...Malnutrition among the Elderly Nursing 408 Malnutrition among the Elderly Introduction According to research published in the May issue of the Annals of Epidemiology, in a nation where people die from complications of too much food, some die from having too little (Lee & Berthelot, 2010). Although malnutrition is often thought of as a killer in the developing world, it's also a problem for the elderly in the United States. In this paper, I will discuss multiple concepts related to malnutrition among the elderly, and how this topic relates to epidemiology. First, I will define and describe malnutrition among the elderly. Second, I will explore the steps and methods of epidemiology related to my chosen topic of malnutrition among the elderly. Third, I will converse about the epidemiological triangle, and the type of epidemiology used for my chosen topic. Fourth, I will discuss how the characteristics of the elderly population influence vulnerability. Fifth, I will define how cultural considerations may impact health status, and any ethical or legal considerations. Last, I will explain the relationship of the malnutrition to various levels of prevention. Researchers from Louisiana State University examined data from 3,141 counties and older adult malnutrition mortality using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. According to CDC data, between 2,000 and 3,000 older adults die from malnutrition each year (Lee & Berthelot, 2010). Trevor Rowe once said, “Unless...
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...Evidence Based Nursing Practice Morise Oluwole Walden University Nurs 4000- Research and Scholarship for Evidence -Based Practice September 6, 2015 PRESSURE ULCERS An essential part of nursing care of hospitalized patients is skin integrity maintenance. As markers of the values or products of care most affected by the assessment and interventions delivered by nurses, the rate of PUs is being screened thoroughly now than ever before (Manning, 2015). Pressure ulcers (PUs) are preventable, but PU rates persist to increase disturbingly fast, according to an article by Gary and Hampton published in 2015, the incidence of PUs has increased in the US between 1995 and 2008. The purpose of this paper is to review the incidence of PUs and how to prevent its occurrence and nurses’ responsibility. Practice Setting Problem Pressure ulcer occurs when part of the skin and the tissues underneath are impaired as a result of being placed under enough pressure to impair blood supply. Immobility-related pressure ulcers are defined as localized areas of tissue damage that develops when soft tissue is compressed between a bony prominence and an external surface for a prolonged time. The most common sites were the sacrum, the heel, the ischium and the trochanter. Pressure is where the weight of the body squeezes the tissues between a bony prominence (such as heel, elbow, sacrum or ischials etc) and a hard surface (such as bed, chair or, in the case of heels, the floor). There are four...
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...* Difference in Competencies of Nursing Degrees: Associates vs. Baccalaureates DIFFERENCES IN COMPETENCIES OF NURSING DEGREES: ASSOCIATES VS. BACCALAUREATES The progression of nursing was basically originated among women. After all, women were considered to be the caretakers and the nurturer’s of one’s family. Decades ago, nursing was not even considered as a career. Nursing was considered to be a job that was undesirable and unwanted. There was no education for nurses until Florence Nightingale created “Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London in 1860” (Cresaia & Friberg, 2011, pg. 4). Today, there are different degrees that may be obtained through the educational profession of nursing, The Associates Degree of Nursing (ADN) and the Baccalaureates Degree of Nursing (BSN). There are differences in acquiring each degree just like there is a difference in competencies between the two. When a student decides to go into the program of nursing, that student will have to choose between the two degrees by learning about various education requirements * Not yet rated Anonymous - 10 minutes later In the United States, there is a plethora of job opportunities available for nurses. This can be attributed to the increasing need for medical assistance in response to the burgeoning number of aging people. Hence, many aspiring nurses deem time to be at a premium when it comes to nursing studies. One of the fastest ways to get quality education...
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...WORD COUNT 4399 The assignment will discuss a critical incident from a nursing management perspective, being an admission assessment experienced during placement. It is not a care study. There will be an overview of the nurse-managers responsibilities during the admission assessment and attention drawn to local and government policy. Particular consideration is given to risk assessment, Essence of Care (DoH 2001) in respect of the Waterlow Pressure Damage Assessment (1985), pressure sores, nutritional screening and delegation. Other issues considered will be communication, partnership working, the therapeutic relationship, and the nurse as an agent of change. Findings will be supported by literature. Identifying factors have been changed to respect patient confidentiality. Mary had no previous psychiatric history. She was eighty-four and lived in residential accommodation. She had two adult daughters who were unable to attend Mary’s admission. Prior to admission Mary’s behaviour had changed over several weeks and she had been refusing to get out of bed during the day. During admission she showed occasional signs of confusion but was able to give consent. Physically, Mary was in a wheelchair, had a history of falls, pressure damage, skin flaps. and needed full assistance with mobility. My mentor facilitated her admission assessment. I observed this in preparation of undertaking future ones myself whilst under supervision. From a management perspective my mentor who was the...
