Elderly Nursing Care - Essay Example

Nursing Nursing Question Effective discharge of an elderly patient should commence immediately the patient is admitted.This is because a number of options have to be taken into consideration to determine the best option out of the many options. All the proceedings relating to the discharge should be executed in a co-operative and open manner. For the case of Mrs. Hold, there should be an open deliberation involving Mrs. Hold, her family members, and the various health care professionals such as nurses, social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapist, and as well as speech therapist. During the discharge preparation, an assessment of her recovery status should be carried out to determine the support and the level of care required during her discharge and after her discharge. A number of home care and support services are available to assist the older persons to maintain social contact. For instance, we have the home care packages. The home care package is a personalized and organized package of clinical services, support services, care services, and as well as other services that may be deemed essential for an elderly. Another home care and support service for the elderly is the community nursing. This service is availed to older persons in order to restore health while at the same time maintaining independence of the elderly person. We also have day clubs for the elderly. Day clubs provide social, mental and physical activities tailored for the benefits of the older and isolated persons (Glanz, 1998). Question 2 Urinary incontinence arises when the usual process that stores and passes urine gets disrupted. Urinary incontinence may happen due to several reasons. Equally, some factors are known to increase the chances of one developing the condition. Urinary incontinence can be a short-term problem or a long-term problem depending on its cause. Some possible causes of urinary incontinence are certain medication, bladder damage during surgery, age, fluid intake, bladder fistula, certain injuries, and among many other causes. For the case of Mrs. Munyarryun, the probable causes of her urinary incontinence could be age, bladder fistula, and excessive fluid intake, and maybe spinal cord injury. Grounding on the argument that her urinary incontinence condition could be as a result age, the best advice to offer to her is to seek medical attention for assessment purposes to determine the exact cause of the condition (Rosdahl and Kowalski, 2008). The best patient education for a person with urinary incontinence is the one that would boost self esteem. A number of individuals with urinary incontinence refrain from seeking medical assistance because of low esteem. Boosting the patient self esteem a crucial step when assisting the patient to cope with the condition and to openly seek medication attention. Question 3 A number of reasons cause people to change behavior. Dementia occurs because of alterations taking place within the brain of an individual and thus affecting the behavior, mood, and memory of that person. The developing of dementia causes the affected person to change his or her behavior. The person may become irritating, confusing and unmanageable. At times the behavior depicted by the affected person may be as a result of the alteration taking place within the brain of that person. At other times the behavior depicted may be as a result of change of environment, medication, and health. For the case of Mr. Konarski, a 73 year man with dementia of Alzheimer type the unusual agitation and restlessness could be as a result of medication side effect. This deduction is based on the fact that Mr. Konarski has osteoarthritis in both knees and ankles, and he also has hypertension, all of which are managed by medication. Another probable cause of his behavior change could be pain. Equally, lack of exercise could also be a cause of his behavior change (Regnard, 2003). Question 4 Validation therapy Being a caregiver to a person with dementia is like being presented to a completely new world – a world of illusion. A caregiver to a person with dementia has to device ways and means of managing the challenging behaviors associated with dementia. One of the most effective therapies known is the validation therapy. The validation therapy was coined by Naomi Feil to assist dementia caregivers to hold dialogues with their clients or people with dementia for that case. The validation therapy is grounded on the aspect of acknowledging the beliefs, values and realities of the person with dementia. Actually, the key term here is to ‘validate’ which implies to accept or to concur (Biernacki, 2007). For the case of Mr. Lusk, a 69 years old man with Dementia, her wife Mrs. Lusk can use validation therapy to manage Mr. Lusk challenging behaviors. Here is a typical example of a conversation between Mr. Lusk and Mrs. Lusk outlining Mrs. Lusk use of validation therapy. Mr. Lusk: “I have to watch my team win today.” Mrs. Lusk: “Of course your team will win today.” Mr. Lusk: “And that why I used to support this team.” Mrs. Lusk: “And you are really a champion.” Mr. Lusk: “And where are my car keys?” Mrs. Lusk: “They must be within.” Question 5 Restraints Restraints refer to techniques that are employed by skilled caregivers to limit or stop the patient movement. In most cases, restraints are used without the approval of the patient. Restraints are used to aid the process of care giving or at times to protect the patient against harming himself/herself or even harming others. There are three major types of restraints used to restrain patients: physical restraints, chemical restraint, and seclusion. Physical restraints are used to limit movement of specific parts of the body, for instance, legs or arms. Chemical restraints are used to calm a patient who is violent. Chemical restraints are usually given to the patient inform of an injection or pills. Seclusion is used to restrict the movement of the patient from one place to another and it involves putting the patient in a locked room. The three major restraint alternatives that could be used on aged care practice are “… vests, jackets, and bands with connected straps that are tied to the bed, chairs, or wheelchairs to keep the patient in one place (Burton and Ludwig, 2014 p. 237). References Biernacki, C. (2007). Dementia: Metamorphosis in care. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons. Burton, M., & Ludwig, L. J. M. (2014). Fundamentals of nursing care: Concepts, connections & skills. Glanz, B. A. (1998). Care packages for the home: Dozens of ways to regenerate spirit where you live. Kansas City, Mo: Andrews McMeel Pub. Regnard, C. F. B. (2003). Helping the patient with advanced disease: A workbook. Abingdon: Radcliffe Medical. Rosdahl, C. B., & Kowalski, M. T. (2008). Textbook of basic nursing. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Read More