The World Health Organization defines mental wellbeing as the absence of a disease as well as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being (World Health Organization 2005). Of the many occupations found in the health sector, it is nurses who continually need to interact with a range of individuals. From colleagues to patients and their families, nurses are often thrown in highly stressful situations. Such environment unfortunately makes nurses more susceptible to mental health stress (Bazarko et. al 2013, pg 108). Given this context, the promotion of mental health not only improves wellbeing in the present, but also helps to reduce future disease burden (Brennan & Debate 2006, pg. 336; World Health Organization 2005). Health promotion is a key element of the nurse 's role. This involves taking action to enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of patients and colleagues in the workplace (World Health Organization 2005).
This assignment will discuss how workplaces impact mental wellbeing. It will also highlight the risk factors and warning signs that contribute to mental health deterioration. Following that, two strategies that may be implemented that would promote nurses ' mental health will be proposed.
To a large degree, workplaces contribute to an affect the mental state of all employees (Harvey et al. 2014, pg. 5). Evidence suggests that within a healthcare setting, nurses in particular are subjected to occupational distress related to unhealthy
In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne characterizes Pearl with contrasting personalities and roles she plays in Hester’s life. Pearl’s conflicting personality components, innocence and defiance, both derive from her isolation from society, which transpired because of her mother’s sin. Pearl represents the conflict between everything good and dark, which reflects in the role she plays in Hester’s life, as the physical embodiment of the A. While Pearl serves as a savior to Hester, representing possible redemption, she is also Hester’s tormentor, a constant reminder of her sin, and the consequences of disobeying her Puritan nature and religion. Hawthorne’s intent is established in the novel through Pearl’s attachment to the A, the mirror
The purpose of this assignment is to choose one case study and to identify and critically analyse the psychological issues contained in the case study. The author is then asked to describe the approach and possible interventions between psychology and your discipline to improve the quality of life of the specific person. For this assignment the chosen case study is that of Charlotte Z. According to the World Health Organisation (2016) the role of the nurse is to provide autonomous and collaborate care to individuals, families and communities by promoting health, preventing illness and providing care for the ill, disabled and dying. A nurse assesses patient’s physical, emotional and psychological needs and, through goal setting, the use of
The American Journal of Health Promotion defines “Health Promotion as the science and art of helping people change their lifestyle to move towards a state of optimal health, which is a balance of the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual health.” The main purpose of health promotion in nursing practice is that nurses have a major role to play in order to guide individuals to make healthy decisions by including their patients and families, communities that further form organizations. So it is essential for nurses have thorough knowledge and information about health promotion theories and models. Nurses must possess the skill to implement and upgrade the effectiveness of evidence based interventions and critical work on
Health promotion has become priority issues and future directions for health professions from a world perspective. By focusing on individuals, families, communities, and the environments in which people live, work, and play the health care professionals today are vital links for promoting national and international health. Nurses today are required to have sufficient vision and expertise to provide the health of their clients. With leadership, creativity, and determination, the nurse can establish a healthier future for all people around the globe. According to
Significantly, “Nurses play a huge role in illness prevention and health promotion. We, as nurses assume the role of ambassadors of wellness. Yes, I do believe that nurses play just as an important role in caring for the well as they do in caring for the sick. Perhaps caring for the well is the more important role. In this day and age of budget cuts, cost reduction and staffing shortages, health promotion makes sense. If we can preserve wellness, we reduce the number of times a person needs to enter the health-care system, thus reducing costs.” (Hartford, 2009, The role of the nurse in health promotion section, para. 1)
“Mental health and wellbeing can positively affect almost every area of a person’s life: education, employment, family and relationships. It can help people achieve their potential, realise their ambitions, cope with adversity, work productively and contribute to their community and society. Promoting mental health and wellbeing has multiple benefits. It improves health outcomes, life expectancy, productivity and educational and economic outcomes and reduces violence and crime.” (The Department of Health, 2010)
The importance of self-care for nurses is a necessity in order to be effective in their role, but it is a tool that is often under-utilized. Nurses are often trained to understand the importance of caring for others. It is imbedded in their brains. In healthcare, self-care is any activity we do purposefully in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health (Blum, 2014, p.1). Self-care can help a nurse cope with common stressors such as feeling overworked, overwhelmed, undervalued, or frustrated, which can often lead to exhaustion, tension, and fatigue. In today’s world, nurses experience a higher amount of stress due to increase in work hours, work responsibilities, and increase in patient loads. Research studies have shown that there is value in educating nurses about self-care not only to the individual but to the organization as well. There are several self-care techniques that can be easily learned and implemented over a short period of time that can make a positive impact. Nurses are often drawn to the medical profession because of their compassion, and dedication to helping others, but one must remember to care for themselves so they can effectively care for others.
