Today we had a lot of lectures to sit through. Our first lecture was about public health. It was really interesting learning about this because it indirectly has a huge impact on the working lives of nurses. The goal of public health is to prevent disease and prolong life. There are many factors that go into public health, including health promotion, protection, and prevention. In the UK, they have many different programs that support public health such as NHS England, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), and many others.
The UK currently has many health priorities, such as the 10-year life expectancy gap, mental health issues affecting 1 in 4 people, obesity in adults, and antimicrobial resistance. I found antimicrobial resistance especially interesting because it is something we covered in microbiology. In the US, there is not a lot of funding going into developing new antibiotics, and many people are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Once they become resistant to all available antibiotics, there is often very little that can be done. This is a growing issue in the US, so it was interesting to learn that it is also a major concern in the UK.
We also went into detail about how social determinants affect health outcomes. The main social determinants include where people are born, grow, live, work, and age. All of these factors influence a person’s health outcomes, and public health focuses on reducing the factors that take away years of life in order to create greater equity and equality. In the UK, they do this through programs such as diabetes prevention initiatives that have led to a 26% decrease in cases. They also have mandatory immunizations unless someone is immunocompromised, cancer screenings, and routine health checks. These programs are designed to reduce future healthcare costs by preventing diseases or catching them early.
Here in the UK, there is a strong focus on disease prevention and early intervention. I think this is because healthcare is free through the NHS, so by investing money into prevention, they are ultimately saving money by avoiding more expensive treatments later on. Another factor that I found very interesting was how cigarette packaging includes graphic images to discourage people from smoking because of the health risks associated with it.
I also found our lecture on midwives very interesting and enjoyed seeing how different the role is compared to the US. In the US, many different healthcare professionals share responsibilities that midwives in the UK often handle themselves. The US delegates these tasks very differently. In the UK, since the midwife is there from the beginning of the pregnancy, throughout the birth, and even after delivery, I feel like they are able to provide more personalized care. This likely helps mothers feel more comfortable and creates a higher level of trust between the patient and provider.
I did find it interesting that in the UK there are not many parent education classes for new or soon-to-be parents. I also thought it made sense that healthcare professionals can use their professional judgment when deciding whether or not to provide care outside of work. For example, if you were at the grocery store and encountered someone needing help, but you were not in the right state of mind to safely provide care, you could use your professional judgment and not be held against it. My main takeaway from the midwifery lecture was that the UK focuses heavily on continuity of care and reducing health inequalities, and that midwives play a much larger role in patient care than they typically do in the US.
Another lecture we had today was on mental health. My biggest takeaway from this lecture was that, as nurses, it is very important for us to have true empathy, not only putting ourselves in the patient’s shoes, but also understanding everything they may have gone through to get to where they are. I actually found this presentation very interesting because I am someone whose mind never really stops thinking, and I am constantly analyzing everything around me. Many of the deeper concepts that he talked about were thoughts that I have genuinely had myself.
I currently work as a nursing assistant, and in this role I feel like one of the hardest things can be having too much empathy. There are patients that I truly feel for, and I often think deeply about everything they have been through. I definitely believe that empathy is one of the most important characteristics a nurse can have, but in my own situation I know I will need to find a healthy balance so that I do not let it affect me too heavily emotionally.
The last thing we did today was attend a Black Heritage lecture, which I also found very interesting. Much of it reviewed topics that I had previously learned about in history classes throughout high school. My biggest takeaway, especially in relation to nursing, was that nurses will care for patients from many different backgrounds. Because of this, it is important that we understand the history and experiences of different groups of people and treat all patients with both equality and equity.
Overall, I thought today’s lectures were very meaningful and provided lessons that will help us become the best nurses we can be.