Professional Practice Document
Task: Write a 1200 word Professional Practice Document which demonstrates your understanding of the professional and ethical responsibilities of working collaboratively with Indigenous Australian people in a health context. In your document you will also reflect on and critically analyse specific elements of your standpoint in relation to health and how this impacts on your professional practice.
Introduction and Overview
Unfairness found in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals is extremely acknowledged in Australia (Allied Health Professions Australia, 2017). Aboriginal native people are more exposed to disease way too much as compared to foreigners. This disparity has been influenced by aspects such as colonization, prejudiced policies racial discrimination. One of the primary goals of the Australian government is to improve the health and welfare of the native Aboriginal people.
Providing health care to the native people of Australia will aid in making it easier for them to access health care facilities and services. This will then improve the outcomes of health. This is one of the critical steps of narrowing the disparity in health provision in Australia. Increasing the number of qualified healthcare providers who are Aboriginal natives in the health segment is significant, and it has to be upheld for a better future (Health Workforce Australia, 2014). The exertions are geared to intensify this number of health specialists, and this is bettering the relations between the health practitioners and the local people. There has been minimal research on the issues that impact a health professional’s involvement in working in this inter-cultural field. Therefore, trained staff is obligatory to address Aboriginal health issues. There is also a need to support health specialists in solving problems, distresses, and sentiments experienced in these health situations (Anderson, 2009). Therefore, it is necessary to classify the exact issues that affect a health professional’s experiences of dealing with these problems, which should be tackled through health professional training and professional development. The purposefulness of this paper is to pinpoint the aspects of the practice of health specialists.
To provide proper healthcare to the Aboriginal people, health practitioners must follow the set professional practices and ethics. It is the work of the health providers to find out what are the needs of the patients to come up with the best ways of helping them. The only possible way of collecting this information is through seeking collaboration with the local (NSW Health, 2012). To ensure the collection of the best information from these Aboriginal natives, physicians need to establish proper communication. The locals should first be informed about their freedom. They should know that they have the freedom to give the only information they are comfortable sharing. This will motivate them to take part in the research. What they choose to share will be from their own well-informed decisions.
To make the locals gain confidence in the physician, respect must be put in place. As a physician, one required to respect the information they receive from the patients by maintaining confidentiality (Education.vic.gov.au, 2007). This information must not be shared with anyone else. Once those participating in the collaboration are assured of privacy, they can share more personal information. Health care covers critical areas, such as mental and emotional needs. It is the responsibility of health practitioners to dig into finding out these needs. To get such crucial information from the natives needs high professionalism.
Maintaining efficiency in giving out health services to the Aboriginal people will save time needed when making decisions. If ethical code is well observed by the medics, disagreements will be minimal among the caregivers and between a caregiver and the participants (The Lowitja Institute, 2018). Conflicts should be avoided at all costs as they may cause wastage of time, the dissatisfaction of the participants. It may also make the process tiresome and boring hence prompting some of the participants to pull out.
Ensuring that you, as a physician, portray yourself as well informed will make the participants build trust in you. This can be done by showing them that you understand their needs (The Lowitja Institute, 2018). This will help the professionals to identify ethical challenges and solve some situations. Some of the elements that may impact the process include the educational level of the Aboriginal people. Illiteracy is quite stereotyped and shared among the Aboriginal natives. This may pose a challenge when it comes to communication. The language barrier between a physician and participants is likely to cause misunderstandings.
Ensuring safety to the patients is another essential element that may facilitate the process. If there is no security, the participants may not show up. Security here also involves avoiding medical errors, as this will affect the patients (Allied Health Professions Australia, 2017). This can be avoided by working under less stress and pressure. In this case, the physician is forced to work under pressure, and they have to make sure that it does not get out of hand.
The deficit discourse, which disempowers patterns of language, thought, and practices representing Indigenous Australian people in terms of failures and deficiencies, needs to be eliminated in healthcare settings (NSW Health, 2012). Healthcare professionals must act ethically by empowering positivity, encouraging diversity, embracing equality, and encouraging strength and positive to create a strong relationship with the Indigenous Australian communities.
Healthcare remains a dynamic and complex area that needs it, practitioners, to be adaptive and flexible. In working collaboratively with Indigenous Australian people, healthcare providers need to exhibit five core competencies: professionalism, communication, knowledge, leadership, and business skills (The Lowitja Institute, 2018). Successful healthcare leaders apply these core competencies daily as they interact with the Indigenous Australian clients in health settings. Communication and relationship management establishes a strong rapport between health care professionals and their Indigenous Australian clients. As a healthcare professional, it is good to conduct a self-assessment to determine the strengths and weaknesses one has. This allows a proper understanding of the healthcare environment, the diversity of Indigenous Australian clients, and their needs (NSW Health, 2012).
As a healthcare practitioner, there is a need to be accredited with the professional body. This element consists of a diverse range of professions, and nurses are required to register with their specific area of practice (Allied Health Professions Australia, 2017). For instance, in Australia’s health care sector, health care professionals are required to be accredited with different schemes such as the national registration for nurses, the self-regulating health professions, and the national alliance of self-regulating health professions. As a professional, it is unethical to practice without being accredited and registered. The National Code of Conduct for health care workers requires that all practitioners obtain certification in the areas of expertise and only practice in those areas.
Conclusion
The system of health in Australia is entirely composite. It’s funding, and health service providers come from a variety of sources. To meet the goal of providing proper healthcare services in the local regions of Australia, there’s a need to look into the cultural ways of the aboriginal people. This will give an insight into what best methods can be applied to create trust and understanding to get obtain information from the natives. The services offered and how they are offered should be relevant and geared towards fulfilling the specific needs of these people. Collaboration with the Indigenous community members is much needed if at all, the government health plan is to be met. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the health provider to find out what the primary needs of the people are. Both the government and health departments have an essential role to play in making health services accessible to Aboriginal people. Promotion and maintenance of all aspects of health, including emotional, mental, and physical health of the people is a part of the ethical responsibilities of the health services providers. Health care professionals should uphold professional conduct and adhere to the set professional Code of Ethics/ Practice in order to improve trust with the Indigenous Australian people in the health context.
References
Allied Health Professions, Australia. (2017). Allied Health Accreditation. Melbourne: AHPA. Retrieved from https://ahpa.com.au/allied-health-accreditation/
Anderson, C. (2009). Indigenous footprints on health curriculum. Aust J Indigenous Educ.
Education.vic.gov.au. (2007). A “Critical” Reflection Framework. Victoria: “Reflective Practice” CD ROM. doi:https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/professionals/support/reffram.pdf
NSW Health. (2012). NSW Aboriginal Health Plan 2013-2023. North Sydney: NSW Ministry of Health. Retrieved from https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/aboriginal/Publications/aboriginal-health-plan-2013-2023.pdf
The Lowitja Institute. (2018). Deficit Discourse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Policy. Victoria: Australia’s National Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research. Retrieved from https://ncis.anu.edu.au/_lib/doc/ddih/Deficit_Discourse_summary_report_WEB.pdf