NURSING CASE STUDY

Nursing case study



Nursing case study

Introduction

The present case study refers to the critical situation of a patient who is having issues with his mental state. He went initially through memory assessment tests, which include Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). However, it was diagnosed by psychiatrist that the patient (Jeremy) was having mixed dementia. Psychiatrist identified two major elements of dementia; Alzheimer's disease and Vascular Dementia. The hospital and nursing staff must commit to patients and customers that they shall be treated with respect, digniy and comfort. This requires provision of services and accurate information on timely bases to meet the care services of the patient.

Dementia usually occurs in the elderly. It is known that they are a vulnerable patient population - they are often frail and dependent on informal caregivers for support. It is also known that the nursing staff members, who traditionally provide care for long-term care patients, may lack expertise for providing transitional care for the patients with dementia. Thus, post-acute care patients, who are vulnerable to complications from multiple transitions in care, may not receive the basic care required to prepare them for safe transitions from nursing homes to home. There have been many proposed treatment and programs for the dementia patients' care in the nursing homes. The nurses do not have enough practical experience and knowledge of dealing with older patients with dementia. Therefore, special attention and care is required in handling the older patients (Higginson & Evans, 2010).

This paper discusses the nursing need of special attention and care for the older patients with support of three major sections. In the first section, a nursing problem is identified with a brief explanation of risks posed by the problem to the comfort or dignity of the patient. This section will further discuss nursing care intervention necessary to promote the comfort or dignity of the patient. In the second section, we will be highlighting the concept of empowerment as an initiative by an organization (healthcare) to facilitate patient /or careers. This will be beneficial for developing the self-management skills. In the third section, the major part of discussion will be based on the analysis of a situation of the hospital in relation with care of the patient under the ethical and legal considerations. In the last section, we will be concluding the overall case study along with what is learnt during the study and how the study would help in the future practice.

Discussion

Section-1

Palliative care is often administered to patients that are suffering from life threatening diseases and have almost no chances for survival. Thus patients that are at the ending stage of their diseases require a massive dose of palliative care. Palliative care is often administered to patients that are bed ridden in their homes (Hansen, 2009).

End of life care has assumed a high significance in the context of modern society. There are some grave risks associated with nursing specifically in the case of palliative care. Nurses involved in delivering palliative care have been ...