...Personal Perceptions As a Registered Nurse for thirteen years in an acute care hospital setting, I have tended to many dying patients. It is my personal belief that quality of life and health promotion are imperative to the care of the terminally ill patient. Personally, I am a big fan of palliative care nursing. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines palliative care as “an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual.” B. Strategies Improving Mrs. Thomas’ quality of life would comprise of assisting her with her increased level of pain, limited amount of emotional support, and financial concerns. Firstly, Mrs. Thomas’ physical comfort needs addressed immediately. As evidenced by the patient spending large amounts of her day crying in bed, her pain is not under control. As her nurse, I would listen to her fears about addiction, but discuss quality of life versus drug addiction. I would explain how once her pain is tolerable, she will be able to assume a more productive, engaged role in her own life. Secondly, addressing Mr. and Mrs. Thomas’ financial concerns would be my next order of business. Insufficient health care insurance or financial resources can cause excessive worry and concern for...
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...“Feet what do I want them for if I have wings to fly.” – Frida Kahlo (1995, p.134) Frida Kahlo, a Mexican artist, lived all her life with physical illnesses, and her suffering is revealed plainly through her artwork. In 1953, her doctor decided to amputate her right leg at the knee due to gangrene. Frida expressed her fear in her diary with a painting of a yellowish cut leg and the above quote. Although the operation was successfully performed and she was able to walk with an artificial leg, an inevitable depression followed. She became deeply depressed and was no longer interested in her husband, Diego Rivera, who had been the entire world of her life. She lost the will to live and made suicide attempts (Herrera, 1963). A healthy mental state...
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...to normal life without the support and care that they really needed. With an integrated addiction treatment model, the cause of the addiction is treated as well. Often, individuals resort to a drug and alcohol addiction to self-treat a mental or physical illness. For example, someone with depression or anxiety may use their drug and alcohol addiction to feel happy or normal. If these individuals try to become sober, they will end up encountering problems because their depression will still remain. For long-term, effective treatment of a drug and alcohol addiction, patients need to get treatment for co-occurring disorders as well. They must be treated for mental health conditions and past trauma that fuel the addiction. Unless all of these problems are treated, the root cause of the addiction will continue to exist. When a drug and alcohol addiction center uses an integrated addiction model, they focus on substance abuse and mental health treatment. Every health professional collaborates to coordinate the treatment for each disorder. As a result, the cause of the addiction is removed so that the addiction can also be...
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...09/06/2012 The clinical practice of psychiatric nursing can occur within an inpatient or outpatient setting. Registered nurses work with individuals, families, groups, and communities; assessing mental health needs, developing diagnoses, plan, implement, and evaluate nursing care. They deal with nursing practices characterized by interventions that promote and foster health, assess dysfunction, assist clients to regain or improve their coping abilities, and prevent further disability. These interventions focus on psychiatric-mental health clients and include health promotion, preventative management, assisting client with self-care activities, administering and monitoring treatment regimens, health education including but not limited to psychoeducation crisis intervention, counseling and case management. This specialty of nursing is one that cares for people of all ages with mental illness or mental distress, such as; Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression, and dementia. In the inpatient setting, the patient population mainly consists of those patients who will benefit more from a structured, safe, and supervised environment with a direct care approach. The RN’s in the inpatient setting are not only involved in care planning, scheduling, and charting, they are constantly supervising, dealing with medication administration, and performing health checks. Outpatient services are provided to those individuals who may be better served by remaining in their home...
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...Integrative Final Project Evon Stevenson CCMH 535 June 9, 2015 Dr. Robin Switzer Integrative Final Project Depression is the fourth leading cause of the worldwide disease burden, and approximately one in four elderly persons may suffer from depression or depressive symptoms (Glasser, Vogels, & Gravdal, 2009). It is a common and disabling disorder that goes undetected, causing unnecessary suffering (Almeida, & Almeida, 1999). This final project will evaluate a new instrument designed to assess depression in adults, ages 65 and older. Research will also be done on different assessment procedures to determine if Emily is clinically depressed or suicidal. Finally, ethical considerations and practice guidelines will be discussed in how to work with Emily and her family. The new instrument is called the Depression Inventory for the Elderly (DIE), it is a self-administered inventory, there are 90 items relating to such depressive symptoms as withdrawal, depressed mood, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, difficultly making decisions, vegetative functions, self-evaluation and interpersonal behaviors. The test takes 35 minutes to administer. The scoring uses a five-point scale of distress ranging (0-4), from “not at all” (0) to “extremely” (4). DIE yields raw and T scores for the Total Score and Primary Dimension Scores. The results are hand scored; T scores above 65 on the Total Score and the Primary Dimensions are considered in the “clinical range.” The normative...