Nurses play an important role in promoting health within the patient, family, and community (Kemppainen, Tassavainen, & Turunen, 2012). The focus of patient care has been transferred from treating the illness to disease prevention (Mchugh, Robinson, & Chesters, 2010). The implementation of consultation, education, and follow up exams can increase the overall quality of life for an individual (Kemppainen et al., 2012). I will discuss the various roles of a nurse in health promotion along with the multiple work environments in which they can be implemented within. I will also reveal the maintenance plan of my own personal health regimen.
Health promotion is defined as the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health (World Health Organization, n.d.). This means that not only are they looking at what they can do as an individual to better their health, but also how different environmental and social factors can better their health. This article is going to focus on the purpose of health promotion, the role and responsibilities of nurses in health promotion, as well as, comparing the three different levels of health promotion and prevention.
In addition to a sufficient supply of nurses, producing a healthy work environment for nurses is vital for the recruitment , safety, and retention of nurses. There is a growing awareness of the relationship between nurses’ work environment, patient outcomes and system performance. There is also strong evidence indicating that a healthy work environment not only proves financially beneficial but also reduce absenteeism, lost productivity and yields improved patient outcomes (AHRQ, BMJ). However, without an understanding of the contributing factors to unhealthy work environments and a commitment to change, poor work environments, adverse patient events and outcomes, along with high nurse turnover and burnout will ensue. Literature Review
Health promotion includes providing activities that improve a person’s health. These activities assist patients to “maintain or enhance their present levels of health. Health promotion activities motivate people to act positively to reach more stable levels of health” (Potter & Perry, 2005, p. 97). In order for nurses to assist patients in obtaining healthy lifestyles, they must first assess a patient’s perception of health. The World Health Organization defines health as a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (as cited in Potter & Perry, 2005, p. 91). There are many nursing theories that are based on an individual’s perception of health. This paper will
Occupational stress causes emotional and oft times harmful response to the demands of the activity of mental health nursing and the nurse’s emotional capability. The environments in which mental health nurses are employed often generate high levels of stress due to the nature of the consumers being treated therein. Stress related disorders do occur among all nurses, in various hospital departments and in community nursing, but in particular amongst mental health nurses even though they are trained specifically to cope with this phenomenon. Unfortunately the presence of high levels of stress in a mental nurse’s everyday working life may lead to emotional withdrawal and the development of the insidious burnout syndrome which may not be recognised immediately by the affected nurse.
Theorell, Ahlberg-Hulten, Jodka, Sigala, and da la Torre, (1993) assessed blood pressure, emotion, and job strain in female nurses at work and during leisure time. They reported significant correlations between job strain and Diastolic Blood Pressure, but only during work hours, and no relationship between mood and
During my work placement I noticed that nurses work in a variety of services and are in an ideal position to promote patients’ mental health and wellbeing by helping and empowering them to realise their abilities rather than focusing on their disability or illness (Ruddick,2013).
Nursing is a career full of stressors. Every day nurses deal with some type of stress and they can become emotionally drained. Nurses are the support system for the patients and their families, they watch patients suffer, and sometimes they even care for patients who are terminally ill and dying. The modern world of health care and tightening budgets are resulting in additional work-related stressors such as barriers to providing optimal care, increasingly complex needs of patients, short acute care lengths of stays, the need for increased knowledge of ever-changing technology, nursing shortages, poor staffing, long work hours, limited resources, and feelings of lack of control (Smith, 2014, p. 119). The above stressors can put nurses at