Objective and Outcomes
Apply and Evaluate the Extent to which your Specialist Knowledge Contributes to Patient/Service-User Experience
Analysis is the evaluation of something with the view of determining whether it is meeting its intended purpose and what are the drawbacks and high point.
“Customer is king.” As a paramedic, I deal with a lot of issues day in day out and interact with a lot of people. I need to have an understanding of the human behaviour to be able to do work comfortably and effectively. With this understanding, I will attend to the patients, get to reach out to them and I will be able to offer the best care to them and they will be satisfied on their road to recovery. The patient’s needs are dynamic and so the variances should be understood well before and precaution is taken even if they come in regularly. The services should be personalised in that they are made to fit everyone’s needs and not just those who make the loudest demand.
Good communication is keyto my line of work because any misrepresentation or reporting would cause a lot of harm to the patient. For example in an emergency situation, am required to explain to the doctors clearly what the patients problem is and his or her immediate conditions for the doctor to have an understanding and he or she will be able to take over comfortably. Also with good communication one is able to talk with the patients thus making them feel safe.
A good work environment should also be maintained since I get to deal with different people from different professions such as doctors and nurses. All parties should be able to utilise problem solving approaches in relation to difficulties experienced in relation to interprofessionalpractice (Leathard, 1994).There should be good collaborative energy to ensure we save lives when faced with tough situations. Collaboration should run across all fields including the community and the users. Viewing each other as equals would be good since if one of us feels inferior, the work won’t be done well. The doctors for example can work as leaders and thus will lead to the development of the healthcare work force. Decision making would also be quick as a result of the collaborative energy.
Professionalism is also a factor that should be put in mind. Good medical practice should be maintained at all time and thus the patients would not be at risk. For example administering the right medicine by first understanding what the problem is and not by use of assumptions. Also dedication and full involvement is required. For example one should have a clear mind free from unnecessary thought to ensure integrity when doing the work. A critical analysis of the situation will thus be possible.
Time management is very important. Emergencies for example require fast attendance to the patient and also delivery to the hospitals. If any time is lost, lives are lost. Thus time should always be taken into consideration at all times. Schedules can help as well as good understanding of the road network so that in such time, the best and shortest route can be taken to enable faster access.
Service delivery should also be top, that is, meeting the expectations of all and doing that effectively and efficiently. One should also be open to new things and changes likely to be experience in the line of work. Developments in the working methods should also be undertaken to ensure integrity of the work given its dynamic nature for example changes in the level of technology in the equipments.Improvements should also be welcomed at all times to allow for quality assurance.
Partnerships with other healthcare providers can also be beneficial especially when it comes to service delivery and thus it is highly recommended. If one healthcare provider is not able to offer certain services, it can link with another one so that it can refer patients to them. They will form a team geared meeting the everyday needs of the patients and at the same time furthering their own goals.
Care pathways are good ways to ensure good service delivery and ensuring that the patient’s or service user experience is good. For example in a care pathway for elderly fallers, care improvement was enhanced by implementation of four service changes.
1. Referring of non conveyed fallers to their GP. Previously they were being referred to falls or to a local community team. When referred, the GP would make the decision on whether to refer them to a community service.
2. A falls decision tree was developed to help in management of elderly fallers.
3. A training program that supported the development of the decision tree and it provided the staff with a greater knowledge and understanding of issues affecting patients.
4. Finally creation of a referral support team that provided a robust, accountable, replicable and easy to use system for referral.
In conclusion, for good results, an individual needs to have an open mind and have good qualities to enable good and healthy interactions with team member and the groups of people on a daily basis. All this will enhance the patient or service user experience at any given time.
References
Leathard A (ed) (1994) Going Interprofessional: Working Together for Health and Welfare. London: Routledge
Department of Health (2010) Liberating the NHS: Developing the healthcare workforce. London: Department of Health
Department of Health (2008) High quality care for all: NHS next stage review final report (The Darzi report) London: DH
CAIPE (2011) Principles of Interprofessional Education London CAIPE
CAIPE (2007) Creating an Interprofessional Workforce: An Education and Training Framework for Health and Social care in England
HEA ( Higher Education Academy) document
