It is important that we recognized these issues while they are still new. I know a few years ago you were encouraged to treat pain more aggressively, and you may be unaware of the dangerous of the medicines you are giving your patients, and your patients are unaware also. It is very important to educate your patients so things don’t…
This assignment focuses on a case study taken from the authors own clinical practice. The legal and professional responsibilities related to therapeutic interventions will be critically explored and the underlying pathophysiology and pharmacology related to the case study discussed. Critical appraisal and reflection will be used to discuss the strategies for the decisions made about the patients’ management. This will be related to the development of the role of the Advanced Nurse Practitioner. The first person will be used with this assignment; this is argued as expectable when…
Pain control is one of the most important goals of end-of-life care and the use of opioids for this purpose is extremely common. It is the nurse’s duty to alleviate pain, and according to Brennan et al. (2007), “The American Medical Association states that physicians have an obligation to relieve pain and suffering, and the American Nurses Association's position is that nursing encompasses […] the alleviation of suffering […]”.If a nurse does not treat pain, it is poor practice that can result in many confrontational effects, such as the patient may refuse care and stop interacting with caregivers. It is the ethical duty of nurses to practice beneficence towards patients and to relieve their pain, and by the principles of nonmaleficence…
The objective of this paper is to provide evidence of the importance of morphine use for patients on hospice. Managing pain with morphine for patients on hospice can be challenging including overcoming the many misconceptions related to morphine. Many families and patients on hospice believe morphine to be the “death drug” however oftentimes the benefits associated with the use of morphine are not adequately explained. A multitude of studies have been published describing the benefits to the patient through the proper administration of morphine. Research supporting this position have been identified by The American Journal of Emergency Medicine (Bounes, Charpentier, Houze-Cerfon, Bellard, & Ducasse, 2007), Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (Bickford, Brewer, Cones, Humes, & Wurzbacher, 2010), Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice – Model and Guidelines (Dang & Dearholt, 2014) and through various reputable sources on the internet.…
Patients often have a limited knowledge of illness and medicine, yet they desire more control over their healthcare. In many healthcare settings, patient care is inconsistent and "patients' quality of life and right to self-determination tend to be ignored" (Bu & Jezewski, 2006, p. 102). Nurses are in a unique position to "support and thereby advocate the patient's interests in the restoration of their health and well-being" (Marshall, 1994, p. 11). However, this is not always put into practice.…
The concepts of this theory are the balance between analgesia and side effects, pain, and side effects themselves. Opioid analgesics often have very unpleasant side effects, so the end result is often patients taking less medication than they actually need, which results in pain not being effectively relieved. The combination of potent analgesics, pharmacological and non-pharmacological adjuvants can allow for the pain relief needed and also help minimize or eliminate unwanted side effects. Nurses can work with the patient to educate them on the side effects of potent medication and help them set realistic goals. This will entail working with both the patient and physician to achieve the results desired.…
Within the dementia care environment, it is my experience that it is often unclear to nursing staff as to appropriate assessment and management of pain for clients in the palliative stage of their illness.…
Caring is behavior that demonstrates compassion and respect for another. Nursing is a nurturing profession and caring is the crucial component of its holistic practice, especially with the seriously ill patient. Holistic nursing care includes healing the mind, body, and soul of the patients. It involves thinking about and helping patients with the effects of illness on the mind, body, emotions, spirituality, religion, and personal relationships. The Student Learning Outcome (SLO) area I chose for this paper is Caring. I will address how to evaluate the effect of caregiver attitudes in the nursing practice environment.…
Pain management is a major concern for nursing care. Not only does controlling pain help the patient rest and heal, it also improves patient satisfaction. Pain management involves more than providing the patient with pain medication, it is an entire nursing process that starts at the time of admission. “A thorough pain history and shared goal setting are critical components of effective pain management that leads to beneficial outcomes” (Glowacki, 2015). Pain history includes past experiences of pain, current and past pain methods that have managed pain effectively, a tolerable level of pain, triggers of pain, and so on. Obtaining this history is imperative for the nurse in order to meet the patient’s pain management goals. This may just be…
