Application of psychological theories at the Queens Hospital The WritePass Journal

Application of psychological theories at the Queens Hospital Abstract Application of psychological theories at the Queens Hospital , p. 30). Theory provides the medical personnel with the framework and goals for assessment, diagnosis and intervention. For instance the nurses working at the hospital focused on the aspects of care that are holistic in nature for more effective judgment of different patient situations and conditions. The goals of care helped the nurses by providing a checklist by which the services that they provide are measured against. In deed Walker (2007, p. 65) says that theory is an effective tool that renders practice more efficient through comparing the outcomes against the set goals and then providing mechanisms for rectifying problems as soon as they are detected. Application of psychological theories at the hospital As a health care assistant I was many times faced with the challenge of choosing the appropriate theory or set of theories to apply in any given circumstances. This was not an easy decision because I realised that selection of only one theory in a certain circumstance would have placed restrictions on practice and probably led to inefficiencies. It is for this reason that I relied heavily on theory adoption where I took a theory and then altered it to suit the situation where I was applying it and in other cases I had to use it alongside another one. I learned that most of the patients were going through intense stress as a result of their illnesses. Some of the patients adjusted well to their new conditions whereas others developed some form of psychological disorders secondary to their physical diseases especially for those that were unable to do basic things like going to the toilet and bathing. In addition to this, some patients also showed physical symptoms for which there is no significant medical explanations and most of them were as a result of unrecognised psychological problems. I was able to learn from the nurses and other hospital staff as I realised that they were applying psychological theories in dealing with the stressed patients. They used the biopsychosocial model to explain to me the reasons why the patients were stressed. This was a very resourceful tool in the assessment of psychological stress among the patients in the hospital. The model included both environmental parameters and personal processes of perception and being able to cope with the different stress factors at the hospital. Greenberg (2007, p. 30) claims that the effects of stress have a positive correlation to coping. Coping in this case as defined by the Lazarus theory is constantly changing both cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage the existent taxing demands of the internal or external environment (Pickren Rutherford, 2010, p. 52). The doctors and nurses encouraged dialogue with the patients because they considered it an important aspect in the management of psychological and psychiatric elements of physical ill health. Greenberg (2009, p. 67) suggests that this relationship is beneficial to both the medical team and the patients. It is very important for patients particularly for those with serious physical and psychological problems to have a more personal relationship with the nurses and doctors in order to create and sustain a therapeutic relationship for better health care delivery (Sitzman Eichelberger, 2011, p. 94). This will be helpful for the health care personnel to identify the patients that need psychological treatment in good time and offer immediate attention to help them cope with the mental problems. The doctor patient relationship is explained by two other approaches which are the psychoanalytical and the task oriented approaches (Bekerian Levey 2012, p. 31). All the approaches emphasise the idea of ensuring that the patient is the centre of all actions in order to engage them as much as possible in the treatment process. Greenberg (2007, p. 32) says that these approaches demand that for an effective treatment to be achieved there has to be an efficient partnership and information sharing between the patients and the doctors. Nevid (2012, p. 89) says that the information has to flow both ways in order to improve the clinical outcomes through cognitive (knowledge), behavioural (adherence to advice) and affective (satisfaction). Indeed the application of psychological theories at the hospital was beyond what I had imagined it will be at first. I observed that the patients were mostly able to recall more information when they were satisfied. The non cooperative patients seemed to remember less information and the hospital staff in most cases had to offer them specialised care. Good communication was also maintained among the clinicians to ensure that the information flowing to the patients was consistent in order to eliminate any possibility of conflicting information reaching the patients. This was important be cause any conflicting information would have left the patients wondering who to believe and this would have even made things worse for them. Conclusion Application of psychological theories in medical settings is an important aspect of the treatment process because the patients need to be attended to psychology as well. As indicated in the paper some patients find it difficult to cope with their new conditions in the hospital and go to the extent of developing mental disorders as a result. This is the reason why the hospital made use of psychological theories in understanding their behaviour and condition in order to be able to attend to them efficiently. This is a big lesson that I learned from my placement at the Queens Hospital and I will apply it once I start working in the hospital. I am now aware of the fact that ignoring the psychological needs of the patients places them at an increased risk of developing psychological disorders and as such will always apply psychological theories in communicating with them in order to know how they feel and the best possible ways of attending to them. References Bekerian, D. A., Levey, A. B. (2012). Applied psychology: Putting theory into practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Greenberg, T. M. C. (2007). 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