Developmental Psychology

mindlor · Nov 9, 2011

I respect you Rob, obviously you are highly educated and highly intelligent. But just like RN school, there is the text book on one hand and then reality on the other.......

I dislike that this is the case, but that does not diminish the fact that sadly, it is the case.....

Rob72, ASN, RN · Nov 9, 2011

The thing with psych is this, as hard as it tries to fancy itself as a science, most of the research relies on anecdotal data, I will stop short of calling psychology bollocks, but it is close
As a science person knows, science considers anecdotal evidence as the weakest type of evidence

Agreed. But. Erickson and Maslow, the foundationals, are repeatable, verifiable and generalizable, would you not agree?

I'm very much a believer in personal responsibility, and in that context, I've had some heated disagreements with the more theoretical psychology/psychiatry practioners, not to mention the sociologists!

The DSM is a prime example of largely bunk science. The flip side, however, is practical and financial- how many patients will pay to be told, "You're doing what you're doing because you are a selfish A-hole. You drink/do dope/beat your SO to establish an imaginary model of control in life, when you actually are compeltely at the mercy of your own destructive behaviors..." Riiiight. Clearly, I don't agree with the direction, but I can certainly understand it.

Re: medications. Yeah, it is hip-shooting. My personal, un-doctorated, opinion is that we would see more positive outcomes with more clearly defined social structures- i.e., I'm sorry, you are not free to express whatever you feel/take whatever you desire. I'm rather a social Stoic, in that respect.

Self-medicating behaviors are reasonable indicators of chemical modification needs, when looking at use in relation to behavioral patterns, but, again, little study and no real interest, so...

mindlor · Nov 9, 2011

Agreed Rob, of the lot, I do admire Maslow and Erickson and my personal opinion is that they are spot on.

Rob72, ASN, RN · Nov 9, 2011

Thank you for the sunshine! You are absolutely correct, I agree with all of the criticisms you state. I guess what I come back to is the concept that in every effective lie, there is a kernel of truth. I've found things that have struck a personal chord, and I pursue them.

In psych, it is a small, very hard kernel. I use it in my slingshot.

mindlor · Nov 9, 2011

HAHA! I think we could be awesome friends :) I love to hang out with people like you in the hopes that if even by diffusion/osmosis I might gain a little intelligence :) You are wicked smart :)

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Nov 9, 2011

Good morning all!
I am praying someone here will help me out. I have a paper due in my Developmental Psychology class and I am required to ask a RN how their Developmental Psychology class has helped them in their occupation. I don't know any nurses so I am hoping someone here will have a minute to help me out.
Thank you SO much!
P.S.....length of your answer is not an issue

Dev Psych made me learn stages of development according to Freud, the x vs. x stages of development per Erickson, etc which I needed to know for tests and NCLEX, which of course had to be passed in order to get a license for this occupation. Beyond that? NOTHING...

ttownstudent · Nov 9, 2011

Thank you Rob, you have given me what I need! I appreciate all of your helpful insight :)

ttownstudent · Nov 9, 2011

thank you

Rob72, ASN, RN · Nov 9, 2011

Thank you Rob, you have given me what I need! I appreciate all of your helpful insight :)

You're welcome! When you're out of school, and have the time, look up some of the pubs from the FBI and the Behavioral Science Unit. Some cool stuff. If you're, "someone who notices things", and you start using some of the behavioral analysis stuff, people begin to think you're bright, when you're really 1/2 step away from being a highly successful con-man/-woman. If criminals were able to restrain the pathological nature of their risk taking, we'd be in real trouble!

LydiaNN · Nov 9, 2011

If you choose to enter pediatrics, developmental psychology will assist you in your assessments. If you enter patient education, a parent may look to you for help explaining their condition to their children or to help them understand how their health choices are affecting their children. Whatever field you choose, you are likely to be called upon to interact with patients' families. Understanding a child's developmental level will guide you in that interaction. You might end up being the only adult on the care team that connects with that child and they will remember you forever.

TheDreamJourney · Nov 9, 2011

The last chapters of Developmental Psychology have to do with end of life and stages that patients' and their families go through when someone has a terminal illness (and know they will die). There are different stages that involve denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages give nurses an idea of what their terminally ill patient is going through psychologically when they are caring for them. However, keep in mind that sometimes they don't go through all the stages and they don't accept their own death. hope this helps and good luck.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Nov 10, 2011

I have no taste for psych nursing but I still found developmental psych not only one of my favorite courses but also one of the most useful. I guess I had a good professor.

I continually think on Maslow and Erikson in my own personal dealings with people, but that was not your question.

In my field, I deal with two distinct populations; the infant patients and their parents. With the infants I deal with they are all at the first developmental stage; trust vs. mistrust. I actually think about that stage when I notice a difficult infant has been left crying because the nurse is too busy/too overwhelmed/just "done" with that infant (sorry if this offends some of you out there, but it happens). I think about how not being consoled could affect this little human's relationships for life. With premature infants, one cannot really expect much interaction as their brains just aren't really ready, but the older infants are different. With them, positive interactions are possible, but not likely if their physiological needs are not met. If a parent does not experience positive interactions, they are less likely to bond especially if the relationship is already strained due to the infant being away from the parent so much in the NICU.

Then there are the parental interactions. I personally find it very important to have in the background of my mind what stage a parent is experiencing. Seeing that we get parents from 12 to 40+ years old, this is can vary quite a bit. And of course, parents who are not getting their physiological needs met are going to struggle much more to deal with all the changes that are happening.

I probably only regularly think on those two main theorists, but I really find them useful.

And, just to be cheeky. . .

Yearly in my job (even when I worked adult telemetry), I have to be checked off on developmentally appropriate care. In our current system, one can skip reading the required materials if one passes a challenge test of said material. It's basically all Erickson's stages. I hate mandatory check-offs but this one is easy as I usually do pretty well on developmental stages.

Sorry you have a rotten professor, mine was so good, I went back and took another psych course from her as an elective just so I could sit in her class. All this from a nurse who absolutely dislikes psych nursing/care.