Analysis of Conversation with Client Ailing from Chronic Renal Disease.
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Analysis of Conversation with Client Ailing from Chronic Renal Disease
Various health experiences and ailments shape and influence our thinking regarding health and wellness. The experiences that an individual passes through during illness can affect change in the perception of the causes of deviations and methods of coping. In light of this, through an interview with a client suffering from chronic renal disease, there was an initiative to analyze the influence of the client’s experiences that played a role in modifying his beliefs. In the interview, the client expressed his new perception regarding the view he holds on his illness. Consequently, this paper seeks to discuss the client’s experience, beliefs, reactions to the interview, and knowledge from the interview.
The unique experience of living with the disease
In the interview, the client outlined that he had a fully functional and healthy life. He even participated in bodybuilding activities and had a sustainable income working as a driver. Suddenly, the last august, he felt dyspnea and lost consciousness, after which he found himself in the emergency department surrounded by family. He had developed a heart attack, which later affected his kidney, causing the manifestation of cramping in the extremities. On consultation, the doctor outlined that dialysis is a necessity and was initiated with two sessions a week but later increased to every other day. Following these initiatives, he suddenly had to attend hospital frequently as opposed to earlier periods.
Despite this sudden hospitalization and reliance on medical intervention to live, the client points out that he has been undergoing diabetes management since he was ten years old. He also experienced his father attending dialysis until he peaked 72 years and refused to participate in sessions. The scenario points out an individual who has experience in the management of chronic conditions. However, more specifically, the client points out that his primary drive regarding health has been to stay alive and enjoy moments with his family rather than worry about its impact on his life. Despite him having a series of mishaps in his life, such as his son dying in a crash accident, where he became the rock of his family, he is determined to stay positive and be vital for his family. Moreover, he outlines that his friends have been there for him since they recently signed a giant card and supported his expenses.
Examples from the interview to describe factors that influence beliefs
In the interview, the client outlines that he had diabetes since he was ten years old. In this way, he states that the experience somewhat prepared him for chronic illness. Therefore, it is evident that past clinical experiences can prepare an individual to tackle prevailing medical conditions with much ease, indicating how early life experiences influence healthcare beliefs. Another scenario in the interview is that is father also had a prevalent renal disease, which made him undergo dialysis until he was 72 years old. Despite his dedication to the intervention, he got tired of it and decided not to partake in it, after which he developed complications and died.
The scenario made him question whether the disease was hereditary, meaning he wouldn’t want to undergo the same process indicating that stressful situations have a role in changing the perspective one has on their health. The clinical picture points out that other peoples’ experiences in the same scenario can influence our thinking and belief about chronic illness. Additionally, in the interview, the client points out that he has felt that health is merely the chance to live since the diagnosis. He points out that the experience he has undergone lowered his healthcare expectations and has enabled him to derive happiness by just being alive. The lowered expectation is seen in cases where he states that he aims to live and see his family.
Besides, he outlines that the dependence on dialysis has made him feel disadvantaged health-wise and derives joy by living and is worth the troubles he is undergoing, which points out significant stressful situations. He claims to be the rock of his family in that he has developed a mentality that he has to be healthy for them while evading the impact of the condition on his health. The interview also pointed out that he was happy that his wife could tender and visit him in the emergency depart when he was sick. He reports feeling elated that they were there for him, which indicates that a support framework also determines whether one will be healthy or not (Wilkinson & Marmot, (2003).
In the excerpt, the client points out that he had worked in a lumber mill and was a driver at the time of his diagnosis, which enabled him to receive benefits that aid in his treatment. Employment, therefore, is an indicator of whether a good health status is achievable. From the scenario given, it is evident that the client is somewhat not well endowed financially as he worked in a mill and as a driver, which is another likely indicator that would predispose him to low health status. Consequently, these factors all influence the beliefs one as on health illness and chronicity and outline how one is predisposed to each component (Brown, 1995).
