Challenges Faced By Nurses In Providing Care For Patients With Personal Stress Related Working Conditions

Nursing Issues and Research Questions

You are the District nurse who is visiting Violet, who has type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis and a lower left leg ulcer. She is ambulant over short distances with a walking frame. Violet has been approved for residential aged care and has been waiting for a nursing home bed. During the last 3 months you have been visiting to attend to Violet’s BSL’s and daily dressings, until a suitable placement becomes available

Violet currently lives with her daughter Gemma, Matthew (Gemma’s husband), and their two young children, Scott aged 5 and Lucy aged 7, who both attend the local primary school. The family lives in a two-bedroom town house. Gemma works night shift as an enrolled nurse, and earlier in the year Matthew was made redundant from his job and is currently unemployed.

The house is becoming quite stressful. The children have given up their bedroom for their grandmother and are sleeping in the lounge room. Violet requires a lot of care and is demanding of her daughter’s time. Violet argues frequently with Matthew about him not working and his drinking of alcohol. You are very fond of the family and feel for the pressures that they are under. One day after you shower and attended Violets wound care you pass Matthew sitting on the front step of the house. He is drinking alcohol and it is 10am. You ask him how he is coping with having Violet staying with the family. He says he’s not doing so well and “lately I’ve had trouble controlling my temper with the kids”.

1. This task is not a formal essay, so a brief introduction in which you identify the clinical issues in the case study and nominate which of these you will use as the focus of your research questions will suffice.

2. Briefly explain what type of questions quantitative research is used to answer. Develop a quantitative research question related to the clinical issue you have nominated. The wording of the question should demonstrate your understanding of quantitative research.

3. Undertake a literature search to find relevant literature that contribute to answering your research question. Detail the search engines and search terms used. Briefly discuss the outcome of this search and the process used to determine which articles you include in the subsequent discussion.

4. Discuss relevant material from the literature you found that contribute to answering your proposed research question.

5. Briefly explain what type of questions qualitative research is used to answer. Develop a qualitative research question related to the clinical issue you have nominated. The wording of the question should demonstrate your understanding of qualitative research.

6. Undertake a literature search to find relevant literature that contribute to answering your research question. Detail the search engines and search terms used. Briefly discuss the outcome of this search and the process used to determine which articles you include in the subsequent discussion

7. Discuss relevant material from the literature you found that contribute to answering your proposed research question.

8. Provide a brief conclusion highlighting the difference between the findings from both og your research questions.

Some of my nursing issues related to this case include short staffing at both personal and professional levels. Focusing on the case presented, I am lacking the support staffs to help me serve the violet health problem effectively. Meeting of the patient expectations has been another nursing issues related to my case. Moreover, I have a personal health issue because of working on stress-related conditions when serving my patient Violet. Out of the mentioned issues, I will focus on the issue related to my stressful working conditions. I will use this issue to develop the research question of sufficing because the issue is forcing me to work uncomfortably in this case. 

Descriptive research questions will be used to answer this clinical issue I have nominated. The descriptive research questions will be more effective in this because it will be used to cover all issues related to the personal stress affecting my working conditions as a nurse assigned to take care of Violet. The descriptive research question used in this case determines personal challenges faced by the nurses. The main focus on this question will be quantitatively the figures in terms of how often I have been suffering when attending my patient Violet. The quantitative research question related to nominated clinical issues is based on; how often the nurse has been facing the personal stressful health conditions when nursing the patient? 

Based on the literature research, the issues of stressful working conditions are major issues faced by nurses. The patients need a lot of care and demand for attention. The research has shown that nurses personally suffer psychologically when their patients are not receiving effective care (Morrissey, 2017 p.370). Working under these conditions is so stressful because result to challenging attending of the patient effectively. Relating to my case, I have been suffering this for three months now. It has been stressful moments when attending Violet BSL. I have been doing so hoping for the suitable placement to be available soon. The family I am interacting with is so stressful and I am psychologically suffering to see the conditions Violet is undergoing. I feel fond of the stress the Violet family is undergoing considering that her daughter is the one providing for the family. The hard life the family is undergoing is causing a lot of my psychological disturbance considering that I have been in touch with them over the last three months and I am aware of what is happening in the family.

Relevant Literature Research

The relevant material in the literature contributing to the answering of this proposed research question is an article by Saleh (2017). The outcome of this search shows that some of are a lot of challenges faced by nurses today. I found the material useful because it mainly focused on some of the stresses the nurses go through when handling the patients assigned. According to Saleh (2017), nurses are more stressed at a personal level when the patient they are attending does not get the required care. This material suggests that nurses are aware of the demands and needs of their patients (Affonso, 2013 p.69). It becomes so challenging when the person responsible for offering the support to the patient is not bothering. This causes a lot of psychological stress to the nurses. This article mainly discusses the need to meet the expectations of the patient. It has been found that more than half of the nurses find it challenging to meet the needs of the patients at their personal capacity (Keene, 2011 p.253). This is one of the things that bother them so much because they are always looking for the satisfaction of their patients. I have related the main concern of this material with my proposed questions on how often I have been suffering at a personal level when Violet is not receiving what she deserves. Remembering how Gemma, Violet's daughter has been struggling to make both ends meet for the family, I have been so much disturbed. The issue of having their children excusing their grandmother in their room and sleeping in the lounge is stressing me so much. I cannot imagine how Mathew, Gemma’s husband is not responsible enough to help his family. How can he afford to drink as early as 10:00 am when her mother-in-law is suffering and his children sleeping in the lounge room? Concerning the challenges discussed in the material on suffering of the nurses, I find this to be so useful material to use in this discussion.