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...University of Phoenix Material Week 1 Health Care Terms Worksheet Understanding health care terms is a prerequisite for both academic and professional success. This assignment is intended to ensure you understand some of the basic terms used in this course. Complete the worksheet according to the following guidelines: In the space provided, write each term’s definition. You must define the term in your own words. In the space provided after each term’s definition, use the term in a sentence as it applies to the health care industry. You may wish to consider the following: o How has it influenced heath care? o What role has the term played as health care developed over the years? Save the completed worksheet as a Microsoft® Word document with your name in the file name. Submit the file to your facilitator. Submitted by: [Tarnesha Cook.] |Term |Definition |Use the term in a sentence as it applies to the health care | | | |industry. | |Example: Electronic |Electronic health records are digital forms of |My doctor entered the diagnosis into his laptop and told me that | |health records |entering and storing patient information. |the information would go into my electronic health record. | |HIPAA |HIPAA...
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...Staffing on the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit at the University of Virginia Hospital University of Virginia School of Nursing Margaret Halladay, Lillian McDonough, Chelsea Bateman, Olivia Robison, Elizabeth Whitsett, Hannah Knabe, Janie Rhodes, and Fangzhong Luo On our honor, as UVA students, we have neither given nor received aid on this assignment. Margaret Halladay, Lillian McDonough, Chelsea Bateman, Olivia Robison, Elizabeth Whitsett, Hannah Knabe, Janie Rhodes, and Fangzhong Luo Introduction The nursing students working on 5E, the psychiatric unit at the University of Virginia, identified patient safety as a clinical problem related to inadequate staffing. Previous research revealed that 63% of the staff on this unit identified that inadequate staffing greatly affected patient safety. In order to research this issue further, the nursing students developed a follow-up survey that would help to identify the aspects of patient safety that are most affected. By understanding which aspects of patient safety create an issue on this unit, the group will develop an intervention with increasing safety as the expected outcome. Safety on this unit is difficult to measure because the unit does not face the same problems that staff encounter on Medical Surgical Units. One way to measure safety on 5E is to review the number of patient falls. Data was obtained that revealed in November of 2012, 5E reported the most falls of any unit in the hospital. Other safety markers...
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...Working on an acute inpatient psychiatric unit in the City Health Care System is not a job for the faint of heart. On a daily basis nurses have to choose between whether a patient should be left alone to commit, self-harm, harm to others or be place in four points restraint. This ethical dilemma can lead to several hard consequences. The primary nurse rapport that was built with the patient has now been diminish the patient trust no-ones and continues to decompensate. In my conversation with some of the patients in regards to care and treatment, proved that the health care system that was supposed to help and protect this population failed in such endeavors. This system was cited by many to be broken, cruel and misrepresented. One patient quoted “being in restraint reminds me of my miserable past, my stepdad got revenge by tying me to my bed as a form of punishment for standing up to him whenever he physically abuses my mother.” In my capstone project I will try to provide an alternate to the frequent use of restraint by designing and incorporating music as an outlet for expression. In this project I will try to show the effect therapeutic music and involving the patient in the selection process can reduce the violence, self- harm and subsequently the ultimate use of four- point restraints. Music is an ancient art that has soothed minds for centuries. Music helps people regain inner peace and is the voice that binds people together. It has been used to treat the sick since...
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...reducing pain, distress and fatigue. HT purportedly supports the body’s natural healing process and enhances the function of the immune system (Wong, Ghiasuddin, Kimata, Patelesio, & Siu, 2012, pg.1).” The goal of Therapeutic/Healing Touch is to restore harmony and balance to individuals energy systems, which provides the opportunity to self-heal (Wong et al., 2012, pg.27).This paper explores research conducted on the effects of Healing Touch on patients with cancer, pain as and well as other effects on their mental health and the need to further research into the effects of Healing Touch on multiple health care groups. Literature Review In Wong’s study of “The Impacts of Healing Touch on Pediatric Oncology Patients”, it was found that Healing Touch has an extremely positive effect. This study evaluated the feasibility of administering Healing Touch in pediatric oncology inpatient and outpatient...
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...more research into etiological factors of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa Psychological Factors Because anorexia nervosa was observed primarily in girls approaching puberty, early psychoanalytic theories linked the symptoms to an unconscious aversion to sexuality. By maintaining a childlike body, the patient avoids the anxiety associated with developing into a mature sexual being Environmental Factors The Western cultural ideal that equates feminine beauty to tall, thin models has received much attention in the media as an etiology for the eating disorders. Individuals with the binge-purge type of anorexia nervosa may present with severe electrolyte imbalance (as a result of purging) and enter the health care system through admission to an intensive care unit The patient with anorexia will be severely underweight and may have growth of fine, downy hair (lanugo) on the face and back Thoughts and...
