Reflexivity is an ongoing process for evaluating oneself to understand how we relate and interact with others in our surrounding environment. Self-reflexivity can be a critical skill for human service professionals, as each individual brings unique strengths and challenges to the profession. While human service professionals may strive to remain neutral or bias-free in our work-related conduct, the act of acknowledging the origins of our perspectives can be a powerful exercise that aids in recognizing and addressing our professional blind spots.
Current health condition
Adult
suffering
from
chronic
GERD
He appreciates the
support accorded to
him by family and
friends and he
wants them to know
that he notices all
their sacrifices and
appreciates
their
efforts.
He regrets not adopting a
healthy lifestyle early on in
his life arguing that it
would have significantly
prevented development of
his disease. It would have
also reduced the fast
progression of the disease.
KEY
Positive
Relationship with family
and friends
The patient works
four days a week
and gets paid leave
whenever he has a
doctor’s
appointment. He
appreciates/
the
routine and loves
his job.
Negative
Typical day
Visiting the park is his
hobby where he loves
taking his dog for walks
while slightly jogging.
He also likes playing
videogames and going
fishing during the
weekends
Family
and
friends
live
nearby and come
to visit the patient
often. They also
spend time with
him during the
weekend since
they are aware of
his condition.
Message to family &
Friends
Life decisions/regrets
Hobbies
The patient reports heartburn
that lasts up to two hours. It is
accompanied by a burning
chest pain that starts behind
the breastbone and spreads to
the throat and neck. Other
complaints include nausea,
chronic cough, ear pain,
regurgitation, laryngitis, and
in extreme cases- acidinduced erosion of the teeth.
Having to visit the doctor
frequently is disruptive to his
life
Patient-Centered Care Plan
After reviewing the constructive feedback provided, the information will assist in
designing and defining the most appropriate care plan for the patient since it gives an insight into
the individual’s life. In this perspective, the information elaborates on the patient’s health
condition, hobbies, day activities, family relationships, and approach to life. Since the care plan
concentrates on providing patient care valuably and meaningfully to a patient, it entails the
combination of these factors to provide holistic care. From this perspective, the care plan will
assist in informing the activity by giving an insight into the patient’s preferences, thus assist in
integrating the hobbies into the care plan (Victoria, 2015). Additionally, the activity helps in the
integration of other essential factors into the care plan to assist in providing the patient with the
best treatment method and tactics.
The definition of a patient care plan requires the identification of possible agencies,
approaches, services, and complexities. Since the patient lives in Minnesota, the most
appropriate agencies are those within the region to reduce the distance of travel. Furthermore,
agencies within the area assist in providing a fast response in case of emergencies that require
medical intervention. In this perspective, possible agencies are Brookdale home health, advanced
medical home care, intrepid USA healthcare services, and kindred at home (Carepathways,
2020). These agencies are among the best due to the efficiency of services provided by the
facilities.
Agency analysis entailed the consideration of two factors, which are the efficiency of
intervention measures provided in the facility and patient recovery in the facility. The results
show that the agencies have a positive effect on the outcome of patients and have effective
response and treatment strategies. Concerning the services offered, each of these agencies offers
medical intervention amenities, such as speech pathology, physical therapy, skilled nursing,
home health aide, occupation therapy, and medical social services (Carepathways, 2020). From
this perspective, factors such as skilled nursing, physical therapy, and home health aide will
assist in enhancing the conditions of the patient.
On another matter, possible services are specialized medical services provided by a
gastroenterologist. These services help in reducing the spread or prevalence of the disease since
the activities help in treating the condition. Furthermore, the provision of services and the setting
of approaches should consider the various patient-centered care principles. Some of these
ideologies are consideration of patients’ preferences, coordination of care, care access, and the
provision of emotional support, to mention a few (Oneview, 2015). Treatment measures involve
activities such as surgery and medications. Similarly, the provision of such services also assists
in the provision of advanced services regarding the treatment of GERD. From this perspective,
the healthcare agency supposed to offer services to the patient ought to have a gastroenterologist
to help in analyzing the patient’s development. Moreover, the practitioner will assist in
structuring treatment measures to focus on the patient’s health condition.
