Reflection Paper: ABUSE Arlene Salceda

Abuse is one of the most dangerous and serious problems confronting society, perhaps because of the helplessness and innocence of the victims. What is particularly bothersome about abuse is that it occurs in all income, racial, religious, and ethnic groups and in urban and rural communities. Likewise, there is no uniform definition of what constitutes abuse, making it difficult to ascertain some prevention and treatment methods are most effective. For example, in Sweden, the law prohibits any physical punishment of children, including spanking. By contrast, in some countries of Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, parents are expected to punish their child by hitting them and this is normal to them. As a future nurse it essential to be aware to the requirements of the law and have the duty to identify, refer and report abuse because usually survivors are hesitant to speak theyve been abused and sometimes abuse is not obvious to the casual observer this is why we need referral system to holistically help this abuse survivors and put an end to their tragic undertakings. Nurses are often the first healthcare system contact for an abused child, elder, or adult. As such, nurses have great privilege and great responsibility. Lines of communication may be opened and the abused patient can appreciate that someone still cares, will listen, and will help, even though the person doesnt divulge abuse at that first contact. It may take numerous questions before the patient is prepared to talk about the abuse and consider options. Nurses must ask about abuse through a screening protocol and respond when abuse is disclosed. If not, the patient may continue to live in a situation that, at the least, is painful, and at the worst, deadly. Awareness of assessment strategies, communication skills, and reporting/referral options will allow nurses to intervene with these susceptible patients and make a difference in the patients life. During these assessment a nurse must not be judgmental and conduct it in a private place so that the abuse survivor can talk or if not a close family member can be there too or a friend if the client wishes to be with for he/she can speak and describe the abuse with the confider, use language that is known to the survivor and dont compare the experiences of the survivor to the personal view of a nurse or to others because it might affect the mood of the client and worse they might hesitate to confide. Abuse could be detrimental to survivors because of the aftermath of the abuse may it be psychologically, emotionally or physically. Nurses are always there for the survivors to give hope and break the cycle of violence and also to regain the self-worth and esteem of the survivors. There are still a lot of abuse cases that is not obvious to others or not reported yet the challenge for nurses is to closely monitor other individuals who have been abused lead them to change and carry on with life with restored dignity and right.