Aboriginal Health Reflective Essay Outlining The Crucial Duties Of Community Nurse
Question
Task: In this task will write a reflection about one of the key messages of the unit:
Cultural safety, self-determination and collaboration are central to ensuring the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Where health (following The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) definition) means not just the physical well-being of an individual but refers to the social, emotional and cultural well-being of the whole Community in which each individual is able to achieve their full potential as a human being thereby bringing about the total well-being of their Community.
There are three required components to the task.
As a health service provider, discuss how the concepts of cultural safety, self-determination and collaboration will inform:
- Your interactions with Aboriginal patients, their families and Aboriginal health workers
- Your advocacy for health service delivery that ensures health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Your advocacy activities that will contribute to ‘closing the gap’.
Reflective writing should demonstrate critical reading and thinking skills. The use of ‘I’ is expected in this assessment task (‘I think, I do not agree, I agree’, etc).
You are expected to undertake research beyond the unit materials, and use a range of books and journal articles. A recommended list that provides a useful starting point can be found at the end of this unit outline. You are required to support your reflective essay with a minimum of 6 scholarly references.
Answer
Introduction
It is one of the crucial duties of the healthcare practitioners examined in this aboriginal health reflective essay that they would ensure safety and security of the care users, while ensuring the maximum health and wellbeing of the people. While working with the aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people, the healthcare workers need to ensure cultural safety and security, in order to ensure security of their practice. Being a healthcare worker, I have worked with the aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people, families and communities. In this context, I have understood that the cultural safety, collaboration and self-determination the most important aspects those the Aboriginal healthcare workers must consider, while working with such communities (Peter, 2018). Considering this, in the following essay, I will reflect on my experience and advocacy towards the aboriginal community.
Discussion
Component 1
I have worked as a “community nurse”, in the aboriginal community health team, which has been worked in collaboration with the local indigenous community and our healthcare organization. The key location of our team is the local community clinic. While working with the community, I have interacted with individual people, families and community representatives. Their perspectives, cultural belief and healthcare challenges have shaped my view, belief and perspective towards working with aboriginal communities. I believed that “culture” is one crucial aspect that a healthcare worker has to consider, as there is significant difference among the traditional cultural perspective of aboriginal communities and others. Thus, in order to ensure their holistic wellbeing, I have always attempted to consider their cultural viewpoint, value their belief and meet their cultural safety needs in the care framework. One key strategy in such context of aboriginal health reflective essay, which helped me to collaborate with the aboriginal community, is to develop in-depth cultural competency, which can be defined as the “knowledge, behaviours, attitudes, policies and systems” those helps the community or healthcare workers to effectively work within the cross-cultural contexts, while meeting the needs of culturally diverse people (Rix et al., 2013). Cultural competency development is supported by “cultural knowledge, cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity”, all of which helped me to assure cultural safety of the aboriginal patients and families, whom I have met and served, during my work with the “Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people”.
Some previous research has influenced my view on the key values and beliefs the healthcare workers should possess, for working effectively with the aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples. These include, “openness of service design”, “responding to social complexities”, “promoting empowerment, trust and rapport”, “early diagnosis” and “contending with discrimination and racism”. I believe that there should a mutual respect within the aboriginal healthcare worker and the care user. I have always attempted to put their concerns are opinion at first, while communicating with them and making decision for them. I have always preferred to work as a team as discussed in this aboriginal health reflective essay, where information is shared in a transparent and two-way approach. In addition, one key strategy that I have followed, while working with the aboriginal community is that some of the behaviors which promote respect are culturally specific (Wilson et al., 2015). One key activity that I have included for addressing cultural safety and collaboration with the community is recognition of the current healthcare system, its gaps and barriers for the Aboriginal individuals or communities, who are seeking healthcare. Based on my assessment, regarding their communication and socioeconomic issues, I have attempted to work proactively with the Aboriginal individuals and communities for addressing these gaps and barriers and thereby meting their cultural as well as healthcare needs. It is noteworthy for this aboriginal health reflective essay that while working with an aboriginal woman, who is suffering from diabetes and comorbidities, I have attempted to build a strong rapport with her, which developed trust and she shared her opinion about her mental stress. With mutual respect, I referred her to the community counsellor, in the multidisciplinary team, which helped me to prioritize her overall health concern, while ensuring her holistic wellbeing. I have also collaborated with her family to help them in coping with the situation, while prioritizing collaboration and their cultural safety which is one of the important ethical values for healthcare worker (Haddad and Geiger, 2019).
