Children and the Elderly
The first problem that I would like to talk about is the issue of the children and the elderly. Every age has its own peculiarities connected with the physical and emotional state of the person. In medicine, there are several stages of child development and every stage is characterized by several distinctive features. Modern medicine defines several developmental characteristics of children: newborn, infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, school-aged and adolescent children. Every stage is characterized by certain features and requires a certain type of care by the parents. Children are more frequent to have any difficulties from the pediatric point of view (illnesses, anxieties, stress, traumas, etc.). These problems affect both, physical and mental conditions of a child. That is why it is useful to point out some strategies that can be used to cope with this sort of problem:
Slow, calm approach, soothing voice, initially keep distance, gain the trust of patient and parent; place yourself at eye level with the patient; use words that the child is likely to understand; be honest and explain all procedures; allow the child to hold a familiar security object ( Foltin, Tunik, Cooper, Markenson, Treiber and Skomorowsky, 2002, p. 46)
Another part of the topic is devoted to the elderly and the main problems of people of this age level. The most frequent problems of elderly people are hearing and visual impairment (loss of hair and sight), dysphasia (abnormality of reception or use of language, usually caused by stroke), dysarthria (comprises the cases when patients realize the speech, but can not produce the sounds because tongue and speech muscles disorder), physical impairment and an overall deterioration in multiple body systems (slow movements and reaction time). Each problem has certain ways of its treatment that comprises both, medical and psychological approaches. The medical approach comprises prescribing different kinds of medicines in order to break the course of the disease. The psychological approach deals with communicative skills and comprises such methods as communication with the patient, soothing and calming him down, maintaining constant physical contact and encouraging.
Emotionally Disturbed Patients
The next discussion will deal with the problem of emotionally disturbed patients. First of all, it is necessary to give the definition of the emotional disturbance and provide its reasons. Emotional disturbance can be regarded as an amount of dissimilar, but connected, social-emotional problems (Flynn, 2007, p. 17). Those patients who are defined as emotionally disturbed meet some criteria, presented by the following:
- An incapability to demonstrate proper behavior under regular circumstances
- An inability to support proper relations with peers or teachers
- An unsuitable effect such as despair, depression or nervousness
- An inapt expression of physical symptoms or fears in retort to college or personal problems.
Patients who are defined as emotionally disturbed are characterized by a variety of sternness. This kind of illness can be temporary or enduring. Particular cases of emotional disturbance comprise youth schizophrenia; selective mutism (disability to speak in some circumstances); gravely aggressive or acting-out actions; behavior disorders; inapt emotional problems represented by depression, social extraction, psychosomatic inabilities, anxiety problems, self-mutilating actions; and extreme fears (or phobias). In order to provide complete realization of emotionally disturbing patients, I would like to enumerate a number of reasons for this kind of emotional disorder. First of all, let me tell you that in most cases the emotional disorders and disturbances have no direct reasons. But still, the reasons for the patient’s disorder can be explained by some causes comprising natural, family, college, and cultural factors. Biological factors comprise biochemical and neurological effects that interrelate and lead to emotional disabilities, such as schizophrenia, autism and attention deficit. It should be mentioned that not all of these disabilities are possible to define at once, they can progress during a patient’s life. One more very important reason that can lead to emotional disturbance is a family factor, such as violence, rude attitude, neglecting and sometimes death of close friends and relatives. These are strong causative factors to emotional disturbance. Another significant factor leading to the emotional disturbance of patients is school problems such as failure to put up with personal needs, inapt expectations, or discrepancy. Some environmental factors such as peer group, urbanization, and district factors interrelate with the person can also result in the emotional disturbance of the patient.
Death & Dying; Breaking Bad News and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
The next topic that I would like to discuss in the article is the issue of death and dying, the ways it can be presented to close relatives and people and the sudden infant death syndrome. First of all, it should be mentioned that death and different unpleasant events are not simple to present. It is necessary to choose the right position and the right method in order to present such breaking news in a way that can not emotionally disturb people and cause them any emotional shock. There are several steps that can be taken in order to present such news correctly. First of all, you should identify the close member of the family and be sure that you are speaking to the right person. Secondly, do not avoid eye contact, as it is very important while communicating (Joy, 2001 p. 56). Thirdly, while speaking, do not hurry and make some breaks and pauses. Be as honest as possible while expressing your own attitude to the event. Fourthly, use reassuring words and gestures, such as the touch of a hand that expresses your sympathy and positive attitude to the person. Finally, it is very useful to leave the members of the family alone for them to concentrate and put up with the presented news.
