! See Also

Aims & Objectives
Structure
Holism
Informatics

LINKS: Interpersonal
Science
Sociology
Political

Introduction to h2cm for Life-Long Learners: Part 1:
A Collaborative, Reflective and Situated Journey

Welcome

Students entering health and social care training programmes bring with them - assuming they are not superhuman - personal experiences of health services and an incomplete awareness of the field in which they are set to study and ultimately practice. Whatever your experience and position in academe you are most welcome to this space. Even if you are not a student or lecturer, as a 21st century lifelong learner this website is for you.

Amongst other insights in this introduction you will learn that h2cm is NOT just another example of mind mapping.

h2cm & Education: What is it and how can it help me?

Introducing: Hodges' Health Career - Care Domains - Model (h2cm)

The best way to explain the model is to revisit the questions Brian originally posed.

This may sound a very simplistic place to start, but these questions are crucial to the model that unfolds. So to begin: Who do nurses care for?

The obvious response is individual people first and foremost, of all ages, races, and creed.

The next very important distinction is that nurses engage with groups of people, at the still personal level of mother-child, father-son, and whole families. To communities, and with colleagues in public health on specific programmes - populations.

Then Brian asked: What types of things - tasks and caring duties do nurses carry out?

Nurses do things according to strict rules and policies, actions dictated by specific treatments including drugs, investigations, even surgery. Using an injection as an example, the nurse needs to acquire and maintain the required degree of competency; they must know where the equipment is kept, the drug, dose, validity of the prescription, the injection site, the technique, documentation and possible observations following the injection.

If these are classed as mechanistic, then there follows those instances when health care workers give of themselves, developing rapport and engaging therapeutically using their sense of humanity. In the injection example, just given the nurse will attempt to reassure the patient, provide an explanation, and protect the patient's privacy and dignity at all times. Here they further consider the patient's (or carer's) feelings towards the care, or treatment that needs to be delivered.

This model can also provide a framework to identify the values that underpin clinical theory and practice. h2cm continuously prompts us to see people in their political, cultural and social contexts. Health workers should not deny these aspects, a task eased by being self aware and having access to supervision. Neither should they be influenced by negative personal judgements or the conclusions of others. The humanism in care comes to the fore with the caring professions reliance on interpersonal skills. Generally, how to listen actively, what basic counselling skills should all care personnel possess?

Compiling the above and other content Brian produced the diagram below:

Brian's model can take a snapshot of a situation and the various points of view that need to be addressed.

This is possible because h2cm helps to shine a light on things that might otherwise be missed. As you can see in the diagram above, the simple questions that Brian asked give rise to a very broad and inclusive range of subjects or what we call here - care domains. While fairly self explanatory, broadly the subjects are:

Interpersonal - Individual Psychology, Psychiatry, Cognitive Science (mind)

Sciences - Anatomy & Physiology, Chemistry and Physics, Informatics (computing).

Sociology - Group Psychology, Social and Cultural studies, History

Political - Political Science, Economics, Governance, Human Rights

Interesting: Tell me more - how does this diagram relate to me?

The h2cm provides a framework, a template for all educational stakeholders to map the curriculum, and much of what occurs in teaching, learning and training. So h2cm was created out of the need for a tool to develop curricula, but this is one of four educational and clinical practice requirements that stimulated Brian to ask the questions above:

1. Curriculum Development
2. Holistic assessment
3. Reflective practice
4. Theory based practice

In health and social care it is vital that staff ensure they consider all the relevant areas when assessing the needs of an individual, especially where risk may be a pivotal factor. For example - physical / emotional abuse, self-harm, self-neglect, violence to others.

Recognising the complexity and multicontextual nature of caring, academics provide models to act as a memory jogger. A guide for learners and a prompt for experienced staff (who of course should never stop learning). These tools also help with curriculum development. Hodges' model is one example of such tools.

H2cm seeks to ensure 'holistic' practice by directing the nurse, doctor, (and policy maker!) to consider the 'patient' as a whole person - not just a physically derived diagnosis.

h2cm can help map health, social care and other issues, problems AND solutions, taking a situational and multi-contextual view across four knowledge domains:

1. Interpersonal (you as an individual, your learning style, motivation, personality, reflective skills, interpersonal & therapuetic skills, educational and life background);
2. Sociological (your family and relationships, peer group, friends, local community);
3. Empirical (the physical world, cause & effect, sciences, the quantitative, theories of education);
4. Political (assessment, curriculum development, equality, leadership, mentorship, educational institutions, educational evaluation).

The figure below seeks to reveal the hcm and selected aspects of its relationship to the educational community.

You may feel that a tool like the hcm has the potential to confound and confuse, but then sense making depends as much on what is left out as what is put in?

The art of being wise, is the art of knowing what to overlook.

William James (1842-1910)

Above and beyond changes in social and economic circumstances, this is why we need lifelong learning. Since James' day, of course it not just a case of corners to be cut, but the continuous critique of existing knowledge and practice against new evidence. The website is a call for research into tools such as the h2cm. Its appeal to me is its intuitiveness. The structure of and space created by h2cm are so universal that indirectly you are already using h2cm. If you would like to try h2cm for yourself you can use the template supplied in our resource page as you reflect on the questions that follow....

h2cm and creative opportunities

Questions you and your lecturers may wish to consider:

1. How does health and the concept of citizenry combine in each of the h2cm's quadrants? Does this say anything about the difference between health and social care?
2. What impact does environmentalism make in health care today? What difference should it make tomorrow?
3. What does the term 'governance' mean for you personally, for health care policy and education?
4. How does governance relate to NPfIT? Use h2cm to present your reasoning.
5. What are the connections between the clinical governance and the call for global governance?
6. Produce a list of what you think are the pros and cons of h2cm.
7. In the UK the NHS is often described as the National ill-Health Service. Using h2cm contrast an ill-health service with health promoting and preventive approaches.
8. What would an ideal nursing (health/social care) information system interface look like?
9. Develop examples and justify your design using all the h2cm quadrants?
10. What is information? Map your answer across all four domains? Which quadrant has most content? Is this what you expected?

If you answer any of the above questions please get in touch below...

Part two is not essential in terms of introducing you to h2cm, but develops these themes further....

Thank you for your interest which is greatly appreciated.

Whether you are a student, mentor, Dean, lecturer,

or life-long learner, everybody needs:

help-2c-more - help-2-listen - help-2-care

Copyright © 2005 Peter Jones

top : home