Component 2
Being a community nurse, who plays a crucial role in the community healthcare team, I have a significant responsibility in advocacy and creation of health service for the aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people. We are working at the community clinic. In this context of aboriginal health reflective essay, I have prepared myself with the key self-determination that aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people get their required health service in a consistent manner, without any discrimination based on their cultural or racial background (Indigenous Australians, 2019). Further, in order to undertake activities for ensuring creation of health service available for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples in the community, initially I would undertake a thorough community assessment. Further, based on the assessment outcomes of aboriginal health reflective essay, I would be involved in health screening of the care workers to identify their health status and to understand their accessibility to the healthcare. It would also help to identify the key barriers towards cultural safety. Based on the understanding, upon collaboration with the community representatives, a health promotion and awareness campaign could be arranged to make sure that adequate primary and secondary care services are available in the Aboriginal communities and they are not being judged based on their cultural or racial background, while being provided with health services. The advocacy could also be done in-person, through family based workshop, where they would also be made aware of the advance healthcare referral, for supporting their needs with mutual respect (Wilson et al., 2015).
Component 3
One key activity that I would include in this aboriginal health reflective essay in my advocacy activity for the selected population, is collaborating or partnering with the local council and the community representatives, for contributing in “Closing the gap” national action plan (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2019). The key priority of the population advocacy strategy would be eliminating discrimination based on cultural or religious identification of the healthcare workers. In order to ensure that, I would be involved in the “cultural safety training”, while empowering other staff nurses and other healthcare professionals are to be engaged in the action. It would contribute significantly in the national action plan, as the action strategy seeks the healthcare workers to learn more and get involved. Further, a thorough health screening would be advocated (Indigenous Australians, 2019). People in the community would be empowered to participate in health screening, for understanding the actual gap and setting strategy to mitigate it. In order to empower them, it is mentioned in this aboriginal health reflective essay some rewards could be provided. In addition, population based workshop on advocacy regarding equal healthcare provision and prioritization of care users’ health concerns for getting them involved and meeting their health needs would be ensured. Advocacy for mobile healthcare team could also be helpful for advocacy of creating healthcare service, which would ensure that these people are getting right healthcare at their communities.
What is the conclusion after analyzing the study of aboriginal health reflective essay?
In the current aboriginal health reflective essay, the key emphasis was upon reflecting on my own experience and perspectives, while working with the aboriginal and Toress Strait islander people. Considering the collaboration, self-determination and cultural safety, I found culture as the central aspect which we must consider, for ensuring the maximum health and wellbeing of the indigenous care users. In addition, also ensure significant contribution in “Closing the Gap” national health strategy. As a community nurse I am determined to add value to the healthcare services for the community. I would tie up with local councils who have personal reach to the people of the said community and I would start the healthcare screening and make sure that people from all the cultures participate in the same. There should be no discrimination happening in the healthcare services.
Reference List
Australian Human Rights Commission. 2019. Aboriginal health reflective essay Close The Gap Community Guide. Online. Available at: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/close-gap-community-guide [Accessed on: 4th October 2019]
Haddad, L.M. And Geiger, R.A., 2019. Nursing Ethical Considerations. NCBI. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526054/ [Accessed on: 4th October 2019]
Indigenous Australians. 2019. Culture. Online. Available at: http://www.workingwithindigenousaustralians.info/content/Culture_1_Culture.html [Accessed on: 4th October 2019]
Peter, E., 2018. Overview and Summary: Ethics in Healthcare: Nurses Respond"OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 23(1).
Rix, E.F., Barclay, L., Wilson, S., Stirling, J. and Tong, A., 2013. Service providers’ perspectives, attitudes and beliefs on health services delivery for Aboriginal people receiving haemodialysis in rural Australia: a qualitative study. BMJ open, 3(10), p.e003581.
Wilson, A.M., Magarey, A.M., Jones, M., O'Donnell, K. and Kelly, J., 2015. Aboriginal health reflective essay Attitudes and characteristics of health professionals working in Aboriginal health. Rural & Remote Health, 15(1).
