Question

Ethical Dilemma Assigned Scenario: You observe a homeless man limping into the emergency room and the nurse in charge ignores him.

1) Identification of interprofessional collaboration that is needed to care for a patient in this situation.

Which professionals will be part of your interprofessional team?

What are their roles and why are they important?

answer questions according to the scenario

Answer 1

Each individual is a human and give respect to the everyman irrespective of age, sex, income, education, geographical location. Homeless is because of many factors such as unemployment, a member of broken family, lack of money. Homeless person may prone to get foot problems due to trauma, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, malnutrition, anemia, peripheral vascular problems, and other illness. Homeless person may visit hospital at late stage of illness or in the deteriorate stages.

A homeless person limping into the emergency room, the nurse assesses him and collects history and physical assessment after making him to sit in the emergency department. Emergency physician assess him for any illness such as diabetes, hypertension, peripheral vascular problems, arthritis and affected leg. Patient may be assessed in the emergency room and vital signs, glucose, are monitored in addition to neurovascular assessment are done by checking his peripheral pulse. Nurse must understand and help homeless person and find out reasons for limping. Limping may be due to

1. trauma

2. arthritis

3. foot problems

assess the causative factors for the limping, if the limping is due to trauma and bleeding occurs, the physician can order the X –ray leg and foot, and the identify the any fractures arthritis are present in the x-ray. If present refer the patient to orthopedic department for further evaluation in wheel chair or trolley.

Orthopedic department surgeon assesses him and foot and compares the X-ray of leg and foot and if additional ray is needed, he was asked to do an x ray. After assessment of an X-ray. If it fracture is crack means, cast is applied on his leg for immobilization for 6 weeks. He is commenced on medication for pain, antibiotic. After 6 weeks of cast application, he is advised to walk with crutches or cane and he was sent to physiotherapist to get to know about using crutches

Dietician: homelessness person may suffer from lack of adequate nutrition and may result in anemia, protein deficiency. Protein and anemia are important in healing of wound. He must be provided adequate nutrition based on his condition in order to cure nutritional deficiency.

Homeless person must be suffering from the leg injuries that make him limping. If he suffers from any neurovascular disorder, it may be stroke. But it causes him unable to walk completely. He must be suffering from orthopedic problems due to falls or trauma. He must be seen by the orthopedic surgeon, physiotherapist, social worker, homelessness service support team.

primary care physician, orthopedic surgeon, physiotherapist, social worker, dietcian, homeless support team are the interprofessional team

Primary care physician assess him in order to assess and find out the diabetes, hypertension, and provides treatment based on his condition. Respiratory problems orthopedic surgeon helps him to assess him and his leg and provide treatment to the injuries and foot problems and apply cast or surgery according to the diagnosis. Physiotherapist assess him and educate the exercises to be performed to improve blood circulation and he teaches him regarding using of cane and crutches if needed. Dietician assesses him and provides nutritional requirement based on his condition if he suffers from malnutrition, diabetes, and hypertension. Socioworker helps him to connect him to the homeless service support team in order to provide shelter, food, cloth, services. Homeless service support team help him to allow him to stay in the homeless center and escort him to the hospital for follow up and continuity of care is obtained