Reflective Log 1
Briefly describe the topic you have chosen and your thoughts and feelings about it:
It is the twenty-first century and stigma and discrimination is still clear in today’s society. Many people experience stigma and discrimination from family, friends and health care professionals (See Me Scotland, 2016a). Stigma is when you have a negative perception of an individual or group, and ranges from being ignored to verbal or physical abuse. This often leads to discrimination for example treating them in an unfair way or differently than you would other people. Discrimination can often lead to harassment or more severe events like hate crime and many individuals or groups such as; elderly people, people of a different religion
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This can be done by being aware of personal values and behaviour towards others, as these may be portrayed differently by others and lead to misunderstandings. It can also help to better understand the patient’s own values and allow nurses to determine what is important to the patient’s as individuals (Delves-Yates, 2015). Furthermore, it is vital within nursing practice that no form of discrimination takes place, but if confronted with the situation it should be challenged and any concerns should be escalated. Discrimination is often the result of ignorance and effective communication to educate people of the impact of their actions, could prove successful (See Me Scotland, …show more content…
It is argued that people do not randomly develop negative thoughts and feelings towards individuals or groups, but they are learned throughout life. They come from the values and beliefs they personally hold as individuals and have learned through social influences such as; family, friends, colleagues and the media. (Miller, 2015a). However, this does not automatically mean as individuals they agree with the values they were taught, because as they begin to see the world through their own eyes they develop their own values and beliefs (Graham,