Patient Dignity In Nursing Case Study

PART A: DIGNIFIED CARE IN NURSING:
Dignity; “the state or quality of being worthy of honour or respect.” (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2016). Nurses must respect patient dignity because they have a duty of care to each client. Without respecting this, a patient may feel they have not received the correct standard of care, which may prolong their recovery time.
Dignified care in nursing practice means delivering a service to patients or clients in a way that respects their rights as human beings. Nurses have a responsibility to encourage patients to be as independent as possible. Many nursing codes exist to protect a patients rights whilst under hospital care. This level of care also involves giving the patient autonomy in all interventions provided.

I will give my patient the pseudonym of Jane, who was diagnosed with psychotic depression. Jane was attending the bathroom when I was called to assist her. She felt unable and unmotivated to clean herself after utilising the toilet. I encouraged her to stand with minimal assistance as requested. I ensured that my voice was quiet throughout, so that no patients around us could hear what was happening. A study on patient dignity in nursing stated that nurses feel that lowering your voice is important in maintaining dignity. “Commenting on the maintenance of patient privacy ...they talked about lowering voices when discussing matters with patients.” (Matiti, 2002) I asked Jane if she’d feel more comfortable if I assisted her in cleaning, to which she consented. I remained neutral in tone, reassuring her that she was doing well by standing up herself. I asked if she would like me to escort her back to her room, which she felt happier to do alone. In the same study, Matiti spoke to patients about choice, and many felt an important part of maintaining their dignity was to have a choice. Jane was given a choice on what she felt more comfortable with. It offered Jane a chance to be independent, which enhanced her dignity. “There was a general agreement among patients from the three hospitals that patients expected to be given opportunities to make some choices.” (Matiti,

In psychiatric nursing in particular, following this model can allow a nurse to encourage a patient to be as independent as possible. Upon evaluation, while it provides a pattern to follow in order to deliver nursing care, it is too linear. Each patient’s recovery and circumstances are unique, and a nurse sometimes must adjust the level or order of care provided in order to suit the patient. Orem’s theory sets the standard of how nursing care should be delivered, when this isn’t realisitic. Overall, Orem’s model is a comprehensive pattern in providing nursing