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...Nightingale Executive Summary Western Governor’s University Nightingale Executive Summary Nightingale Community Hospital is a 180 bed hospital that provides acute care and a range of services to their community. Nightingale has four core values that consist of safety, community, teamwork, and accountability. Communication is a key concept in achieving and defining those values. According to the National Patient Safety Goal Data in regards to communication for Nightingale Community Hospital there is not consistency and goals are not being met for the following: reporting critical results within 60 minutes as evidenced by documentation, verbal orders/read-backs, unacceptable abbreviations, and time out hospital wide. Critical Results Within 60 Minutes Nightingale Hospital has showed variations in compliance with reporting critical results within 60 minutes for the months of January through December. Compliance went from 63% in January to 80% in December. In between this time there have been significant variances. As noted there from the data there was only 56% and 57% compliance for the months of June and July. Reporting of Critical Results with 60 minutes should be at 100% compliance. Verbal Orders/Read-Backs The ED met 100% compliance with verbal order/read-back audits for the fiscal year to date. Ortho is at 62% compliance. The other departments at Nightingale Hospital are ranging from 91% to 99%. For JCAHO standards the departments should be at 100%. ...
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...Nursing Professionalism: Improving Education of Nurses on the topic of Breastfeeding NUR 3100 Professor Garcia Abstract Without breastfeeding, an infant looses valuable health and nutritional benefits. The mother also has the potential to develop serious complication derived from labor. Through adequate education nurses, become more competent in encouraging and educating new mothers to breastfeed. The purpose of this paper is to explore and define the themes, roles and philosophy of Aurora University’s School of Nursing. These themes, roles and philosophies are important because they give nurses’ knowledge for which to base their professional careers on. With this base nurses are better prepared to educate the community of women on breastfeeding. Nursing Professionalism: Improving Education of Nurses on the topic of Breastfeeding In the professional nursing field nurses are expected to carry out the philosophies, themes, and roles of the nursing field. Aurora University’s School of Nursing outlines the importance of the themes, roles and philosophy so their students can one day provide patients with exemplary care. Without fully understanding the themes and roles of nurses, students will not be able to provide competent care. The roles of a nurse can be applied in many areas. One area in particular is in educating women about breastfeeding. In order for nurses to fully educate new mothers about breastfeeding, nurses must first have adequate education themselves...
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...health issues of our century. The rate of childhood obesity has increased alarmingly, with the number of obese children under five globally standing at over 42 million today. Approximately 35 million of obese children are living in the developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) children who are obese and overweight are very likely to stay obese into their adulthood; further, they stand a high chance of developing non communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease while they are still young (Cheng, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to highlight the gravity of childhood obesity based on statistics and the health effects that the issue has on the children and impacts in the society. Further, the study will develop a health advocacy plan for the problem. Review laws, regulations, and ethical issues that could impact health advocacy plan in regards to childhood obesity. Population Health Issue and Population Affected Childhood obesity has spread to global dimensions and is progressively affecting many low- and middle-income countries, and particularly those that are domiciled in urban settings. In the US alone, one in every five children is obese or overweight; this number is on the rise. Although weight problems can be traced back to the family genealogy, however, this is not all children who come from families that have a known problem of obesity will become overweight. Children whose parents and siblings are...
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...A written assignment that evaluates comprehensive approaches to nursing assessment for an older person with multiple health problems. The account should reflect on how the multidisciplinary team and other agencies including the family, may contribute to these assessment approaches. Particular attention should be paid to national policies in this area and evidence of best practice. The patient that will be discussed within this assignment is a 70 year old male admitted to hospital following a stroke. Pressure ulcer risk assessments and nutritional risk assessments will be discussed within this assignment looking at how they are used in the assessment of an older people with multiple health problems. A stroke occurs when there has been a disturbance or cut off of blood flow within the brain, this disturbance damages or destroys brain cells preventing these cells from doing their job. Damage to the brain causes problems with bodily functions and can also affect mental processes (Stroke Association, 2010). A stroke can cause sudden weakness or paralysis which often only affects one side of the body and is one of the most common symptoms of a stroke. It can also cause swallowing difficulties (dysphagia), speech and language (dysphasia) can be affected also, patient may have difficulty in understanding and basic things such as reading and writing following stroke. Problems with eyesight, perception and interpretation, mental processes, bladder and bowels, mood swings, sensation and...