The main focus of patient care was to control the patient’s pain. Also the patient experienced nausea, vomiting, and constipation .These symptoms were unwanted side effects of the opioids he was taking. During my placement the condition of the patient worsened. Pain increased, along with the side-effects of the medication taken by the patient. Some of the activities that the patient was able to perform independently became difficult, such as getting to the toilet and maintaining personal hygiene. The patient became restless at night time due to the increase of pain. At this point the amount of opioids taken by the patient was increased by the doctor, so that as well as the medication in the syringe driver the patient could take a set amount of strong opioids when required by mouth to relieve the pain. I will relate this care issue to the research article I have chosen to critique and discuss. These oral opioids where always administrated by his wife. The patient was unable to do it himself due to his physical deteriorated condition. However was always the patient that asked to take the medication when he felt he needed it. I have chosen…
As patient’s advocates, nurses need to provide care that is qualitative, safe and at the same time beneficial to the patients. My patient was a cancer patient that was going through much pain and at the same time, the doctors were worried about the adverse effect of too much pain medication being administered to this patient which is liver damage and dependency on narcotics. On the other hand, the patient’s cancer has advanced to stage II and her chances of survival were very minimal. In this case, palliative care would have been better for the patient but the patient and her family members were still in denial of the outcome of the patient’s condition and refused to accept hospice care. If I did not act the way I did, the hospital would have been reported to the ombudsman and would have been under…
Nursing is one of the most stressful careers in healthcare. Long hours of direct patient care take its toll emotionally and physically. While the profession is rewarding for most, the constant stress can become a catalyst for all kinds of self damaging behaviors. The American Nurses' Association estimates between ten and twenty percent of nurses will abuse drugs within the workplace at some point during his/her career (ANA, 2002). This percentage is similar to that of substance abusers within the general population. Due to the ease of access to narcotics on the job, it can be difficult to recognize a problem in the early stages. Only once the nurse’s activities have been suspected due to medication shortage or job performance problems can intervention be made. Professionals with addiction not only risk harming themselves and their career, but put their patients at an increased unnecessary risk of malpractice.…
First, Masters (2012), in her book ‘Nursing Theories: A framework for professional practice’ describes a person as “individuals, families, communities and other groups who are participants in nursing” (Masters, K, 2012, P3). This statement refers to patients as individuals in need of the care of nurses. In fact, these individuals can have very complex needs and health problems requiring specialized and attentive care to facilitate healing and improvement of their condition. The term patient can represent a multitude of different individuals with different cultures, beliefs and practices concerning medicine, and varied needs/health conditions.…
Pain is a very complex yet personal experience (Lilley, Collins, & Snyder, 2017). That is why patient advocacy is critical in this topic. Nurses need to inform the family members it is not about what they feel rather is more important to consider what the patient feels about his/her pain levels and its management. With education, the nurse can then enlist the help of family members in medication administration. As much as possible we want to incorporate them in the planning and implantation of the patients care plan. We always want to establish a positive and inclusive family environment especially in terminally ill patients. To improve outcomes nurses can also be more vigilant in monitoring of the…
According to the article, “Nurse-Patient Communication Barriers in Iranian Nursing” (Anoosheh et al, 2009) communication is one of the basic social needs of human beings. This article is the description of a study done to better understand the barriers that inhibit nurse-patient communication. Communication is critical in the nursing profession and can be considered a main aspect of nursing care. Patients and families count on nurses to keep them informed, help them feel connected to their physicians and other caregivers, to listen to them, to ease their anxiety, and to protect and watch over them during their healthcare experience. However, many studies (Anoosheh et al. 2009) have shown poor results in the quality of nurse –patient communication. There is the risk that nurses can become focused on tasks, physiological needs of the patient and time management at the expense of psychological needs. I am a firm believer that the psychological aspect of human beings can directly influence our physical state. I agree with the statement in the article that communication can be, “an essential part of nursing care but also as a treatment by itself” (Anoosheh et al. 2009). As I give care in my nursing practice I can improve communication by confirming patient feelings by asking questions such as, “How are you feeling today?” or “How do you feel about your upcoming procedure?”. To help patients know what to expect I can explain what care I will be performing, how long it will take and what their role may be. Another aspect that is necessary for quality patient care is collaborating with the patient by asking questions like, “What can we do better?” and, “How is the treatment working?” These patient centered questions can get patients talking about their thoughts and feelings. With a positive nurse patient relationship, there can be patient and family satisfaction and an environment that supports…