Another essential physiological service required by the patient is psychotherapy. The
reason for this is since these services help in reducing the occurrence of stress-related thoughts
caused by the condition. Psychotherapy is vital since it creates emotional and mental peace since
it assists a person in accepting existing conditions and the definition of necessary intervention
measures regarding the situation. Apart from psychotherapy, there is a need for social support
services. Social support involves participation in groups consisting of people experiencing the
same condition. Such associations help in providing insight concerning effective intervention
measures and increasing the motivation for life. Therefore, the most effective agency is that
which provided these services. In this perspective, to ensure that the patient receives the best
care, it is paramount for the plan to integrate service provision and the choice of an agency
(Class, 2020). A competent agency is that which concentrates or has a significant number of
GERD patients that will assist in the formation of a social support group.
However, medical intervention strategies may lead to side effects due to the use of
medications that may have a side effect on the body. Therefore, the company needs to provide
dietary services to assist in enhancing natural healing. Since GERD entails the return of gastric
acids into the esophagus, an intake of the right foods may help in treating the condition without
resulting in additional effects on the patient. From this viewpoint, another beneficial service is
the provision of nutritional advice concerning appropriate food to take that will assist in reducing
acids in the body (Muller, Tapaskar & Kavitt, 2020). Nutritional services also help in tracking
the patient’s food intake and analyzing the effect of the foods on the patient.
Additionally, the care plan should provide services that integrate treatment with the
patient’s environment and living conditions. In light of this, the program ought to include
physical activities to reduce the advancement of the disease. In consideration of the case, the
patient considers the lack of engagement in physical activities as a cause of the ailment. The
factor makes the patient intend to participate in physical activities. Moreover, the patient enjoys
taking his dog for a walk or run, an activity that acts as a physical form of exercise. Another
action that the patient loves is playing video games. In consideration of the patient’s plan and
hobbies, the most effective way of ensuring the patient participates in the activity is by
integrating the two factors. Therefore, possible services include the inclusion of Augmented
Reality (AR) games into the facility or home of the patient to assist the individual in working out
as he plays various games (Class, 2020). Furthermore, it is essential to provide training services
that incorporate the patient’s hobbies. An example of such a service is the provision of tracking
devices that provide an insight into the patient’s physical activities.
On another topic, treatment focuses on various approaches, such as curative and
supportive. Curative methods focus on the treatment of GERD, whereas supportive tactics
concentrate on enhancing the patient’s efforts to treatment. Since the patient suffers from the
condition, it is impractical to undertake a preventative approach (Canadian Nurses Association,
n.d). Furthermore, the ailment is a cardiovascular disease and not an addiction issue; thus, it does
not require the implementation of rehabilitation measures. In this perspective, the most efficient
approaches would be those that have a high probability of resulting in the treatment of the
disease.
Curative and supportive measures are effective since each approach focuses on the
adoption of new measures that aim at treating the patient. Curative measures include actions such
as the provision of medication, nutritional changes, and exercises. From this perspective, the
introduction of drugs into the body or the participation in treatment measures creates a new
effect on the body that helps in fighting the ailment or changing the body’s reaction to a specific
condition. Furthermore, the implementation of new nutritional measures helps in improving body
composition and increasing a person’s immunity to a particular disease. In the event of lifestyle
conditions, nutrition assists in reducing the presence of catalyst factors in the body concerning
the ailment. On the other hand, physical exercises have a significant impact on the body; hence
the activities may assist in treating or reducing the prevalence of an unwanted condition in the
body.
Regarding supportive approaches, the intervention measures ought to support the patient’s
tastes and preferences. Therefore, a valid consideration entails recognizing the patient’s hobbies,
such as taking the dog for a walk. In this perspective, approaches ought to include actions such
as advising family members to join the patient while taking a walk. Another supportive approach
that may assist in enhancing the effect of the measures on the patient is supporting the decision
of the patient to reduce the intake of acidic foods by not including such foods in the family’s
dietary plans. Other supportive strategy involves the preparation of the patient’s food separately
and joining the individual in physical activities to enhance morale.
However, the implementation of these approaches and the provision of the services
mentioned above may be difficult due to the existence of several complexities. A significant
complication is time. According to the consultative feedback, the patient works four days a
week, which means that most of the time, the individual is at work for the four working days.
Given the fact that some of the intervention measures require daily participation, the individual
may lack time to engage in the activities, for instance, physical exercise ought to be a nearly
daily activity. Moreover, time affects the patient’s ability to engage in other beneficial activities
such as evening support groups that happen during the working days.
Another notable complexity involves the issue of monitoring. According to the patient,
friends and family live nearby and visit the individual often, which means that most likely, the
patient lives alone. From this perspective, it is clear that without somebody else to ensure that the
patient adheres to set intervention measures, the patient has a high chance of failing to follow the
set treatment procedures.