Best Practice For The Management Of Dementia Patients In The Acute - 1

Best Practice For The Management Of Dementia Patients In The Acute - 1 Best Practice For The Management Of Dementia Patients In The Acute Care Setting â€" Essay Example > Best practice for the management of dementia patients in the acute care settingIntroductionManaging dementia patients in the acute settings is often a challenging task to the health professionals. Sometimes nurses find it difficult to communicate effectively with the patients, or are faced with ethical challenges while administering medication. This has often resulted in frustration of the health professional and further compounded the problem. For instance, cases of neglect and abuse of dementia patients by nurses while providing care have been reported. The hospital settings and routines have neither been supportive of the nursing process. Evidence has revealed that given these challenges and facts about patient with dementia it is not possible to provide adequate care through the traditional approach. The proposition is a shift to a person- focused multidisciplinary approach that looks at the patient as a whole person, and not only the medical needs. In addition, research sugge sts that proper and specialized education should be provided to professionals providing care to these patients. The traditional approach to providing care to dementia patients in the acute care setting has been inadequate. The approach has mainly centred on the nursing routines and clinical perspective and neglected a number of important aspects in care of such patients (Goff, 2000). Goff (2000) and Codwell (2010) indicate that the traditional approach is characterised by nurses focusing only on the basic medical and physical needs of the patient. This approach to care of dementia patients has often come into conflict with the needs of the dementia patients. A research by Codwell (2010) has shown that dementia patients are often distressed by the current procedures of care delivery where nurses aim at fulfilling routines. The blame may not be solely on nurses given the high work loads and time constraints. However, these challenges have often led to frustrations, which have furthe r compounded the problem. It is known that nurses have sometimes administered medication against the will of patients, especially when faced with an ethical dilemma (Eriksson and Saveman, 2002). Misconduct of the dementia patients and unclear communication has also made nurses to neglect their patients (Goff, 2000). Christie and Cunningham (2009) have also noted cases of neglect and abuse of dementia patients during care provision by nurses. In a research on nurses’ experience of abusive caring for dementia patients Eriksson and Saveman (2002) have highlighted the disorderly behaviour of patient, ethical dilemma, and organization of medical care as factors contributing to neglect and abuse of patients by nurses. It is true that not only do persons with dementia have social, physical, and psychological challenges associated with their diagnosis, but they also present a number of problems to the care giver (Goff, 2000). For instance, these patients fail to communicate their needs a nd often respond negatively to their carer. Christie and Cunningham (2009) admit that nurses have traditionally viewed dementia patients as the problem. It is these factors that make the unitary approach of treating dementia patients in the acute care setting inappropriate. Thus, focusing on the disease alone and neglecting these other aspects of the patient may not yield much result. An alternative to providing care to these patients is therefore imperative.