How I Will Use Psychology in Nursing, Essay Example

Today, psychology does form part of health care provision. However, some institutions still do not realize the importance of psychology in the provision of primary care to patients. Psychology according to McDaniel & Forgarty (2009) offer essential skills that can be very useful in the provision of primary health care or the systems of health care provision.

To effectively show how psychology is useful in the provision of primary care and especially in nursing, understanding of the connection between the two practices is imperative. Despite their difference in definitions and ways it is practiced, psychology has for a long time been helpful in nursing practice. Although the connection between the two professions may not be that clear, it is worth noting that they all form the core of care giving. It is important to note that most nursing practices have been enhanced through the use of psychological research and theories. Most nursing procedures also emerged from psychology and sociology.

For there to be a clear understanding of how psychology is to be rendered useful in nursing, it is imperative to establish a clear understanding of how the professions work in primary care giving. Primary care givers are the first people that patients meet when they seek biomedical and psychosocial needs. Primary care giving focuses on provision of integrated service to meet majority of the health care needs of the patients. Although psychologists are not primary care clinicians such as nursing and physicians, they still provide a base for provision of efficient psychosocial care especially in mental and behavioral health. Psychology therefore is important for anyone in primary care as it helps in addressing majority of personal health care needs (McDaniel & Forgarty, 2009).

Psychologists and nurses seek to understand the needs of the people that they work with and also seek to influence the behavior, thoughts and feelings of the patients to improve their general life well being. Nurses not only need to care for people when they are not physically capable to take care of themselves, they also need to train the individuals to be able to take care of themselves. This is achieved through influencing their behavior and ways of thought with the aid of psychology. The application of psychology in nursing therefore provides a way that care can be provided even when the care giver is not near the patient for they have been trained to be able to effectively take care of their needs.

Primary care givers especially nurses in many ways interact with patients and also their families and form relationships with the patients. Such relationships according to Gerric & Zimbardo (2007) are also important for provision of therapeutic care to the patients. Psychology therefore helps nurses improve their relationship with patients by helping them put their patients in the context of their family, community or culture.

One of the very visible connections between psychology and nursing is through an understanding of biological psychology which explains behavior through the use of physical/ anatomical features of organisms. For example walking in human beings is understood through understanding how human legs and body behave. This knowledge is important for in nursing as without the understanding of how the biological features influence the behavior of an individual, nurses will not be in a position to counter what has affected normal functioning of the body. Such biological psychology is also useful in nursing especially in understanding the body working systems. Such information is useful in nursing as it will be effective in restoring the body and its physical activities to normal after any parts or its system has been affected (Gross, 2001).

References

Gerric, R.J. & Zimbardo, P.G. (2007). Psychology and life. Michigan: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Gross R. (2001). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour. 4th edition. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

McDaniel, S.H. & Forgarty, T. (2009). What Primary Care Psychology Has To Offer the Patient-Centered Medical Home. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 2009, Vol. 40, No. 5, 483–492.