- http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio/#/shows/2015-03-03/king-v-burwell-and-the-future-of-obamacare/@00:00
- http://www.npr.org/2015/03/03/390431475/round-two-health-care-law-faces-the-supreme-court-again
26Feb15 UK OKs Three-Parent IVF
If you didn't read about this situation earlier, here's another article: By Bob Grant The British House of Lords has approved new rules regarding the creation of embryos using genetic material from three donors http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/42277/title/UK-OKs-Three-Parent-IVF/
18Feb15 The Modern Asylum - NYTimes.com
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/opinion/the-modern-asylum.html?referrer=
18Feb15 Doctors Strive to Do Less Harm by Inattentive Care - NYTimes.com
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/health/doctors-strive-to-do-less-harm-by-inattentive-care.html?referrer=
After reading the first article about the modern asylum, it reminded me of my mental health clinical rotation. In the rotation, I observed mentally ill patients and had therapeutic conversations with them. There wasn't much nursing care given. The mental health unit had a very organized and structured environment for the patients. The schedule went something like this: 8 am wake up, 830 breakfast, 9 exercise stretching group, 930 free time, 1000 am spiritual group, ect, So everything was planned out for the day and everyday was the same routine. For some patients who are chronically ill, they do need this structured activity everyday. I really think the last part of the article was very useful. Having the modern asylum model that of a dementia unit, so everyone pitched in and helps out is great. It activates different parts of the brain and it makes the patient feel like they are needed and can participate in basic skills.
ReplyDeleteLauren i agree with you the authors points in the last part of the article about modeling the modern asylum after the dementia units is an excellent idea. I have seen with my grandma the positives that long term care can have on a person with these mentally debilitating illness.
DeleteDeinstitutionalization is a major problem right now. As a psychology major, we study what happens to those who are mentally sick that don't get the proper help and it can be super disturbing and sad. I think asylums need to be modernized just as mentioned in the end of the article. Most of these patients need some sort of stimulation in their life and others need strict structure. Studying the different disorders and illnesses will help decide what kind of treatment and stimulation would work best.
ReplyDeleteLike Lauren, I have also had my mental health rotation, on both the adult and geriatric psychiatric units. We got to experience both the inpatient and out patient settings and the problems that come with it. As you can imagine and like explained in the article, there are many people who would benefit best staying in an extended care facility or a "modernized asylum" with other compatible patients with the guidance and care they need to thrive. They would have their own tasks to accomplish as tolerated, but not be intermittingly institutionalized where it is a vicious circle of inpatient, outpatient visits, which does not benefit anyone. One feeling a lot of these nurses and physicians caring for these patients have is that their work is not sufficient because they have the same patients that come back three, four, sometimes more times a year, just to be let back out on the streets. These patients are the ones that would most benefit from the modernized asylum.
ReplyDeleteI agree that these nurses and physicians often feel unsatisfied because of the amount of repeat patients. Lack of proper and continued care is a viscous cycle between hospitals, nursing homes, and often jails. Modern "asylums" could end this cycle. Vulnerable groups ought to be protected, not "thrown to the wayside" or be seen as an afterthought.
DeleteFor the first article on deinstitutionalization, I thought the end was key. Those who are severely mentally disabled need the correct help and that help cannot necessarily be found in a hospital. I have worked in a nursing home on an assisted living unit that was solely for those who suffered with dementia. They are in a caring facility with staff who are trained on how to properly work with them and they are in a safe environment so that they cannot be of harm to others or themselves. I think this is the exact kind of stability that the severely mentally disabled need. The author made a huge point that hospital staff members are only trained to deal with mentally disabled patients to a certain extent, not severe cases. By deinstitutionalizing we are not giving these suffering patients the care to the best of our ability.
ReplyDeleteThe second article on suffering I found very interesting. I was really intrigued by the articles perspective on suffering and how it can affect patients. Some doctors really don't stop and think how even something so simple as wording can affect their patients emotions. I thought it was great how the hospital cut back on unimportant nightly vital checkings and medicines that could simply be given right before bed and in the morning. What's even more astonishing is how high their ratings jumped after minimal changes that were at not cost to the hospital. I think all hospitals should think a little bit more about what they do routinely and if it could be affecting their patients negatively. The less a patient suffers, the better and quicker they will most likely recover.
Amanda, I agree with you. Deinstitutionalization is a good idea or a good movement to stride for with severe mental disorders. These individuals are humans to and they deserve to be treated like humans, but we have to make sure that they can't harm themselves or staff. Individuals with mental disorders need structure and stability like the dementia patients need to. Overall I am in support of the deinstitionalization.
DeleteI read the modern asylum article. I recently did a mental health nursing clinical and the issues the author explained about inpatient treatment are true. The inpatient units see patients multiple times a year many nurses know these patients from pervious admissions. This is causing strain on caregivers, families, finances, and the patient themselves. When society heres the word asylum we automatically think of a mental health institution from the past where everyone was placed in a padded room and strapped into a straight jacked yes i believe that was inhumane to the people in those asylums. However, the authors idea about bring back the asylum for the purpose of being able to provide prolonged care to the patient so repeat visits would decrease, patient would not end up in jail also. If patients in the inpatient treatment at the hospitals were given longer time for care i believe that we would have decreased visits because most people when they are ready to be discharged still need a lot of help they are just barely returning to baseline. That is why i am a supporter of the authors ideas. If we give this vulnerable population enough time to get better i mean really stabilize some patients it could take a entire year like the author said and with a place that is strictly for mental health issue where the staff was specifically trained to deal with this population then it would cut down cost of the inpatient care, cause less jail time for the patients as well. I know this would work because of my grandmother with dementia. She lives in a nursing home that has a special unit just for geriatric patients with dementia and Alzheimer's the nurses working in her unit are speciality trained to handled this population. They live in this unit and it is helpful because they are all dealing with the same issues. None of the patients will get better from their conditions, but they are receiving care that is equal while remaining their autonomy. They where the clothes they want, eat what they want, and do actives of whatever they want while being monitored for safety by the staff. I know many of the mental illness addressed within the article are ones that need extensive therapy but the idea of the asylum allowing for long term care in a place that others are experiencing the same issues could be beneficial. I have seen my grandmother much happier then she has even been facing this illness since she has been at her unit it has been helpful. I think it could be helpful for these individuals as well.
ReplyDeleteClearly, the word "asylum" has a negative connotation and often evokes an image of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” So when reading the beginning of the article, I didn't see how this would be constructive. However, if these asylums for the severely mentally disabled provide stability and structure then this is a step in the right direction. It has been estimated that over half of the million plus homeless citizens in America today have mental health and substance abuse problems which need addressing and redressing before they can ever be integrate into "general society". Lack of proper and continued care is a viscous cycle between hospitals, nursing homes, and often jails. This system is ineffective at best. Modern "asylums" are a step in the right direction. Cost will be an issue, but I'd argue that the current cycle of care is just as costly. "We can’t continue to abandon our most vulnerable citizens in the name of autonomy." This sums up the attitude that needs to be present. Vulnerable groups ought to be protected, not "thrown to the wayside" or be seen as an afterthought.
ReplyDeleteAsylum is definitely a word with a negative connotation. That threw me off at first as well. I cannot find anything that I disagree with in your statements. I have the same opinion regarding the care of the mentally ill and the current system. While there is a great deal of good care being provided to patients currently, there is a problem with the cycle between care facilities, as you said. This new idea might be a turning point for the care of the mentally ill, and I support it.
ReplyDelete