This guide will help you answer The Care Certificate Standard 7.3c Explain why personal views must not influence an individual’s own choices or decisions.
The Importance of Personal Choice
Respecting Individual Preferences
Every individual has unique preferences, beliefs, and values. Respecting these ensures that care is tailored to each person.
Enhancing Quality of Life
Allowing individuals to make their own decisions enhances their quality of life. It gives them a sense of control, dignity, and self-worth.
Legal and Ethical Obligations
In the UK, respecting personal choices aligns with both legal and ethical standards. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 underscores the importance of respecting individuals’ capacity to make decisions.
Why Personal Views Must Not Influence Care
Upholding Equity and Fairness
Influencing an individual’s decisions based on your personal views can lead to discrimination. It can prevent them from receiving fair and unbiased care. Every person has the right to be treated equally and with respect.
Preventing Bias
Our personal views might carry unconscious biases. These biases can harm individuals by not respecting their unique identity, values, or needs. For example, personal opinions about lifestyle choices, cultural practices, or religious beliefs can unfairly affect the care provided.
Maintaining Trust
Trust is the cornerstone of a good care relationship. If individuals feel their choices are influenced by the carer’s personal views, trust can be broken. Trust ensures open communication, which is essential for effective care.
Promoting Independence
A essential aim of health and social care is to promote independence. Influencing an individual’s decisions can undermine their ability to live independently. It can make them feel less capable of making their own choices.
Supporting Informed Choices
Individuals must make informed choices based on accurate information. Personal views can distort this information, leading to decisions that do not fully consider all options.
Practical Steps to Ensure Independence in Decision Making
Active Listening
Always listen to the individual’s wishes without interrupting. This ensures you understand their preferences and can support them adequately.
Providing Balanced Information
Offer all relevant information unbiasedly. Ensure that the individual understands the options available and the potential outcomes of each.
Encouraging Self-Advocacy
Encourage individuals to speak for themselves and make their voices heard. Support them in expressing their wishes and preferences.
Seeking Consent
Always seek informed consent before making decisions that affect the individual. Ensure they understand the information and agree to the care plan.
Professional Boundaries
Maintain professional boundaries at all times. Be aware of your own beliefs and ensure they do not influence the care you provide.
Reflective Practice
Regularly engage in reflective practice. Assess how your views might affect your professional behaviour. Seek feedback and be open to change.
Dealing with Discrepancies
Balancing Safety and Choice
Sometimes, an individual’s choices might pose risks. In these cases, it is essential to balance respect for their autonomy with their safety. Risk assessments and discussions with the individual and their family can help find a safe solution.
Multi-Disciplinary Approach
Work with a multi-disciplinary team to ensure comprehensive care. Different perspectives can help support the individual’s choices more holistically.
Continuous Learning
Stay informed about the rights of individuals to make their own choices. Participate in training and remain updated with best practices and legal requirements.
Example answers for activity 7.3c Explain why personal views must not influence an individual’s own choices or decisions
Example 1: Respecting Religious Beliefs
As a care worker, I understand that everyone has different religious beliefs. I had a service user who didn’t want to eat certain foods due to their religion. My personal view wasn’t the same, but I respected their choice. I made sure they had meals which fitted their religious requirements. It is important that my views don’t affect their decisions about what to eat, as it is their right to follow their own beliefs.
Example 2: Supporting Lifestyle Choices
One service user preferred a more active lifestyle, while I generally prefer a quieter way of living. They wanted to go out for walks daily and participate in community activities. Despite my own preferences, I supported them in their choices. I arranged for regular walks and encouraged their engagement in social activities. My role is to facilitate their preferences, not impose my own lifestyle on them.
Example 3: Handling End-of-Life Decisions
I once cared for an individual who made the decision not to undergo a particular medical treatment. Personally, I thought this treatment might help, but it was their choice to refuse it. I respected their decision and informed the healthcare team accordingly. It’s essential to respect their wishes during such sensitive times, regardless of my own opinions.
Example 4: Understanding Dietary Preferences
I had a situation where a service user preferred a vegetarian diet, but I am not a vegetarian myself. I made sure to respect their dietary preference by providing vegetarian meal options and ensuring there was no cross-contamination with meat products. My personal eating habits should not influence their food choices.
Example 5: Considering Cultural Practices
One individual I supported had specific cultural practices that were important to them, such as wearing traditional attire and observing certain daily rituals. Even though these practices were different from my own, I respected and facilitated their cultural expressions. My responsibility is to support their cultural identity, not impose my cultural views on them.
Example 6: Encouraging Autonomous Decision-Making
A service user wanted to make a decision about moving to a new care home. Personally, I had reservations about the move, but I provided them with all the information they needed to decide. I ensured they had all the pros and cons and then supported their final decision, even though it differed from what I might have chosen. It is really important to uphold their autonomy and right to make their own choices.
Final Thoughts
Upholding the standard 7.3c is essential for providing respectful and effective care. Each person’s autonomy must be respected and valued. By ensuring that personal views do not influence the decisions of the individuals we care for, we maintain their dignity, promote their independence, and build trustworthy relationships. Always remember, the essence of care is to empower individuals, not to steer their lives based on our personal beliefs.
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