Health care services offer nursing assistants diverse work opportunities to view patients as unique beings, members of the same human family. The phrase human growth and development relates to four human processes that function both alone and together to maintain life, health, and feelings of well being.
Physical Processes
Human bodies begin to grow and develop at birth and reach physical maturity at about the age of twenty-five. At this age, the physical process begins to slow down and aging begins. Scientific studies show that people age at different rates and times based on genetic inheritance, temperament, and lifestyle preferences. Some people have good gene mixes with the potential to live long and healthy lives. Others have poor gene mixes that can cause them to develop health problems. Some people smoke, eat, and drink to excess but live to very old ages. Others smoke, eat, and drink in moderation yet die at young ages. Some scientific knowledge exists and that can advise people whether or not they have good gene mixes. Physicians and other scientists can only advise people about the importance of healthy lifestyles.
The Body's Makeup
The body is composed of cells, tissues, organs, and systems. Cells are microscopic in size and resemble tiny rooms when viewed under a microscope. Cells support physical growth and development and contain the genetic pattern of each human being.
Tissues are a group of cells that have specific functions in the body. There are fat cells, elastic cells, mucous and muscular cells, to name a few.
Organs are larger body parts that are made up of different types of tissue groups. Many are located within the body's cavity or midsection. Each organ is composed of different kinds of tissue and each has a specific function. For example, the eye allows people to see.
Systems are groups of organs that have specific functions and work together to support and sustain life. There are ten body systems, and each is described below:
- The cardiac system delivers a fresh blood supply (bright red blood) to all body parts through blood vessels (arteries) and returns oxygen-poor blood through other blood vessels (veins) back to the heart. This blood supply is routed to the lungs to be restored by a fresh source of oxygen. The heart functions like a car's water pump and is about the size of your fist. Blood contains water, nutrients, and oxygen, necessary substances that maintain life.
- The respiratory system exchanges oxygen for carbon dioxide in the lungs. It supports the act of breathing (one breath in and one breath out). The nose breathes in fresh air that is transported to the lungs through the trachea (windpipe) and diaphragm (upper chest area) where the exchange of gases takes place.
- The gastrointestinal system is the body's food processor. It takes in foodstuffs (meat, fish, cheese, bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, beans, oil, butter, fruits, and vegetables) through the mouth where the teeth and saliva begin to break it down. Smaller particles of food are transported by the tongue through the esophagus (a long tube like structure that lies behind the trachea) into the stomach. The stomach continues to break down the food, assisted by hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes (chemical substances). At the completion of this process, tiny food particles enter the small intestine where they are further broken down into microscopic sizes. Microscopic food particles enter the bloodstream through villi, which are tiny structures that look like fingers. Villi are attached to the outside surface of the small intestine. They push food particles along and into the bloodstream through a gentle motion that looks like a willow tree caught by the wind. The large intestine (colon) accepts unwanted food from the small intestine, chemically treats it, and expels it from the body in the form of stool (bowel movement).
- The excretory (urinary) system cleanses the blood of all unwanted elements, thus keeping it pure and free of infection. The kidneys send blood wastes into two long tubes called ureters. The ureters transport blood wastes into the bladder, a balloon like organ that stores urine. When the bladder becomes full, it empties into the urethra (a small tube) and flows out of the body.
- The muscular system is made up of three types of muscles (cardiac, smooth, and skeletal). Muscles work with bones to support body movement and keep internal organs in their proper places within the body's abdominal cavity.
- The skeletal system is made up of bones and joints that align and protect the body and support body movement. The skeletal system assists the body to keep its shape.
- The nervous system is made up of the brain, the spinal cord, and the sensory organs of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. It is like a telephone company that sends messages to and from the brain and body.
- The integumentary system (the skin) is the largest organ in the body and protects it from injury and infection. The integumentary system also regulates body temperature. Its sensory nerve endings work with the nervous system to send messages to the brain and body about the presence of pleasure, pain, heat, and cold.
- The endocrine system is made up of a group of organs that secrete internal hormones (catalysts); hormones assist the body to function. The pancreas secretes insulin, which works with nutrients to create energy. The thyroid produces thyroxin, a hormone that assists the body to use energy properly. The pituitary gland (also called the master gland) controls the functions of other internal organs.
- The reproductive system consists of male and female sex organs that assist in the procreation of children through sexual intercourse.
Mental processes are steps the brain takes to assist human beings to be aware of their surroundings, interpret feelings and emotions, process in-formation in a logical manner, and make rational decisions. The brain spinal cord and sensory organs (hearing, sight, taste, touch, and smell) work together to send and receive body signals. An occasional headache might signal that a person has a head cold, allergies, or an upset stomach.
Human intellect (the mind) relates to each person's ability to think, learn, recall, and reason. Intelligence quotient (I.Q.) is a standard test score that places individuals into categories of mental ability. I.Q.s of 140 identify people who are geniuses; I.Q.s of 20 to 30 identify people who are moderately to severely retarded. I.Q. test score results are not absolute measures of intelligence because the test is unable to measure cultural differences of race and economic status.
Intelligence is important to human survival. The ability to think, reason, and interpret brain/body signals are necessary to maintain health for life.
Emotions
Emotions are mental states caused by strong feelings of love, hate, joy, fear, or sorrow. They are neither right nor wrong. However, emotions motivate people to accept certain beliefs that may be either right or wrong. Positive belief systems often cause people to behave in positive ways; negative belief systems often cause people to behave in negative ways. Abraham Maslow states that all human beings have four levels of needs that influence mental states and arouse emotional feelings. The first level deals with physical needs: the need to eat, drink, sleep, eliminate body wastes, move about, and express sexual feelings. The second level deals with safety needs: the need to feel safe and the desire to live in clean and pleasant surroundings. The third level deals with the need to feel useful, to give and receive love, to have time for rest and relaxation, and to have fun. The fourth level deals with the need to develop and be-come the best that one can be with the freedom to make personal choices.
Mental states that influence emotions can remain healthy and intact for a lifetime. Each time people cope well with unexpected daily problems or adjust their attitudes to act in positive ways during times of stress, they are developing healthy emotional responses.
Spirituality
Spiritual processes are beliefs and attitudes about the presence of a supreme being (also called God, Allah, Buddha, and The Great Spirit), about life and death, and about the possibility of life after death. Individual spirituality evolves from cultural beliefs, parental teachings, and formed opinions. In recent years, scientific researchers found that faith, food preferences and food preparation are important cultural differences among religions. Orthodox Jews cannot eat food prepared with both meat and dairy products; Mormons cannot drink coffee; Muslims cannot eat beef; and Catholics cannot eat meat on certain days.
