Thesis on "Role of Personality and Emotions in Healthcare"

Thesis 13 pages (3825 words) Sources: 9 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Emotional Management and Personality as Formalized Instruments of Medical Treatment

In Western medicine, treatment is typically defined according to surgical, chemical or mechanistic attention toward symptoms and ailment origins. This is an appropriate professional orientation for contending with the wide array of conditions which might afflict the human body. However, there is yet another level of medical attention which is considered in this discussion and which, when properly implemented, may offer compelling results. The emotional condition of the patient will play a significant role in the process of treatment, recovery or persistence. This, in turn, is a condition which often hinges on the personalities extend by healthcare providers such as nurses and physicians. There is a compelling body of research to suggest that these qualities invoke emotional comfort in patients, which can be a fundamental instrument in achieving quality healthcare.

The research here proposes therefore that the utilization, extension and persistence of emotional management and personality orientation in the process of treating patients in all manner of treatment context can be shown to have markedly beneficial outcomes to either the health of the patient or the emotional well-being of the patient. Still, there is a need for continued dialogue on the subject, as many perceived benefits remain unproven. Indeed, one of the core problems relating to the understanding expressed here is the reality that too little has been established empirically to achieve a universality or best practice approach to emotional management. Such is to say that while most healthcare practitioners can report with great confidence that emotional management is a critical part of the position, there remains a lack of decided evidence as to how we might best implement this understanding as a formal part of the work itself. Such is demonstrated by Landa et al. (2009), who remark on the complexity of the field and, hence, the need to formalize emotional management as have been formalized other methods of professional orientation, integrity and practical ability. Accordingly, Landa et la argue that "for a profession that requires not only technical expertise but also psychologically oriented care, knowledge about the self in nursing would be crucial to further development and growth of the profession. However, the role of emotions in the formation of nursing professionals has been scarcely studied." (Landa et al., 1) This suggests a core conflict between the opportunity and even the demand which should fall upon hospitals and even public officials responsible for healthcare policy-making and the reality of the profession today.

In consideration of this need for clarity and the potential expansiveness of medical benefits, the literature review conducted here will assess a set of articles which offer both an endorsement for this view on the value of emotion-based treatment approaches and an assessment of some of the specific ways relating to the extension of optimism, personal support and hope in which emotional connectivity and the display of personality on the part of health professional can and should be evaluated and implemented in a formalized manner.

Literature Review:

The value of interpersonal orientation to the process of treatment is based in the importance of managing emotion to members of the healthcare profession. This is a complex aspect of the occupation which demands the practitioner to command both the practical aspects of medical treatment and the emotional response and propensities of patient, family and other healthcare providers. The inherently humanist nature of the occupation implications emotional processes in all areas of treatment and practice. Before proceeding to a fuller examination of hope as the desired emotional outcome, it is appropriate to consider the theoretical foundation to this claim concerning emotional management.

Accordingly, Wilson & Carryer (2008) provide an examination of the nursing profession with direct consideration to emotional management. Here, it is contended that "effective nursing practice requires the ability to recognise emotions and handle responses in relationships with clients and their families. This emotional competence includes nurses managing their own emotional life along with the skill to relate effectively to the multiple colleagues and agencies that nurses work alongside." (Wilson & Carryer, 1) As we move further into the discussion of the personality displayed by the practicing nurse or physician and the impact which that can have on patient response and treatment outcome, the argument posited by Wilson & Carryer here above provides some grounding.

Namely, the indication is that the emotional response of the patient and the patient's surrounding family or other support system members will often hinge on the emotional fortitude and displays provided by healthcare workers. Nurses who are capable of presenting themselves with empathy and sensitivity will likely be those who have achieved the greatest internal emotional balance. This is a crucial aspect of survival in an occupation where the consequences of negative treatment outcomes can impose a lasting emotional toll on the practitioner. The preservation and ability to display such emotions as optimism and empathy will be fundamental to the patient's likelihood to adapt the same outlook.

In accordance with the study by Wilson & Carryer, this means that the practitioner who achieves the greatest success in this area will be one who is capable of responding with equanimity and, simultaneously, the appropriate level of humaneness, in the face of all possible patient conditions and outcomes. To this end, "it has been argued that there is a connection between a nurse's ability to accept another person's emotional distress and their capacity to accept themselves and their own distress. Peplau (1988) calls this caring neutrality. She suggests that nurses are required to develop a level of congruence between what they say and how they act toward the persons with whom they work. When nurses learn to process their own emotions, working with another person's emotion is made possible." (Wilson & Carryer, 1) The healthcare practitioner, the argument provided by Wilson & Carryer denotes, must reflect those emotions which he desires to yield from the patient. Therefore, the capacity to manage and rationalize the retention of hope on the part of the practitioner will be tantamount to the same on the part of the patient.

The correlation between emotional intelligence and success on the job on the part of nurses and nurse practitioners is significant not just with respect to the quality of the approach taken to the patient but indeed, toward the nurse's capacity to endure the stressors and exhaustion which are frequently a part of the field and occupation. This is reinforced in the findings by Fariselli et al. (2008), which finds a connection between high emotional intelligence, the ability to negotiation the emotional rigors of the job and the longevity and advancement of career. Accordingly Fariselli et al. contend that "in a sample of 68 professional midwives and obstetricians in a large urban hospital, emotional intelligence is strongly predictive of performance (66%), stress is slightly predictive (6% to 24%), and emotional intelligence is predictive of stress management (6.5%)" (Fariselli et al., 1)

These findings are compelling insofar as the quality of healthcare and nursing today suffers unquestionably due to the high turnover, understaffing and low morale which are epidemic to nursing. The durability of healthcare practitioners under many such conditions which are well outside the realm of their control denotes an emotional constitution which is absolutely crucial to effectiveness. Fariselli et al. go further to define what are referred to as the core competencies. This provides a basic framework for those areas in which certain behaviors and approaches to emotional management can function as recommendable practices in healthcare provision. Accordingly, the study contends that "of the individual competencies, these four are the most powerful predictors of performance as measured by the Stress & Performance survey. The four outcomes individually predict between 43-49% of the variation in performance scores: * Consequential Thinking: 49% * Navigate Emotions: 48.4% * Intrinsic Motivation: 43.2% * Exercise Optimism: 43.2%" (Fariselli, 14). This is important for constructing a strategy to formalize the understanding of nurses and healthcare workers of the emotional responsibilities both which can benefit their patients and which will serve them well in enduring the unique pressures, anxieties and emotional trials of the healthcare field.

For patients who are suffering from illness or injury, this emphasis on optimism constitutes the positive perception of recovery in some capacity, whether this is an aspiration to return to a state previously present before the onset of symptoms or simply to achieve personal milestones of recovery, this orientation toward the future is what distinguishes the presence of hope. A belief in the prospect of something constituting an improvement of one's state, whether it is to the extent that some recovery is achieved or to the extent that one concedes to the embrace of death, may be understood as bearing the emotional characteristics demanded to be displayed by the healthcare practitioner as we have evaluated it here.

The discussion provided by Clark (2002) offers an interesting lead point on the subject of hope in medicine by focusing on its history in research discussion and investigation. Clark's review accounts for several… READ MORE

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