You are a consultant in a hospice facility for adult patients who come from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The administration has two concerns. First, there have been many patient complaints filed indicating that the staff is abusive, both physically and psychologically.
It is possible that the staff is being abusive (e.g., pulling them out of bed roughly, causing injury), or that the patients are misinterpreting the staff's behavior (e.g., dementia due to Alzheimer's disease may lead them to believe they are not being fed). Second, the patients have difficulty complying with their medication regime, with some seeking alternative methods for treating their illnesses and coping with the dying process.
Based on what you learned in this course, what information should be given to the staff to address both issues? Be sure to specify the following:
Ways in which staff can ensure that patient care is applied in a consistent and respectful manner. Physical and cognitive abilities/limitations should be described. For example, a patient may have physical impairments that make it difficult for him/her to move with ease or to see/hear properly. Cognitive impairments (e.g., dementia) may distort patient perceptions.
Ways in which the staff can get compliance from patients to take medications, as well as ways to show understanding for the patients' varied cultural and ethical beliefs, although implementation of alternative methods can only be allowed if they are not illegal.
Ways in which staff can ease the coping and acceptance process for patients and their families related to dying and death. In particular, patients must be informed of choices available while in the hospital (e.g., DNR) and for their funerals, while the staff helps the families cope with mourning, bereavement, and grief over the loss of kin.
Final Paper Requirements:
Your double-spaced paper should be 7-9 pages in length (not counting the required title and reference pages).
Include an introduction. It must provide a clear statement of your position on the topic.
Your paper should synthesize current, relevant research on this topic from at least five scholarly sources.
Discuss the implications of possible solutions for the project under consideration.
Finally, offer your conclusions regarding how best to manage the issue (i.e., your informed opinion on the issues raised).
Your paper must demonstrate what you have learned about current issues related to human development. It is expected to have depth and offer a thoughtful analysis on the topic. Your writing should be based on references to scholarly materials (rather than on introductory textbooks, popular website writings, or musings, for example). That is, support your claims with evidence.
The most common mistakes in writing an essay are: (a) simply summarizing the topic and not analyzing it or discussing your views; and (b) failing to relate the subject to the broader context of human development, as discussed in the course and found in the readings.