Indigenous Australian Patients: Evidence-Based Discussion Essay

In order to assess Yvonne and her symptoms, the nurse practitioner must show patience and understanding. In the treatment of the symptoms, whether to relieve the fevers or perform scans and tests to find the source of the abdominal pain, the nurse practitioner must give Yvonne and her relatives significant input into the management of the illness. Optimal outcomes can be achieved by providing information to the patient that decreases fear, timely involvement of the doctor in the administration of pain medications and emotional support (McGrath, P. 2006).

Reflective practices can have considerable effectiveness in the care of Yvonne. In a paper discussing the benefits of reflective care, Ben Hannigan (2001) argues that reliance on practical knowledge alone is insufficient to solving medical problems as they are rarely abstract in nature. Reflection by the nurse practitioner embeds the medical problem into the social context and allows the practitioner to engage directly with the relevant difficulty at hand. In the case of Yvonne there may be a technical and simple solution for her fever and abdominal pain but it is mired in layers of cultural disparities. Reflective practices may remove the practitioner's frustrations towards the patient's incompliance and lead to more cultural awareness. Johns (1996) suggests that reflective practices may be a way for practitioners to "realize" care instead of "performing" care and thereby be more engaged in the patient's needs.

It appears that reflective practices carry many benefits for a beginning nurse practitioner. They have increasingly become an integral part of the curriculum for nurse practitioners.It has been shown that reflective practices, especially ones that incorporate written reflective materials, improve the assessment performance and communication ability of nurse practitioners (Atkins, S. & Murphy, K. 1993).

Countless studies point to the benefits of communication for effective patient care and outcomes. Ultimately, the effectiveness of Yvonne's treatment lies in the ability of the nurse practitioner to surmount cultural and language barriers and engage effectively with the patient.

References:

1. Mununggirritj, D. Yolngu Healer's Medicine: Plants used by the women healers of North-East Arnhem Land. [Online] Available at: http://www.atec.net.au/djapirri_muunggirritj_atec_h_w_presentation.pdf [Accessed 3 September 2011].

2. McGrath P., 2006. 'The biggest worry..': research findings on pain management for Aboriginal peoples in Northern Territory, Australia. Rural Remote Health 6(3), p.549

3. Aboriginal Resource and Development Services (ARDS) [Online] Available at: http://www.ards.com.au/default.html. [Accessed 3 September 2011].

4. Cass A, Lowell A, Christie M, Snelling PL, Flack M, Marmganyin B, Brown I., 2002. Sharing the true stories: improving communication between Aboriginal patients and healthcare workers. Mad J. Aust 176(10), pp.466-70

5. Cheng WY, Blum P, Spain B., 2004. Barriers to effective perioperative communication in indigenous Australians: an audit of progress since 1996. Anaesth Intensive Care 32(4), pp.542-7

6. Zollo JA., 1998. Reflective practice in nurse education: a step towards equity in education and health care. Collegian 1998; 5(3):28-33.

7. Hannigan B. A discussion of the strength and weaknesses of 'reflection' in nursing practice and education. J Clin Nurs 10(2), pp.278-83

8. Johns C. 1996. Visualizing and realizing caring in practice through guided reflection. Journal of Advanced Nursing.....