Case Study John – Assessment Two - Value Assumptions and Transpersonal Teaching

Group Assessment:

Case Study John – Assessment Two - Value Assumptions and Transpersonal Teaching

 You are a second year student nurse on placement in an aged care facility dementia unit and have been asked to complete an assessment on John.  John has been living in the facility for two years and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia five years ago.  As you review John’s care plan you note that John was a talented actor and worked in some famous movies in Australia.  You also note that John now has difficulty with speech and writing (aphasia) and short term memory loss.  It has been identified in the care plan that John is at times aggressive with staff, does not like moving from his chair and refuses to leave his room.

You approach John in his room with some trepidation and explain to him that you would like to complete an assessment.  You notice that he looks frightened when you speak to him and as you approach John he becomes very agitated and yells at you to leave the room.  You decide to speak with the Registered Nurse (RN) who is in charge of the dementia unit that day.

When you explain what has happened to the RN she asks you whether you have reflected on the implications for John of his aphasia and short term memory loss and what it might mean for his ability to understand others and communicate.  She also asks about whether you have reflected on the value assumptions as described by Watson’s caring science, before approaching John.  She explains that this is particularly relevant for John’s safety and well-being.

The registered nurse then asks you to reflect on the principles of transpersonal teaching, and in particular Principle 7: Promotion of a transpersonal teaching and learning. She suggests that when you next approach John to base your interaction on an understanding of these principles as a person with unique needs, and as a basis for ethical, person centred care in practice.

You spend some time preparing to approach John again, but this time calmly, with a caring attitude and a focus on a caring-healing modality.  After you have introduced yourself to John and asked for his permission to enter his room, you share with him your love of movies and refer to his photos on the wall.  As he starts to chat you notice he has stiffness in his legs and arms.  You ask him if he would like a heat pack and massage as a way to relieve his discomfort.  He agrees to a heat pack but continues to ask who you are and what you are doing in his room.

In this assessment you are required you to write a report  based on the case scenario which is within the Assessment item 2 tab.  Using the case scenario please address:

 1) The value assumptions that are evident in the case study; and 

2) How the principles of transpersonal caring can be applied to improve the interactions in the  scenario.

Please structure your report as follows:

Introduction (approximately 150 words):

Include an introduction that sets out the overall structure of the report and outlines the value assumptions evident in the case scenario.

Question One (approx. 750 words):

 Provide an explanation of the value assumptions that are evident in the case study.

Question Two (approx. 750 words):

Describe how the principles of transpersonal caring can be applied to improve the interactions in the  scenario.

Conclusion (approximately 150 words): 

Include a conclusion that describes how the principles of transpersonal caring address the identified value assumptions, thus improving the interactions in the case scenario.

Guidelines:

• Response to questions must be in narrative form, not dot points.
• Do not use informal language and jargon.
• Use only current scholarly sources for this assessment task. (e.g. the current edition of a textbook not more than 5 (five) years old and peer - reviewed journal articles not more than ten (10) years old). 
• General web searches will not provide you with information of sufficient quality to pass this assessment.
• APA 7th edition conventions should be used for in text citations and in the reference list.

You must support your paper with a minimum of 12 recent (less than 7 years old) and credible sources. All intext citations are included in the word count. 50% of your sources should be peer-reviewed journal articles. You should support your paper with a combination of the following credible sources:

• Peer-reviewed journal articles (these are the highest quality sources);
• Textbooks (Including, but not limited to your prescribed texts for this subject).

The paper is a piece of academic writing and should therefore adhere to academic writing conventions. Full sentences and paragraphs, spelling and grammar should be thoughtfully constructed throughout. 

Sub-headings are acceptable. Dot points, tables, lists, colloquial language and shorthand are NOT acceptable.

You must support your paper with a minimum of 12 recent (less than 7 years old) and credible sources. All intext citations are included in the word count. 50% of your sources should be peer-reviewed journal articles. You should support your paper with a combination of the following credible sources:

RATIONALE

SUBJECT LEARNING OUTCOMES

This assessment task will assess the following learning outcome/s:

• be able to explain how transpersonal care principles can be applied to patient care.
• be able to demonstrate knowledge of the application of value assumptions in caring moments.