Identifying a Problem
Introduction
There are various issues faced by the nurses in the clinical setting dealing with different patients and facing problems with their environmental settings. One of the major problems in my clinical setting is to deal with patients of burn injuries.
Nature of the Problem, Issue, or Educational Deficit
Patients with burn injuries are not just a serious concern for the whole clinic to attend on the emergency basis, but also a major concern for the nurses after their initial treatment of injuries. “most patients recover emotionally from a burn injury, some have more difficult psychological reactions to the injury” (Smeltzer, etal, 2010, p. 1744). Even that these patients, sooner or later relieved from their pain, but to deal with them after their deformed and burned areas, and mental and psychological trauma of these patients to face the society, and to look at their burnt parts and burnt faces—is the biggest challenge for the nurses,
Setting And/Or Context
Medical treatment of patients with burns is not enough, but they also require psychological treatments. In my clinical setting and in most of the other clinics, I have observed that attention is paid only to their physical injuries and there is no arrangement to provide psychological treatment to these patients. Nurses in clinical settings are not skilled or educated to deal with these problems and the patients and their families have to look for the psychiatrists and councilors for the psychological traumas. This highlights that it is very essential for the clinical staff to understand the seriousness of this issue and harms that results in delay of providing mental and psychological treatment for burn patients, if not treated in recovery phase (Ullrich et al. 2009).
Impact of the problem on environment, quality of care and patient outcomes
This issue has worst impact on the clinical environment, care provided by the staff and the patient outcome. Complete treatment and care for the burn victims requires both physical and psychological cure, but in the clinical settings lack of this most important considerations result in poor quality of work and inefficiency of nurses due to their lack of proper education to deal with these patients. This issue has worst impact on the patients and during their long stay in the clinics and hospitals for their physical recovery these patients suffer mental, emotional and psychological trauma and fear to face the society and starting their new life. It has worst impact on their mental condition and most of the patients can never recover from their fears and pains of their accidents and accepting their burnt parts and faces.
Gravity of Problem and Significance to Nursing
• It is also very significant for the patients to relieve their mental and psychological trauma at the early stage of their treatment.
• Education for nurses to deal with psychological condition of burn victims will also provide guidance for the nurses to treat other patients with better care, by understanding their psychological needs as well.
• Providing medical and psychological treatment for patients will also have good impact for the clinic and staff.
PICOT
The population for this qualitative research will be selected on the basis random selection from my clinical setting and this research will look for proper interventions burn patients such as psychological counseling. This research will also provide comparison of the selected clinical settings with other clinics and hospitals with lack of these services and the impact and outcome of this issue on patients, nurses, clinic and other staff. Time for this research will be six months to one year.
Solution
It is very important for the clinics and other institutes (providing education for the nurses), to educate nurses to deal with burn patients. Therefore, there must be proper counseling and psychological courses for nurses. Clinics should also provide facilities and arrangements for the burn victims to get psychological treatments and proper counseling.
References
Smeltzer, S.C. Bare, B. G. Hinkle, J. L. Cheever, K. H. (2010). Brunner and Suddarth’s Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, p.1744 http://books.google.com/books?id=SmtjSD1x688C&pg=PA1744&dq=psychological+treatment+for+the+patient+of+burns+and+lack+of+nurses+education&hl=en&sa=X&ei=U5TXUfSqCMO14ATH6oD4Dg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=psychological%20treatment%20for%20the%20patient%20of%20burns%20and%20lack%20of%20nurses%20education&f=false
Ullrich P.M., Askay S.W. & Patterson D.R. (2009). “Pain, depression, and physical functioning following burn injury”. Rehabilitation Psychology. 54(2), 211-216. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19469612