Comparison of my beliefs and those of the client
I hold beliefs regarding health, which does not have apparent differences with those held by the client. The mere fact that I enjoy good health, which is devoid of physical and mental alteration, does not guarantee a concrete health status in the future. I testify that good health status is not permanent and should be a mere awakening that preparations for any deviations should occur. This belief is somewhat similar to the client’s view in that he clearly outlined that the experiences he had while managing diabetes aided him in having the ability to control the prevailing chronic illness. Through his early childhood experience, he could derive the mental drive to have the morale to tackle chronic disease challenges.
In the interview, the client outlines that he has a strong connection with his wife and kids and is happy that she was present while he woke up at the emergency department. He believes that he possesses a robust support framework, including friends who have been present for him during hospitalization. His ideology is similar to mine as I have confidence that my family is solidly behind me if my health deteriorates. I believe that my family will effortlessly provide the much-needed support to ensure that I make it out of any dreadful situation. In light of this, my belief regarding the support framework is similar to the client.
The client is very optimistic that through the support framework in place, he will realize a much more stable lifestyle, which is a stark difference from my perspective. The optimism is seen when he says that he wants to be present for his wife and kids to be healthy. I believe a chronic illness will be a significant stumbling block in my life goals and will significantly influence future decisions. However, despite this lack of optimism, I am religious and hope that these scenarios will not catch up with me as I acknowledge the presence of a higher power that would comfort me. This belief is different from the client’s design, where he does not recognize the fact of a higher power.
The client does not believe past medical history plays a more significant role in determining the current health situation, which a stark difference from my personal belief that past medical history plays a substantial role in influencing our current health status. In the interview, the client states that he has struggled with diabetes since he was ten years old, which likely predisposed him to renal failure necessitating dialysis (Winocour, 2018). Therefore, it is evident that past medical history plays an essential role in influencing our future clinical medical situations. The difference between the two beliefs is somewhat tagged on the medical understanding I possess, which is not present in the client.
From the two points of view, there is a correlation in the support framework and prognosis, acknowledging that healthcare deviations are bound to occur. The two similarities between my opinion and the client are founded on life’s social aspect and versatility. However, from the comparison, it is evident that prior medical history, optimism, and religion are the main differences between the two beliefs we hold regarding health care. The differences are mainly pegged on education and upbringing, which play an essential role in life.
Factors that helped in understanding my client’s experience.
Ethnic heritage played an essential role in understanding the client’s experience as we had similar heritages where the factors were easy to deduce. The similarity helped me understand the client’s support framework and the different mechanics involved in it. For instance, I understood that the friends paid him visits in the hospital, which is within our heritage instead of other social spheres where medical intervention is shunned upon with traditional healing practices upheld. Additionally, I understood that the client had several friends who offered to sign cards to motivate him instead of other heritages, nearly non-existent.
The client’s social setting is somewhat similar to my neighborhood in that he portrays to be of an urban background as he indicates that he works as a driver of the company. The scenario also points out that the client is of the urban setting as he can access emergency services within his geographical area depicting a developed environment. The similarity aided in making a congruent analysis of the experience, resulting in understanding, which enabled me to make a perfect rationale for the interventions performed. Moreover, the client’s setting indicates easier access to healthcare through reducing transport costs, which a social determinant of health.
Prior medical education with specificity to nursing aided in my understanding of the situation as I was able to identify what history contributed to the prevailing medical conditions. The nursing background I had also enabled me to assess the social determinants of clients’ health and how they influenced the overall medical condition. With this health background, I evaluated the client’s entire support framework through analytical skills acquired in practice. Moreover, the prior experience helped me interact with the client as I practiced therapeutic communication, which helped obtain the information. In my view, these factors assisted in understanding the client’s experiences and the analysis of the data.
Factors that hindered the understanding of the client experience
I hail from a profoundly religious background, and I have assimilated into it with the focus being on the influence of the higher power in a human being’s life. However, on the client’s side, he does not align himself with this belief, thereby causing me to, at times, feel that he lacked comfort through his stance. At times, the difference in views led us into deviation of the discussion where an argument occurred, thus impeding the collection of information. Following this experience, I had to, at times, explain to the client on having faith in the higher power, which portrayed an influence of religion over my clinical judgment, an attribute shunned upon by many nurses.
