Psychosocial Foundation of Nursing

Psychosocial care emphasizes interventions to assist individuals who are having difficulty in coping with the emotional aspects of illness, with life crisis that affect health and health care. In psychosocial care, the nurse focuses on the effects of stress in psychological or physiological illness and on intrapsychic and social functioning of individuals responding to stress. Psychology is one of the very important subjects in the training of every nurse today. It will enable the nurse to understand herself/himself. This implies an understanding of motives, desires, emotions and ambitions of her/him and his/her patients. Physical, social, cultural and psychological factors interact dynamically and have an important influence on patient care needs. There are needs common to everyone, no matter their sociocultural background, so-called human needs. These needs when they are not met create tensions and these tensions may give rise to anxiety that can hamper recovery if not relieved. Culturally, competent nursing care is defined as being sensitive to issues related to culture, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and social or economic class. Cultural competence implies not only awareness of cultural differentiation but also the ability to assess and intervene appropriately and effectively. Psychosocial foundation of nursing textbook will prove to be extremely useful for basic nursing students in facing their examinations and also enable them to equip themselves better for their future endeavors.