This discussion post will take a look at roles within families and the context of the family in nursing care. The definition of family is constantly evolving in society today. Some of the changes seen in my practice include grandparents caring for their grandchildren, stepparents, single mothers, single father

Question description

Please read the discussions and respond to them with a reference

Post a thoughtful response to at least two (2) other colleagues’ initial postings. Responses to colleagues should be supportive and helpful (examples of an acceptable comment are: “This is interesting – in my practice, we treated or resolved (diagnosis or issue) with (x, y, z meds, theory, management principle) and according to the literature…” and add supportive reference. Avoid comments such as “I agree” or “good comment.”

References:

  • Response posts: Minimum of one (1) total reference: one (1) from peer-reviewed or course materials reference per response.

Words Limits

  • Response posts: Minimum 100 words excluding references.

Discussion 1

This discussion post will take a look at roles within families and the context of the family in nursing care. The definition of family is constantly evolving in society today. Some of the changes seen in my practice include grandparents caring for their grandchildren, stepparents, single mothers, single fathers…etc. The dynamics and definition of family is ever changing and nurses have to stay educated on these varying perspectives and how to provide care that effectively meets the needs of various patients and their families.

In my current practice, I incorporate the family as a context, family as a system, family as a component of society and family as a client because of the pediatric hospital that I work in. Due to the age of my patients, education and interventions most of the time involve the family because they are in the caregiving role for these patients. According to Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele and Robinson (2015), keeping all four of these approaches to care is important when dealing with any patient and their family. According to Coats (2018), family centered care is often credited with valuable benefits for pediatric patients, families and even the healthcare providers themselves. Keeping these may things in consideration can help produce effective outcomes for patients on a daily basis.

 

References

 

Coats, H. (2018). Nurses’ Reflections on benefits and challenges of implementing family-centered care in Pediatric Intensive care units. American Journal Of Critical Care, 27(1), 52-58. doi:10.4037/ajcc2018353

Kaakinen, J. R., Coehlo, D. P., Steele, R., & Robinson, M. (2015). Family health care nursing: Theory, practice, and research (5th ed.). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.

Discussion 2

The construction of a family can vary widely from one family to the next. Today’s world provides families of complex races, culture, sexual orientation, and generational makeup as well as blended families. Despite the diversity of the modern family, healthy families tend to exhibit a pattern of healthy characteristics across these differences. This discussion board will explore traits of a healthy family through a family I have encountered in my nursing career. The roles I used as a family nurse caring for the patient and family will also be examined.

The family I cared for that displayed traits of a healthy family were of Mexican descent. The mother was the patient, in otherwise good health, but was hospitalized for acute appendicitis for which she required surgery. She was in her mid fifties and had 6 children, all of whom were adults. The patient herself spoke limited English and despite having a fairly routine surgery, the children never left her side. They took “shifts” in staying at the hospital to help care and translate for their mother. Despite many of them having other school, work or family obligations, they each shared in the responsibility of being a caregiver for their mother. Many times when entering the room, there would be laughter and conversation between the family members that seemed to be reassuring to the patient. According to Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco and Hanson (2015) these are all traits of a healthy family including affirming and supporting other members, exhibiting a shared sense of responsibility, valuing service to other members and having a sense of humor. It is further suggested that Hispanic culture places a high value on familial obligation, and caregiving is an expected role which family members perform with less feeling of burden than other cultures (Friedemann, Buckwalter, Newman, & Mauro, 2013).

Because this family functioned as a unit rather than independently, my role a family health nurse followed suit. When I assessed, educated and evaluated the patient, I provided this knowledge to the entire family. This approach to nursing is known as caring for the family as a system in which the family is viewed as an interactional system rather than a sum of its parts (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hanson, 2015).

In conclusion, nurses can encounter many different families throughout their career. Understanding traits that determine healthy family structures can assist the nurse in planning care for both the patient and family. In addition to specific family traits, culture and values of the family may be a strong influence that nurses must consider.

References

Friedemann, M., Buckwalter, K., Newman, F., & Mauro, A. (2013). Patterns of caregiving of Cuban, other Hispanic, Caribbean black, and white elders in South Florida. Journal Of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 28(2), 137-152. doi:10.1007/s10823-013-9193-6

Kaakinen, J. R., Coehlo, D. P., Steele, R., Tabacco, A., & Hanson, S.M.H. (2015). Family health care nursing: Theory, practice, and research (5th ed.). Philadelphia PA: F.A. Davis Company.

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