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...Individual Case Study Database Patient Profile D.K. is 78 year old female who is quite pleasant. D.K. was admitted into Healthsouth on November 3, 2008. D.K.’s admitting diagnoses are Debility, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Triple Arthrodesis on the right hind foot, GERD, Constipation, Hypertension, and Osteoporosis. I was the student nurse assigned to care for D.K. on clinical day November 10, 2008. Communication D.K.’s primary language is English, her speech is within normal limits and she had no difficulty communicating. The therapeutic communication techniques I used in communicating with the client were touch, eye contact, and open ended questions. The touch communication technique was very effective because it showed the client compassion towards the vulnerability the client was experiencing in the hospital. The client had excoriated skin located on her pubis, the primary nurse wanted the client to leave her undergarments off in order to let the skin to heal through air. The client was extremely vulnerable and a simple touch to the client’s hand gave the client a sense of compassion. I also used eye contact, maintaining eye-contact during conversation shows respect and willingness to listen. (Potter, P.A. & Perry, A.G., 2009, p. 345). This technique gave the client a feeling of comfort that someone was listening to her which prompted the to client open up and spoke to me about her life and her family. Using eye-contact with the client gave her a sense of trust in sharing...
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...Abstract While attending clinical at DMH I used one of my patients to develop a case study. My case study will require me to use the skills I have been practicing to make a connection between medical and nursing problems. Some of these skills include assessment, rationales, critical thinking, and problem solving. In this paper I will go over my patient’s health history, lab tests, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and her medications. I will also provide a detailed nursing assessment, a detailed nursing process and explain reasons and rationales about my decisions involving her care. I. Health History Client Health and History: On April 9, 2014, at Decatur Memorial Hospital, my client was a 76 old Caucasian female with the initials DK. She was born in the small town of Olney, Illinois. Her husband explained that it is about a two and a half hour drive to Decatur Memorial Hospital from their hometown and this was not their first trip here. DK and her husband have been married for 56 years and have three children: two daughters and a son. She worked for McDonalds for 12 years and then retired to be a stay at home mom. My patient was admitted to the hospital based on an abnormal finding from a CAT scan. They CAT scan showed a mass in her right kidney. The patient described that she had no idea of the mass. She went in for a CAT scan because of blood in her urine and experience of her previous diagnosis of kidney cancer, and was informed of the findings. In June of 2013, she had...
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...1.0 INTRODUCTION The purpose of the current paper is to critically review the contributions that two of these studies have made to our understanding of societal perceptions, social support and how it affects breastfeeding attitudes and outcomes. (Kronborg and Vaeth 2004) Defined Social support as the mother's perceptions in relation to the support she receives from peers, family and the society at large. The first paper to be reviewed is written by (Leeming et al. 2013) and entitled 'Socially sensitive lactation: Exploring the social context of breastfeeding'. The second paper is written by (Scott et al. 2015) and entitled 'A comparison of maternal attitudes to breast feeding in public and the association with breastfeeding duration in four European countries: Results of a cohort study. The current paper will summarise the arguments, review the subject matter in both papers and compare and contrast the different methodological approaches taken by the authors with comments on the appropriateness of each method chosen. It concludes by a justified opinion of the subject. (Li et al. 2008), stated that discomfort with the idea of breastfeeding is one of the concerns for some women choosing not to breastfeed or incorporating shorter duration of breastfeeding (Stuebe and Bonuck 2011). Decades of research confirm the benefits of breastfeeding for infants and for maternal health (Cricco 2007) (Tarrant, Dodgson and Wu 2014) (Ingram et al. 2008). 1.1 ARGUMENTS (Leeming et al. 2013)...
