Nursing for Wellness in Older Adults - Essay Example

            There are two major scores/ instruments for assessing ADL and IADL, namely the Katz ADL (-Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living scale) which involves measuring the ability of a patient to conduct six basic activities which include; dressing, bathing, eating, ability to move from a bed or chair, ability to use the toilet and urinary and fecal incontinence scale and Lawton IADL (Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale which investigates the ability to perform more complex duties done daily.

.           These are the systems used to assess the functional ability of patients in my clinical area. Assessment of functional status is very important because the information obtained helps a nurse or caregiver identifies and detects changes in the functional system and documents the changes. The details show the improvement or decline in health, allowing the caregiver to take necessary measures. (Miller,2009) As people grow older, the ability of their bodies and systems to function well deteriorates. Monitoring it enables early detection of illnesses that may be progressing slowly. I have personally used both methods of assessing functional ability in patients.

            I conducted the Katz-ADL on an elderly patient who was brought into the Emergency room by the neighbors. The 81year old man was found lying on the ground motionless with eyes wide opened and he looked disoriented. They reported having noted a noisy cough from his days before the incident, therefore, an X-ray was ordered for him and it showed that he had pneumonia. It was also noted that his mucous membranes were dry. Due to his confused state and being disoriented, he could not give any history or any further information that would help in diagnosis. Upon admission, I tried to assess his functional abilities but I did not succeed because he was totally disoriented. However, after the admission of drugs and thorough monitoring in the hospital, he got better and that is where I did the assessment of functional status using the Katz ADV scale, and they showed that he required a bit of supervision in most functions-in dressing, moving to and from the bed, going to the toilet and eating. His bowel and urine control was excellent. I began to make regular checks on his abilities and so far, he is doing his day-to-day with minimum supervision.

            This mode has its strengths and limitation. Just like the other methods, it indicates a decline or improvement in health, however; it lacks the ability to detect minute changes observed in patients. This method is important as it creates a universal language about the patient’s status for all caregivers who will interact with the patient due to the simplicity of the method. This was a wonderful experience for me and seeing the patient’s progress through this tool is provides satisfaction for me.