Death by Stroke

It’s the nurse's duty to advocate for her patient and to make sure that the patient understands and ask questions if necessary.

Patient-Centered Care: Patients should have control over the care they receive. By involving patients and family members in their care it will result in better health outcomes. “The response of health care professionals to patients’ questions, concerns, and feedback directly influences how comfortable patients are with speaking up” (Spath, 2011, p. 236). As nurses we need to respect our patients’ wishes and give each

Strokes are not isolated to the United States. It is reported that worldwide nearly 15 million people suffer from a stroke every year (“Stoke,” n.d.). The idea of home therapy for stroke rehabilitation has appeared in other countries as well. A group of researchers in Spain looked into the effectiveness of occupational therapy for individuals affected by a stroke. They focused specifically on home based therapy. The researchers sought out occupational therapy programs which “aimed to improve the participation of the individual in significant functions, activities, and tasks” and how that translated into a home program (Ávila et al., 2014). The study included twenty-three participants who had suffered a stroke. The Barthel Index (Fig.3) was

As nurses, we are charged with providing the best possible care to our patients, meeting their needs and working towards positive outcomes. Nurses work with all ages, races, disease processes, every medication from A-Z, independently or with a team. Nurses take orders from physicians face-to-face, over the phone, and in writing. It may be shorthand, misspelled, or pronounced like you have never heard, and you must clarify it with the physician, the pharmacy, the patient’s chart, and the drug book before you administer. Some patient’s curse us, some praise us; We cry with

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the care given to a stroke patient with complex care needs in a community setting. A critical analysis of the nurse’s role in care delivery will be explored. This essay will focus on three key aspects of care, which are mobility, nutrition, and cognitive impairment and a rationale for the chosen needs will be given. The author will evaluate and analyse the chosen nursing care approach utilised and its effectiveness in facilitating the care given. A discussion of the psychological, physiological, and social factors influencing the patients’ needs will follow. Furthermore, the author will identify and explore on health promotion needs relating to the patient. Issues related to Inter-professional working

Lacking explanation or miscommunication for changes in the treatment plan or level of care can cause many medical errors and result in patient harms. There are complaints from patients, and their families regarding nurses do not spend the time to inform them of their daily medical conditions and help them to understand their diseases,

J. (2015). Addressing the burden of stroke caregivers: a literature review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 24(17-18), 2376-2382. doi:10.1111/jocn.12884

In professional experience working at a comprehensive stroke center, early intervention in crucial in decreasing the amount of deficits stroke victims acquire. As I further my education and professional status in the field of Nurse Practitioner, I will be able to participate in in-depth research related to cerebrovascular accidents and quality patient outcomes.

With the development of the nurses understanding, the nurse will be able to clearly communication across relevant information. This will promote patient participation (Tobiano, Marshall, Bucknall, & Chaboyer, 2016) and empower the patients voice by actively involving them in the decision-making process. Per the Health and Disability Act (1994, as cited in Medical Council of New Zealand, n.d) patients should have their treatment explained to them, including the benefits, risks, alternatives and costs; as well as having the option to change their mind at any time. This all contributes to the development of a partnership and ensures that the patient will cooperate with tasks at hand. However, the lack of communication with the patient regarding their treatment can cause severe anxiety and ultimately a breakdown in the trust between the patient and the nurse. The successful implementation of this in practice can be seen in an observational study conducted by Tobiano et al. (2016).

One of the main reasons post-stroke individuals are at great risk for suicide is depression. related to the physical consequences. As a young independent adult with no physical disabilities before a stroke, it is extremely difficult to overcome the "denial" stage (of the aftermath). If we put ourselves in these patients' shoes, we could understand why depression takes over them and tend to choose suicide as an escape. In younger patients with less severe stroke effects, the risk for suicide is higher the first 5 years after the stroke. Depression in young post-stroke patients, is the main cause of suicide whether they had a history of depression before the stroke or not. Depression, is also the main reason for suicide cases in the older population.

I feel that I am average in how to form follow up questions when talking with a patient. I tend to have an idea what they are trying to explain and then try to direct my questions towards that topic/problem.

Generally, patients experience a reduced ability to perform daily tasks following stroke and must modify their lifestyles accordingly.5 Stroke self-management involves programs to prevent recurrent stroke, strategies to assist in refining the patient’s physical and cognitive ability, increasing social involvement within their community, and altering their domicile environment to improve

Nurse: I understand your confusion. It is a difficult topic to understand. Why don’t I go through it step by step? Please feel free to stop and ask questions or ask me to further clarify.

Oral communication in healthcare is a continuous process and is extremely important for all those involved. Nurses relay relevant information to patients and their family, they are also responsible for updating the physician about the condition of their patients as well as nurse to nurse reporting. This communication is a fundamental part of the nursing process and can result in either quality effective care or ineffective care caused by lack of information. Written communication between the doctors, nurses, patients, and patient families can occur in a number of forms whether handwritten nursing notes or electronic medical records. Both forms are permanent

After the introduction, the nurse should obtain the patients consent and determine how the patient prefers to be addressed as well as gather demographic or biographic information including age and occupation, marital status, religion, etc. Another important factor of communication is asking open-ended questions. These enable the nurse to elicit more information from the patient. After which a focused assessment with specific questions can be asked to clarify previously obtained assessment data, gather missing information about a specific health concern, identify or validate possible nursing diagnoses. According to Lloyd and Craig, summarizing the history back to the patient allows the nurse to be sure he or she has the information correct. According to Macleod’s clinical examination (2005), the history should be done in sequence beginning with the presenting complaint, but says it is not necessary to adhere to this rigidly.