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...Introduction Professional presence is an analysis of our past, present and future. It is a construct of our knowledge, our influences, our self-awareness and practices. It comes down to how each of us understands what it means to be human and how to care for one another. This is always evolving based on new experiences and knowledge. Through looking over time at the view point of humans, to personality tests, to personal development and lastly looking at optimal healing environments this paper will construct my professional presence and look at ways to improve my ability to care for others. A1. Models of health and healing: A comparison of 2 Eras In Dr. Dossey’s “A Conversation About the Future of Medicine” he discusses his theory of the progress of health and healing. He looks at how medicine changed from the 1860s the 21st century based on how the individual was viewed. He shows how the individual progressed from being looked at as solely a physical being with physical ailments to more modern views where we treat the person has a whole including their emotions and “spirit” or “soul”. He broke this progression down into 3 parts which were called “Eras”. An overview of the Era’s will show how medicine has progressed to look at the patient as whole not just a body with symptoms. Era I, also called “mechanical medicine”, began in the 1860s. In this era Dossey shows how patients were treated in a purely physical nature. He states that the, “prevailing view that health and...
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...Student at a Time Disclaimer Academic programmes, requirements, courses, tuition, and fee schedules listed in this catalogue are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the Management and Board of Trustees of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT). The COSTAATT Catalogue is the authoritative source for information on the College’s policies, programmes and services. Programme information in this catalogue is effective from September 2010. Students who commenced studies at the College prior to this date, are to be guided by programme requirements as stipulated by the relevant department. Updates on the schedule of classes and changes in academic policies, degree requirements, fees, new course offerings, and other information will be issued by the Office of the Registrar. Students are advised to consult with their departmental academic advisors at least once per semester, regarding their course of study. The policies, rules and regulations of the College are informed by the laws of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. iii Table of Contents PG 9 PG 9 PG 10 PG 11 PG 11 PG 12 PG 12 PG 13 PG 14 PG 14 PG 14 PG 14 PG 15 PG 17 PG 18 PG 20 PG 20 PG 20 PG 21 PG 22 PG 22 PG 22 PG 23 PG 23 PG 23 PG 23 PG 24 PG 24 PG 24 PG 24 PG 25 PG 25 PG 25 PG 26 PG 26 PG 26 PG 26 PG 26 PG 26 PG 27 PG 27 PG 27 PG 27 PG 27 PG 27 PG 28 PG 28 PG 28 PG 28 PG 28 PG 33 PG 37 Vision Mission President’s Welcome Institutional Profile Management Structure...
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...Thereof Euthanasia according to the medical dictionary is the act or practice of killing hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy and/or allowing said person to die by taking less than complete medical measures to prolong life. This type of act is also known as mercy killing or assisted suicide. Individuals who have reached the point when they feel they have no other options have often chosen to look into euthanasia as a way out. Families who see their loved one suffering have approached heath care professionals to act on their behalf and end the pain by euthanizing them. Each instance creates an ethical dilemma for the individual, the health care provider, the family, and other loved ones. Nursing Obligations According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), Nurses are not expected to participate in active euthanasia, as this violates the nurses’ code of ethics. As nurses we have the obligation to provide timely, humane, comprehensive, and compassionate end-of-life care (ANA, 1985). The code for nurses affirms that respect for persons “extends to all who require the services of the nurse for the promotion of health, the prevention of illness, the restoration of health, the alleviation of suffering and provision of supportive care of the dying. The nurse does not act deliberately to terminate life of any person” (ANA, 1985). However, ANA recognizes the patients’ right to self-determination, every patient has the legal and moral...
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...Running head: EUTHANASIA Euthanasia: A Silent Plea for Mercy Shannon Curry University of Southern New Hampshire Professor Henson Tuesday December 23, 2014 Euthanasia: A Silent Plea for Mercy All over the world there are amazing technological advances in medicine happening every day, despite that there are neonatal patients suffering from painful life limiting medical conditions that have no treatment or cure. “Advances in medical technology make it possible to extend life, at times, the focus on ‘cure at all costs’ overshadows the obligation to provide dignified, humane, and compassionate care” (Rushton, 2005). In an effort to provide legal, humane and compassionate end-of-life care to infants, the Dutch developed the Groningen Protocol in 2003. Developed in collaboration with the prosecutor’s office, the Groningen Protocol was designed to guide a transparent medical and legal decision making process for parents and their doctors considering neonatal euthanasia (Catlin, 2008; Petrou, 2005). Neonatal euthanasia is the practice of hastening the death of a terminal ill newborn in an effort to relive their suffering. Most countries current laws make it illegal for the neonatal population to benefit from euthanasia. Research is suggestive that albeit in secret neonatal euthanasia maybe disguised and illegally practiced around the world. Legalizing neonatal euthanasia would not only allow transparency...
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