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...clinic states that “Although antidepressants may not cure depression, they can reduce your symptoms” (mayoclinic). With this being said, it is not possible for the antidepressants to cure people, however; the case of the matter is that when an individual has depression, or bi-polar disorder, the disorder is caused by a “chemical imbalance” (webmd.com). Antidepressants affect how the neurotransmitters work. Neurotransmitters are brain chemical that send out information. The chemicals may include “serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine” (webmd.com). Under the umbrella of antidepressants are Reuptake Inhibitors, which are SSRIs, SNRIs, and NDRIs. “The process in which neurotransmitters are naturally reabsorbed back into nerve cells in the brain after they are released to send messages between nerve cells” (webmd.com). Reuptake inhibitors are used to stop the messages that are being sent. The SSRIs are the most common antidepressants. The SNRIs “are among the newer types of antidepressant” (webmd.com). As the name implies, “they block the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine” (webmd.com). As for the NDRIs, they present only one drug and that Wellbutrin which affects dopamine and norepinephrine. Those are...
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...2004) Most are unemployed, homeless and have isolated themselves from others and are less likely to seek care because of an underlying stigma of negative attitudes society has toward these people. (Manderschied, PHD et al., 08/09/2010) VA Medical Center The VA Medical Center is a government funded operation that offers support to our Veterans and their dependants, surviving spouse, child or parent of a deceased Veteran, Member of the uniformed services and National Guard members present or former. They include inpatient and outpatient care and 24/7 phone in hotlines. (“Benefits“, 2010) • PTSD • Prevention service • Substance abuse • Depression • Military sexual trauma • Suicide Strengths: The VA offers easy access to resources that meet the veteran’s specific needs at little or no cost. Weaknesses: This is only available to Veterans and their families. West Yavapai Guidance Clinic The West Yavapai Guidance Clinic is a local program that provides both inpatient and outpatient programs for adults with mild to moderate mental illnesses and is funded through contracts with the coping techniques. (“Programs and services“, 2010) Strengths: The program is available to low income people. Weaknesses: This is a county and state run program and budget cuts put restraints on available resources. Decision Point Center Decision Point Center offers inpatient programs to deal with chronic relapse behaviours, substance abuse disorders, mental health issues, compulsive...
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...Introduction: I visited The Centers of Marion County Mental Health, which is a facility that treats mental health patients as well as patients that need detoxification services. The facility has both in-patient and out-patient programs that counsel and treat both adults and children that deal with mental health diagnosis such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression, and much more. The mission of the centers is to “offer a wide variety of behavioral health care services designed to help people of all ages reach their highest level of functioning.” (The Centers Web Site) Services Acute Care Services The facility offers acute care services. The acute care ward includes 24 hour assessment services, inpatient crisis stabilization (for adults and children), and detoxification. Inpatient crisis stabilization services provides short-term inpatient care for those experiencing acute emotional disturbances. Treatment may consist of medication, as well as individual and group counseling. Detoxification services consist of inpatient and outpatient detoxification treatment for alcohol and drugs. Referral for longer term residential treatment is provided where needed. Adolescent Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Services The Centers’ Adolescent Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Facility is a patient- centered, holistic model where youth, ages 13-17 and their families receive individual and group ...
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...Community Health Nursing SZT Task 2 My own perceptions about quality of life have affected my care for patients in end of life situations. I believe more of quality than quantity, several of my family members have died from cancer and secondary effects of treatment of the disease process. Three of my four grandparents have died from terminal cancer and it has taught me that the patient has to be an active part of the decision making for care. One of my grandfather’s chose not to receive any further treatment options other than palliative care after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s nodular lymphoma with metastasis to his liver and lungs. He chose this option to enjoy the remaining amount of life with his twelve grandchildren and wife. The physicians gave him limited experimental options for treatment with no surgical resolve and he asked the important question for him at the time. Will it prolong my life at the same quality that I have now? The physicians told him that it would probably prolong his life but much of it would be in hospitals and with progressed illness due to the treatments. This led to his choice for palliative care and he lived an additional three years. We enjoyed all of the time we had together and we as a family supported his decision. My other grandfather chose to pursue all of the medical options available to treat his Hodgkin’s lymphoma that was caught in the very early stages. He enjoyed a very long life to the age of ninety-two and survived the disease...
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...needs that substance to function normally. Psychological dependence is when a person uses a substance to feel the effect it produces, but their body is not dependent on it. An individual may have biological and psychological characteristics that make them vulnerable to substance abuse. Biological characteristics include genes, gender, and ethnicity. Scientists estimate that genetic factors account for about 40-60 percent of a person’s vulnerability to drug addiction (NIH, 2014). Introducing drugs during adolescence also increases vulnerability due to the brain not being able to make wise decisions. Men are also more likely to become substance abusers. Psychological characteristics include personality disorders, such as anxiety, depression, or schizophrenia. When a person has a personality...
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