Nursing Paper Example
It is a common tendency in the nursing practice to have difficulties in providing the primary care, diagnosing and treating patients after vehicle accidents. It is especially hard to collect the trustworthy empirical data without knowing their medical history or when dealing with the mentally ill patients unable to adequately assess the situation and give the reliable information. The paper aims to discuss such a medical case and come up with the recommended screening and a plan of care for the client.
The window comes from a family that has a history of dementia and heart disease. However, this may not be initially detected since she is here for a general check-up after suffering a motor vehicle accident. Therefore, the preliminary checkup would entail checking for fractures in her body, especially the head, to determine if there are any broken bones or hurt areas needing immediate intervention (Gerstein & Haynes, 2001). A test on her blood pressure and heart rate should also be carried out to determine her circulatory and cardiovascular systems are in order. Because of her age and the evidence of HTN and DM, blood tests, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram or echocardiogram, stress test and coronary angiogram, A1C and a CT scan with Myocardial biopsy should also be made to identify the condition of her heart and the whole organism more precisely (DeSilva, 2013).
Since she is also vague about the circumstances surrounding the accident and as such, thorough examination via puzzles and questionnaires should be administered to find out whether she is suffering from dementia which runs in her family or whether it is a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the motor vehicle accident (MVA) (Beck & Coffey, 2007). In case the practitioner discovers that the patient is suffering from dementia, a plan of care for them has to be put in place in case this proliferates to Alzheimer’s disease. At her age, the patient may be exhibiting early signs of Alzheimer’s which are characterized by the loss of memory (Winbolt, 2015). However, at this stage, the patient may be suffering from frontal, temporal dementia which is common to the people of her age (DeSilva, 2013). The memory is relatively preserved and this is why the circumstances of the accident are vague.
In conclusion, for a patient suffering from these conditions, intensive care is essential to ensure that they do not overlook any medication or prescription provided to them. Therefore, the nurse practitioner should provide a plan that involves subsequent confining the patient to a care home where the medications for hypertension, diabetes, dementia and heart disease will be administered and supervised.
References
Beck, J. G., & Coffey, S. F. (2007). Assessment and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder after a motor vehicle collision: Empirical findings and clinical observations. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(6), p. 629-639. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.38.6.629.
DeSilva, R. (2013). Heart Disease. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood.
Gerstein, H. C., & Haynes, R. B. (2001). Evidence-Based Diabetes Care. Hamilton, Ontario: B.C. Decker.
Winbolt, M. (2015). Murna Downs And Barbara Bowers: Excellence in dementia care. Dementia, 14(5), p. 708-709. doi:10.1177/1471301215594538.