As talked about above, the descriptive research question is chosen to be utilized in noting the clinical issue that has been designated for this situation. A relationship-based research question is relevant as well but the previous one has been preferred. The descriptive research question is ideal to be chosen since it will give a profound depiction of how regularly I have been enduring as a medical caretaker when dealing with my patient (Lathlean, 2012 p.1254). The aim of this research question is to show the numerical times I have been enduring the challenging facing. The primary goal on this research question will be quantitatively on the occasions I have been enduring when managing Violet. The quantitative research question identified with designated clinical issues is; how frequently the medical attendant has been confronting the individual unpleasant conditions when nursing the patient? The question focuses on the challenges faced by the nurses nowadays. It is related to the challenges I have been undergoing in this case when nursing Violet.

The issues of the unpleasant working conditions are significant looked at by the medical caretakers. The patients need a great deal of care (MacMillan, 2012 p.473). The medical caretakers endure a lot of when they think that it is difficult to offer every single required support of the patient appointed. Working under these conditions is so distressing. The hard life the family is experiencing is causing a great deal of my mental aggravation thinking that I have been in contact with them in the course of the most recent three months and I am mindful of what's going on in the family (Perkhounkova, 2013 p.402). It has been an upsetting time when going to attend for Violet. The family interfacing with is so upsetting and I am mentally enduring to see the conditions Violet is experiencing. The research has demonstrated that attendants are enduring mental stress when their patients are not getting the compelling consideration (Turale, 2014 p.24). I feel affectionate the pressure the Violet’s relatives are experiencing thinking that her daughter is the one accommodating the family.

The article by Saleh published in the year 2017 is relevant material found useful in answering the proposed research question. The article demonstrates the difficulties encountered by the medical attendants and nurses today. I think the material is so important when dealing with the fact that most the nurses experience personal issues when dealing with the patients appointed. As indicated by Saleh (2017), medical attendants and nurses are increasingly worried at the individual level when the patients are undergoing to get the necessary attention and demands. This article mostly talks about the need to meet the desires of the patient (Gouty, 2014 p.149). It has been discovered the greater part of the attendants think that it is difficult to address the issues of the patients. This is something that troubles them so much since they are continually looking for the fulfillment of their patients (Atack, 2013 p.289). I have related this material with my proposed questions on how frequently I have been enduring at the individual level when Violet is not getting what she is merited. Recalling how Gemma is battling to make both ends meet for the family I have been so upset. In connection to difficulties talked above in the material on the enduring of the medical attendants, I see this as so distressing for me to experience.

Conclusion

I will bring the idea of the difference between the descriptive quantitative research question and the Relationship-based research question suggested to be relevant for the case. Description of quantitative research questions findings brought the idea of numbers and how often the clinical issues occurred in the case while the relationship-based research question findings excluded in this case brought the idea of the relationship between the two or more quantitative variables which was not necessary in this case. My case was mainly based on the clinical issues faced by the nurses as supported by the search materials and other literary materials.

References

Affonso, D.D. 2013. Patient safety to frame and reconcile nursing issues. Nursing leadership (Toronto, Ont.), 16(4), pp.69-81.

Atack, L., 2013. Becoming a web?based learner: registered nurses’ experiences. Journal of advanced nursing, 44(3), pp.289-297.

Gouty, C.A., 2014. Key ethical issues encountered in healthcare organizations: the perceptions of staff nurses and nurse leaders. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 34(3), pp.149-156.

Keene, A., 2011. Ethical issues described by NICU nurses. Journal of Clinical Ethics, 2(4), pp.253-257.

Lathlean, J., 2012. Challenges faced by nurses in managing pain in a critical care setting. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 21(9?10), pp.1254-1262.

MacMillan, H.L., 2012. Why physicians and nurses ask (or don’t) about partner violence: a qualitative analysis. BMC public health, 12(1), p.473.

Morrissey, M.V., 2017. Extending the theory of awareness contexts by examining the ethical issues faced by nurses in terminal care. Nursing Ethics, 4(5), pp.370-379.

Perkhounkova, Y., 2013. Priority patient safety issues identified by perioperative nurses. AORN journal, 97(4), pp.402-418.

Saleh, N.M., 2017. Challenges and work crisis facing critical care nurses and  biggest problems facing nursing today.Nursing Journal, 14(3), p.235.

Turale, S., 2014. Registered and enrolled nurses' experiences of ethical issues in nursing practice. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, The, 22(1), p.24.