Pondering the real meaning of care?What is care--really? I enjoyed reading Anne Brinkman's professional focus in May's Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. (p24) and found it scarily accurate. Are we teaching our new nursing graduates to "care" or simply filling them full of "knowledge" pertaining to New Zealand's ever-changing healthcare environment? I, too, am a "baby boomer baby boomer also ba·by-boom·er n. A member of a baby-boom generation. Noun 1. baby boomer - a member of the baby boom generation in the 1950s; "they expanded the schools for a generation of baby boomers" boomer " and, at times, literally cringe cringe intr.v. cringed, cring·ing, cring·es 1. To shrink back, as in fear; cower. 2. To behave in a servile way; fawn. n. An act or instance of cringing. at some of generation Y's attitudes and ideas. Whatever happened to therapeutic touch, a timely pat on the hand or an outright hug? As nurses, we can become very task orientated o·ri·en·tate v. o·ri·en·tat·ed, o·ri·en·tat·ing, o·ri·en·tates v.tr. To orient: "He . . . , our hands used simply as tools to perform tasks. Some individuals, especially those with chronic health issues, almost cringe away from our touch, as we are merely "doing things"! To the elderly person, the chronically disabled or terminally ill Terminally Ill When a person is not expected to live more than 12 months. Notes: Any gifts given out by the afflicted person at this time may be considered as a dispersion of the estate rather than a gift. , touch should be more than a task delivery tool Whatever happened to sitting on a bedside listening to someone's past life or their future fears? Whatever became of a squeezed hand, an arm around a shoulder to comfort. Surely this is worth as much as any medication or diagnostic test? I watch some of our new graduates, full of knowledge and enthusiasm, and yet lacking in basic human emotion. "Do no harm" also extends to someone's emotional or spiritual pain. The two Maori models of health, Te Whare and Te Wheke, have a lot to teach and we must always be open-minded, open-hearted learners and listeners. Next time a duty is escalating out of control, stop and listen to the problems and needs around you. Put the stethoscope stethoscope (stĕth`əskōp') [Gr.,=chest viewer], instrument that enables the physican to hear the sounds made by the heart, the lungs, and various other organs. The earliest stethoscope, devised by the French physician R. T. H. down and give someone a hug. Watch their heart rate plummet and yours soar! Jeanette Robins, RN, Stratford, Taranaki |
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