Additionally, the support framework was not present during the session, which would have been effective in realizing additional concerns that the client left out. The inclusion of the framework, especially the family, enables the nurse to perform a secondary assessment that is critical to identifying any lapses in the patient’s care. This attribute possesses a high necessity yet was left out in the whole process, making it uneasy for me to perform the much-needed assessment, thus hindering my understanding of the client experience.
Aspects that went well during the experience
The creation of rapport was the initial step towards forming a suitable environment that was superb—the effort aided in setting the pace for the rest of the discussion. Therapeutic communication was another aspect that occurred effectively in the experience that enabled me to communicate effectively with the client. The communication style that focuses on empathy and critical nursing skill aids in collecting essential data collection and understand the client’s situation (Urness, 2016). Moreover, the environment was suitable for the interview in that there was no distraction arising from the physical setting. Therefore, it is imperative to state that all these aspects were critical to understanding the client’s experience.
Evaluation of what I learned as a nephrology nurse
The experience that involved interviewing the client enabled me to perceive the medical situations surrounding patients undergoing chronic renal disease. In the interview, I learned that uncertainty and hopelessness were very prevalent among patients facing the condition. Although the client was optimistic about a good outcome or improved quality of life, he had future uncertainty issues as he was not guaranteed a solution to the medical predicament. This finding is synonymous with the excerpt coined by (Finnegan-John & Thomas, 2012), where he outlines loss of direction as one of the significant impacts on patients with end-stage renal disease.
Disruption of normalcy is another analysis I drew from the client’s experience. I noticed that the condition in totality changed the individual’s day-to-day activities and affected his socialistic capabilities. The disruption is attributed to the straining effect the interventions have on the client and the financial burden it causes. Although social stigma was not very predominant in the experience, social exclusion happened to be the primary impediment in relations between the client and his social network. For instance, he outlined that he had to attend to dialysis sessions every other day, signifying that he did not have enough time to socialize after recovery.
Consequently, it is critical to note that social exclusion is another predicament facing patients with chronic renal failure under our care. Additional strategies should be made to ensure that this trait is eradicated in a bid to elude depression. In a request to arrive at these significant analyses, utilization of the conversational interview occurred whereby the client had the time and space to deliver his point of view. At the same time, I practiced effective listening (Brown, 1995). Through these communication skills, I provided a well thought out interview that outlined the client’s experiences. It is imperative to state that attentiveness to the client’s expertise also aided in decision-making; regarding the situation’s analysis through health determinants.
Conclusion
Patients with the chronic renal disease develop changed beliefs that influence the outcome of the disease process. In this case scenario, social determinants of health, including early life experiences, social support framework, employment, and social gradient, influence its outcome. In the conversation, prior medical knowledge, ethical heritage, and social setting helped me understand the client’s experiences while religion impeded the efforts to comprehend the situation. In conclusion, I learned that social stigma, uncertainty, and disruption of normalcy were the common attributes of impacting patients’ lives suffering from chronic renal disease.
References
Brown, S. J. (1995). An interviewing style for nursing assessment. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 21(2), 340-343.
Finnegan-John, J., & Thomas, V. J. (2012). Patients’ psychosocial experience with end-stage renal disease and its impact on the quality of life: findings from a needs assessment to shape a service. ISRN nephrology, 2013.
Urness, A. M. (2016). The Effect of Standardized Patient Encounters on Undergraduate Nursing Student Empathy and Self-Efficacy in Therapeutic Communication. Evidence-Based Practice Project Report.
Wilkinson, R. G., & Marmot, M. (Eds.). (2003). Social determinants of health: the solid facts. World Health Organization.
Winocour, P. H. (2018). Diabetes and chronic kidney disease: an increasingly common multi-morbid illness in need of a paradigm shift in care. Diabetic Medicine, 35(3), 300-305.