This research paper explores the correlation between a traumatic amputation and negative psychological effects. All of the studies we used showed a clear correlation between a traumatic amputation and negative psychological effects. Many of the patients in these studies had at least one psychological comorbidity following amputation, with the most common being major depressive disorder, PTSD, and phantom limb syndrome. Our research paper also focuses on the importance of follow up care for the patient’s mental health after an amputation. We discovered that many patients expressed that they would want to talk about their mental health after their amputation if they received the opportunity and support.
Category: Research
One thing I learned from this project is that the mental health of patients is often neglected when there is a larger physical problem that needs to be cared for. In the future, when I am practicing, I will make sure to consider how my patients mental health may be affected and what I might be able to do to help them. While there is a strong correlation between amputations and negative psychological effects such as depression and anxiety as it is a huge physical change, simply just being in the hospital may cause a patient’s mental health to suffer. I will work to make sure I take care of both my patients physical and mental health. I would want potential employers to know that I am willing and able to contribute to evidence-based practice initiatives while working, and that I work well in a team environment.
Our team process throughout this project went very smoothly overall. We were able to complete our work on time, and each of us did an equal amount of work. Usually, we would try to do most of the project in person, so we could ask questions and help each other if we had questions. One thing I learned about myself as a team member is that I like to work with others, and that working with others helps me be more productive over all.
Through evidence appraisal and synthesis, I discovered a lot more about the variety of psychological effects that can occur after a traumatic amputation. The literature appraisal and synthesis did not really change my assumptions on the topic of amputations, but rather affirmed our research question and topic. It was interesting to see recurring themes of some of the most common psychological effects (depression, PTSD) throughout each of the research articles. No matter what field of nursing I go into, something that I can take with me from this research is that the mental health of patients is equally as important as their physical health, especially after a traumatic event. It is important to take the patients mental wellbeing into your care, as it can have a big effect on their healing. My teammate and I arrived at similar conclusions about the finding of this research. We both agreed that it was interesting to see the similarities and patterns of healing in many of the patients following an amputation. Our team process is going smoothly, we were both able to split up the work evenly, and help each other if there were any questions.
Our team did need to revise our topic and question slightly. Our topic involves mental health and psychological affects after an amputation. We ended up getting rid of the time component as it wasn’t necessary and thinking more about what specific negative psychological effects we could look into such as anxiety, anger, hostility, and the tendency towards social isolation. It was a bit challenging to revise our PICOT question at first, but I feel that we were able to make some good improvements. A success we experienced was finding three good articles for our paper. We looked into a lot of articles regarding amputation and decided ours should be focused more on traumatic amputations versus planned amputations. I think focusing on traumatic amputations will make it easier to explore negative psychological effects. Our process of finding the articles worked well as we each picked a few we though would work, and then went through the articles together to pick the most relevant ones.
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