Now, I would like to tell a few words about sudden infant death syndrome. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome that is also known as SIDS is a word used to explain the unexpected and impenetrable death of a vigorous child having the age from one month to one year. The most mysterious fact is that children who become the victims of such syndrome are healthy before death, so the reasons for such mortality and the ways of its prevention are unknown yet. SIDS is accountable for fewer deaths than inherited disorders and illnesses connected with a short period of development. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is unusual throughout the first month, but it is the important reason for death in practically healthy children aged from one to six months. Unfortunately, this syndrome is still unexplained which is why modern medicine is helpless in solving this question.
Teamwork and Conflict Resolution
Needless to say, the ability to work in a team is very important, as collective work leads to both, better results and development of the team spirit. Resolution of conflicts is also a very important ability and it requires some skills. The teamwork is very helpful, as I have already mentioned, as it gives the person an opportunity to develop her skills for collaboration, develops and increases patience and helps to avoid stress. This reason is very important from the medical point of view.
Successful teams from when imaginative persons work together efficiently to attain a common aim. When you support energetic participation in problem-solving and making the decision, you have to balance methods in order to attain your perspectives. Despite the fact that a work team has a lot of advantages, there is one problem that can appear. These are conflicts. In medicine, there are several types of behavior of people involved in the conflict, which can be defined by certain distinctive features. Let us briefly describe each type. Nonassertive behavior is characterized by self-denying, uncertain and anxious features. The next type of behavior is assertive. It is characterized by the self-enhancing, confident and assertive manner of presenting the information. Finally, aggressive behavior can be recognized if a person is self-enhancing at the expense of others, over-expressive and aggressive. The decision of the problems and conflicts is the most important thing in the process of conflict. To my mind, it is not necessary to be a good psychologist, good conflict resolution skills, such as patience and excellent communicative abilities for resolution of the conflicts are enough. There is a special kind of tactics that can be used while dealing with angry and aggressive people:
First of all, it is necessary to define a problem ( this is usually done for you by the upset person). Identify the alternative solution (look for alternatives to arguing or escalating the behavior). Select the right solution (if your angry person can’t seem to express what they may really be upset about, select the solution that you feel will work best at this time) (Hartley 2002 p. 34).
PHC Occupational Stress
In medicine, there are several types of stress, such as paramedic stress (the kind of stress achieved through the traumatic shock or any other disorder) and the critical incident stress related to a single, overwhelming event of unusual proportions even for someone accustomed to witnessing usual things. One more type of stress is critical incident stress. “It is connected with some extraordinary event or series of events, which are outside the range of ordinary human experiences” (Bredsoe 2003, p. 273). Unfortunately, our present way of life is practically impossible to imagine without occupational stress that is the result of excessive tiredness. In general, the presence of stress can become a real motivator that does not give the person any possibility to seek excellence. Moreover, excess stress can cause less productivity, worse quality of work, loss of self-confidence and lack of desire to work. As a consequence, excellent employees mislay their eagerness for work and finally, they are hired from their places of work. That is why in a great number of companies there are special programs devoted to helping employers cope with their stress and tiredness. From my point of view, this decision is very reasonable and helpful because left unimpeded, work-related stress can become the reason for emotional and different physical disorders. Such disorders can lead to negative effects on social, professional and personal lives. The person can increase a level of nervousness that leads to some difficulties with sleep, making relaxation outside the place of work impracticable. Moreover, stress is able to activate emotional problems and illnesses such as anxiety, despair. Sometimes excessive stress can lead to different phobias that restrain the capability to take pleasure from life in the future. The best way to cope with occupational stress is to have more rest and take a holiday, develop some outside activities, go in for sport and spend as much time as possible dealing with the favorite activity.
Reference List
Bredsoe B (2003), Critical incident stress management (CISM): Benefit or risk for emergency services? Prehospital Emergency Care, 7 (2), p.272-279
Flynn D. ( 2007) Severe Emotional Disturbance in Children and Adolescents, Taylor and Francis, USA
Foltin Gl, Tunik Mg, Cooper A, Markenson D, Treiber M and Skomorowsky A (2002), Teaching resource in prehospital pediatrics for paramedics, Center for Pediatric Emergency Medicine, New York.
Hartley M. (2002) Anger at Work, Sheldon Press, USA.
Joy R (2001), Crisis: Deliver Bad News, Manage Tough Situations, Limit the Damage, Financial Times management, New York