Nursing Reflection Essay
My knowledge on mental illness prior to this class was limited as I only associated mental illness to insanity. I had little information on what causes mental illness, types of mental illnesses, and possible treatment for these conditions. Today, I am aware of different types of mental health conditions, with my familiarity concerning Psychotic Episode as one of mental illness condition. With support from the readings, my thought concerning the issue of mental illness has changed. Through the book course materials and discussions, I have come to know that the treatment of mental health illness uses social and environmental measures, with the majority of the treatment concepts set to care for the people who develop different form of mental disorder. In fact, the study within the text brings out ideas that make me feel that to reduce the cost of mental health care, the mental illness client needs to be treated in inpatient settings, so that the quality of the patient is carefully monitored.
Although, I had a slight idea concerning many forms of mental illness; I have gained broad knowledge from the readings and at the Emergency Department where I was working as a nurse for mental illness community. The opportunity at Metropolitan and Regional Emergency Department has offered me great help in relation to my understanding concerning mental illness treatment, making me view mental illness treatment as a discipline that has been developed over the years. As such, with this understanding, I can now carry out the treatment task in the most effective way, in which I will identify the symptoms of the mental disorder patient, identify the type of medication that the patient needs, and implement deinstitutionalization treatment measures.
Besides, I feel that through my understanding of the relationship between nursing and the treatment of the mental illness, I can come up with personal changes that will bring changes to my nursing practice. As a result, concerning my understanding about mental illness and its treatment, I would try to change the aspect of mental illness stigmatization, whereby many nurses may view the people who are mentally ill as people who are constitutionally weak, dangerous, and responsible for their own life. As nursing is a broad concept that requires support from what one has read, to end the aspect of stigmatization that relates to mentally ill people, I would apply my professional attitude as a principle for nursing.
In the modern community, there are multitudes of factors showing why the stigma against mentally ill people has continued to be persistent. Therefore, to avoid the aspect of viewing mentally ill patients as people who are frightening, I think nurses need to use their professional attitudes to ensure they offer treatment in a balanced way. In fact, as nurses, our attitude will make us work as social workers; we will freely interact with the mentally ill people as we execute the nursing activities.
Nursing professional attitude is an essential factor to the treatment of mentally ill people because the perspective of a nurse gives him or her an opportunity to conduct treatment in a manner that does not show discrimination. Here, I feel that in the hospital setting where nurses use their professional attitude, the nurses work with usual behaviors. My nursing behavior has a crucial implication for the treatment of mentally ill people. Therefore, the readings and the practical work at the Metropolitan and Regional Emergency Department has been an important aspect of my career, I can offer nursing services to the mentally ill patients in the best way possible and help improve the quality of care for such patients.
