Essay On Patient Assessment And Promotion Of Continence

By carrying out an assessment nurses can identify the causes of problems that require medical involvement. Nettina (2006)

The services will be provided to the clients in the Chicago's northwest suburban community. The main target group would be people who are 18 and older with one or more urinary related issues; including age and postpartum incontinence. The Urinary Continence and Wellness Clinic Services will adopt an approach to service that embraces a philosophy of respect for, and partnership with, people receiving services. A client centered urinary continence service

Assessment tools are used in the care planning process to build up a holistic picture of an individual’s needs. When all the details have been recorded an assessment can be made and suitable care and support can be identified. A few of the assessment tools are information from the individual such as diaries, observations, medical histories and checklists.

As you learned in NR302, before any nursing plan of care or intervention can be implemented or evaluated, the nurse conducts an assessment, collecting subjective and objective data from an individual. The data collected are used to determine areas of need or problems to be addressed by the nursing care plan. This assignment will focus on collecting both subjective and objective data, synthesizing the data, and identifying health and wellness priorities for the person. The purpose of the assignment is twofold.

The first stage of the process is assessment. Roper et al (2001) refer to this process as ‘assessing’ indicating an ongoing activity; this encourages nurses to recognise the on-going nature of this initial phase. The assessing stage includes gathering information about a patient, reviewing this information, identifying actual and potential problems and prioritising (Roper et al 2001). Roper et al (2001) explain the importance for assessing, as early as possible in the patient’s stay. Extensive, in-depth information may not be gathered on an initial assessment, however any information obtained contributes towards individualised care (Roper et al 2001). Ambrose and Wittig (1998) explain that the initial assessment becomes a foundation for ongoing assessing and holistic care. Barrett, Wilson and Woollands (2009) concord with Roper et al and Wittig in that assessing is an ongoing process and elaborate on this explaining that assessment should not be confused with admission. They state “an admission tends to be a one-off process when you first meet the patient, whereas assessment carries on throughout your relationship with the patient” (pg22). Assessment enables the nurse and patient to identify actual and potential problems. Although, some problems can be directly related to biological needs, holistic needs must be considered, i.e. psychological state and cultural/social standing

Nursing process is a systematic process that involves a continuous cycle of five interrelated phases: holistic assessment of a client, nursing diagnoses, nursing care planning, implementation, and evaluation (Wilkinson et al. 2015). It enables nurses to assess the person’s health status and health care needs, to create plans to meet the identified needs, and to provide and evaluate individualised nursing interventions according to the person’s needs (Luxford 2015). The holistic assessment is the first step of the nursing process that includes the collection of subjective and objective data related to the physical, psychological, social, developmental, cultural, and spiritual status of a client (Wilkinson et al. 2015). This comprehensive approach to nursing assessment is essential because it allows nurses to comprehend not only clients’ health status, but also their routines and needs in order to incorporate their life-styles into the care interventions (Luxford 2015). It ultimately enables nurses to provide appropriate quality person-centred care rather than nurse-initiated care (Luxford 2015). Responsibility for holistic nursing assessment is supported by the Registered nurse standards for practice (2016), ‘Standard 4.1: The registered nurse conducts assessments that are holistic as well as culturally appropriate’ (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia [NMBA] 2016, p. 4). This essay will discuss the elements and the importance of holistic assessment in nursing.

The assessment process is the back bone to any package of care and it is vital that it is personal and appropriate to the individual concerned. Although studies have found that there is no singular theory or understanding as to what the purpose of assessment is, there are different approaches and forms of assessment carried out in health and social care. These different approaches can sometimes result in different outcomes.

Incontinence is one of the major problems faced by the elderly. Nurses can play a significant role in discovering continence problems (Lea R.et.al.2007). Urinary incontinence is the unintentional passing of urine. It is a very common problem and is thought to affect more than 50 million people in the developed world.(NHS.UK). To identify the problem and provide necessary treatment at the early stage, a thorough physical assessment is necessary.

Assessment is the accurate collection of comprehensive data pertinent to the patient’s health or the situation (“American Nurses Association,” 2010). Assessment is the first step in the nursing process and the most important. Assessment is the accurate collection of the patient’s health date

The aim of this chapter is to identify various interventions which could be applied by primary health nurses to improve the management of urinary incontinence in the community. The reviewer unmasked various features, one of which being that urinary incontinence is viewed subjectively and attributes are based on individual perceptions through an analysis of the seven articles, (Orrell et al., 2013; Horrocks et al., 2004; Avery et al., 2013; Peters et al., 2003; Tak et al., 2012; Yuan et al., 2009; Yuan et al., 2011). The significance of this is that due to the stigmatisation of the elderly as the majority affected with urinary incontinence, the quality of care provided for them is worse as compared to younger adults (Orrell et al., 2013). From a

General and Family Medicine patients make up the patient population on 8 Bedtower (8BT) at UNC Chapel Hill Hospital. On this 31-bed unit, we have encountered patients whom are incontinent, either urine, stool, or both. Urinary and fecal incontinences are health complications that have a profound impact on an individual’s health, and in particular, their social and psychological well-being. It is a widespread problem in all healthcare settings and incontinence care is a salient task for healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers alike.

Assessment in the nursing process will establish the patients' ongoing needs and provide a quality of care best suited to the individual, to achieve a desirable health outcome.

Differentiating between normal versus abnormal aging can sometimes be difficult. Nurses must be able differentiate these changes so that the patient can be properly be treated. When an older adult comes in with new onset urinary incontinence it must not be overlooked as normal. If a person experiences weakened contractions during urination it can lead to a risk of a urinary tract infection due to post void residual(Touhy & Jett, 2012). Urinary incontinence is not a normal part of the aging process and it can interfere with an individual’s quality of life and it can also be costly (Bradway & Cacchione, 2010). An assessment must be completed and pertinent questions should be asked to further address the issue. Some questions that can be

On 9th of September 2016, I went to my family practice practicum site. Today, I started to collect the subjective and objective data with minimal assistance from my preceptor. At nursing home, we had 2 patients for follow up. Before making plans, we reviewed patients’ labs, history and lists of medications taken by the patient. At nursing home, it is helpful talking to the nurses about the patient situation and if they had any concerns prior to going to the patient room. I found out that while dealing with elderly patient residing in nursing home, often more time is needed to interview and evaluate them. Also, patient should be given time to speak about things of personal importance. Moreover, diagnosis may be complicated and sometimes drugs

Constipation is described as infrequent passing, straining and hardening of stool contents (Lacy et al., 2016; Muller-Lissner et al., 2013). Additionally, constipation causes older adults discomfort and impacts four in five older adults in aged care facilities (McKay, Fravel & Scanlon, 2012). Furthermore, older adults are exposed to risk factors that lead to the development of constipation such as diminished fluid intake, diets that do not contain sufficient fibre, inactivity, medications and medical conditions that may predispose the older adult to constipation (Hunter & Miller, 2016; Lacy et al., 2016).