professionals, who are trained to think critically, solve issues and
decide. We need to know to the best of our ability of the cultures, families, and
procedures of the clients we care for. Through cultural competence, we need to
demonstrate consideration for patients and their families in their care. Compliance will be
enhanced if patient culture and belief are incorporated into the treatment plan and nursing
interference between the beliefs of nurses and patient families is reduced (Whitley, 2012).
References

NUR1201 Week 9 Worksheet
Ferguson, L., Ward, H., Card, S., Sheppard, S., & McMurtry, J. (2013). Putting the
‘patient’ back into patient-centred care: An education perspective. Nurse
Education In Practice, 13(4), 283-287. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2013.03.016
Gibbs' reflective cycle. (2019). Retrieved 15 September 2019, from
https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/
gibbs-reflective-cycle
Home | Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. (2017). Retrieved
15 September 2019, from https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/
Kozier and Erb's Fundamentals of Nursing [3rd Australian edition] -
ResearchOnline@JCU. (2016). Retrieved 15 September 2019, from
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/42916/
Tashiro, J., Shimpuku, Y., Naruse, K., Maftuhah, & Matsutani, M. (2012). Concept
analysis of reflection in nursing professional development. Japan Journal Of
Nursing Science, 10(2), 170-179. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-7924.2012.00222.x
THE ICN CODE OF ETHICS FOR NURSES. (2012). Retrieved 15 September 2019,
from http://www.old.icn.ch/images/stories/documents/about/icncode_english.pdf
Whitley, R. (2012). Religious competence as cultural competence. Transcultural
Psychiatry, 49(2), 245-260. doi: 10.1177/1363461512439088

NUR1201 Week 9 Worksheet