Describe an incident or situation that has occured during your student Essay

Describe an incident or situation that has occured during your student practice and discuss a related professional issue - Essay Example So I asked her, in a discreet manner what was wrong. She explained that she was embarrassed so I wheeled her back into her room and fed her in there. If this lady had been asked where she would like to eat, her choice would have been to stay in her room and eat where she felt her dignity would have been maintained. If I had not of spoken to her she would rather chose not to eat, or other patients, having no intentions, will invade her privacy and see her feed. As a nurse, it is vital that a patient’s dignity is respected at all times. By preserving dignity, a nurse can also preserve the integrity of the patient. In this scenario, it is clear that a violation in privacy and person’s dignity occurred through humiliation, embarrassment, not respecting patient’s autonomy regarding preferred feeding, and depersonalization (Watson, 2008, p. 133). Healthcare delivery in the contemporary era focuses on being patient centered, risk managed, quality assured and cost effective (Mallik, 2009, p. 14). Accountability has grown increase importance in delivering quality health care by expanding the responsibility of caring and accountability to a health team instead of individuals. Accountability is defined as being accountable of your actions by explaining and justifying why and what you did. It involves assessment of the best interests for patients, knowledge and judgment in decision-making, and explanation to defend course of action (Walsh, p. 89). Since accountability promotes the best interests of the patients, it is essential that nurses respect privacy, which is one basic right of human dignity. Privacy is a major factor considered in caring. Among of the privacy concerns of patients are depersonalization and intimate questions, hospital procedures, and treatments (Watson, 2008, p. 133). Privacy was linked to preservation of human dignity and maintenance of integrity and hence is considered as an essential health need