Clinical Integration in Aged Care for Registered Nurses -myassignmenth

Question: Discuss about theClinical Integration in Aged Care for Registered Nurses. Answer: According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013), the proportion of population aged above 65 years is estimated to increase to 5.8 million by the year 2031 (Abs.gov.au, 2017). Aged care specialties in hospitals aim to assess the needs of old and frail people. The registered nurses (RN) are involved in improving the wellbeing and health of frail old patients by delivering high quality services. RNs play a vital role in residential aged care services by monitoring and delivering evidence-based practices for quality improvement of their clients. Registered nurses and their aged clients are particularly susceptible to manual handling injuries. Nurses are involved in patient handling tasks that increase their susceptibility to musculoskeletal disorders such as back pain. Manual handling operations involve supporting or moving patients by providing bodily effort. Handling patients includes the use of a force to push, lift, pull, carry, lower, move or support the concerned client (Tr inkoff et al., 2008). Musculoskeletal injuries related to manual handling tasks that involve high risks such as adjusting beds, moving patient trolleys or lifting people are a major safety concern. The risks of injuries related to handling of patients get increased when the registered nurses are made to perform duties in which they have not received adequate training. Data from studies suggest that musculoskeletal disorders arising due to inappropriate handling of patients lead to disc degeneration. Tasks that require sudden nonneutral posture movements predispose RNs to risks of back injuries. Transfer of patients often requires rotation, flexion and shear forces that lead to back pain and fracture among the frail old patients. Maintaining body posture for a prolonged period of time during manual handling, lead to the occurrence of shoulder and back pain among both the clients and their caregivers (Oakman, Macdonald Wells, 2014). Failure to lift patients safely is responsible for fall related injuries and death. Pushing or pulling patient trolleys are associated with shoulder injuries. On the other hand, nurses suffer from arm and neck injuries when they are involved in stoop ing or lifting patients. Elderly patients often face safety threat during toileting. It is often done without any assistance and involves a number of manoeuvres and lifts (Kay, Evans Glass, 2015). Therefore, it can be said that the safety and health status of a patients and registered nurses can be protected only by providing proper manual handling training to the staff and by supplying lifting equipments such as slings, handling belts, slide sheets, transfer boards and hoists to ensure safety of the staff and the patients. Sharing of healthcare related information is crucial to the wellbeing of both the carers as well as their patients. If the carers are not included while taking important decisions involving their clients, serious personal, practical and ?nancial consequences can arise for both of them. The carers often know their patient and act as a source of constant emotional support. However, there are certain barriers to the process of sharing information. Professionals who are involved in patient care need to follow their duty of abiding by the professional codes of law, practice and statute related to confidentiality (Treasure Todd, 2016). Carers belonging to the mental wards do not receive adequate training to deal with confidentiality related complex issues. They fail to address the specific needs of their clients and lack confidence. It is a matter of worry for some professionals that if carers are involved more while discussing patient information, they may not have sufficient time to pro vide holistic care to their patients. All carers are required to keep patient information confidential. There are several privacy laws that cover access to patient records and allow sharing of related information only for the purpose of providing care (Herring, 2007). These laws permit disclosing patient health information while finding missing person, to campaign for funding, under a court warrant or to prevent imminent threat. Carers can breach these privacy terms and can give rise to complexities. The most essential issue in this respect is patient agreement on information disclosure to the carer. Many carers and their clients are unaware of this (Wilson et al., 2015). They fail to realize that prior consent from a patient must be taken before sharing any relevant health information. Complexities arise when the patient suffers from dementia or other acute episodes and is unable to provide informed consent. Another condition that acts as a barrier is when the carers first notice changes or abnormalities in the sleep patterns of their patients. The changes may not be realized by the client themselves. Hence, they may not want to contact any professional in such situations and may interpret the action of their carers as a breach of confidentiality and trust (Hattingh et al., 2015). Thus, it can be stated that although carer wellbeing can improve greatly by including them in the team while sharing patient information, there are certain legal and ethical obligations that bind the professionals working in healthcare sector and prevent any breach of conduct of patient confidentiality. References Abs.gov.au. (2017).3101.0 - Australian Demographic Statistics, Jun 2013.Abs.gov.au. Retrieved 11 October 2017, from https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/3101.0Feature%20Article1Jun%202013?opendocumenttabname=Summaryprodno=3101.0issue=Jun%202013num=view= Hattingh, H. L., Knox, K., Fejzic, J., McConnell, D., Fowler, J. L., Mey, A., ... Wheeler, A. J. (2015). Privacy and confidentiality: perspectives of mental health consumers and carers in pharmacy settings.International Journal of Pharmacy Practice,23(1), 52-60. Herring, J. (2007). Where are the carers in healthcare law and ethics?.Legal Studies,27(1), 51-73. Kay, K., Evans, A., Glass, N. (2015). Moments of speaking and silencing: Nurses share their experiences of manual handling in healthcare.Collegian,22(1), 61-70. Oakman, J., Macdonald, W., Wells, Y. (2014). Developing a comprehensive approach to risk management of musculoskeletal disorders in non-nursing health care sector employees.Applied ergonomics,45(6), 1634-1640. Treasure, J., Todd, G. (2016). Interpersonal maintaining factors in eating disorder: Skill sharing interventions for carers. InBio-Psycho-Social Contributions to Understanding Eating Disorders(pp. 125-137). Springer International Publishing. Trinkoff, A. M., Geiger-Brown, J. M., Caruso, C. C., Lipscomb, J. A., Johantgen, M., Nelson, A. L., ... Selby, V. L. (2008). Personal safety for nurses. Wilson, L. S., Pillay, D., Kelly, B. D., Casey, P. (2015). Mental health professionals and information sharing: carer perspectives.Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971-),184(4), 781-790.