In: Nursing
You are making a home visit to an 85-year-old woman who lives by herself. She has diabetes, is overweight, and has high blood pressure. She has just been discharged from the hospital where she was admitted for congestive heart failure. • What type of questions would be appropriate in making a physical assessment of the patient? • How would you learn about her activities prior to the hospitalization? • Why would this be important? • What observations would be critical in this situation? • What would you do to establish a therapeutic relationship with this patient?
questions in physical assessment:
History of comorbidities and risk factors
Alcohol use and smoking habits
Exertional dyspnea
orthopnea
Paroxymal nocturnal dyspnea
Dysppnea at rest
Pulmonary edema
nocturia and oliguria
fatigue and weakness
cerebral symptoms
Learning about Activity:
Ask for the patient on her daily activity or exercises daily or weekly
Type of exercise or work they are doing
Influence of pain during and after activity
Type of activity and how much activity brings dyspnea in patient
Is dyspnea interfere in her daily activities?
Why it is important:
Knowing about the level of activity and its safeness is necessary to avoid serious complications in cardiac patients.
it helps to be more active with heart failure
helps to avoid overexertion
To aware about how to conserve energy while doing activities
To establish a therapeutic relationship with this patient:
Nurse has to listen to the patients complaints
Build trustworthy, rapport and give respect
Be attentive
Always be open to the patient
Nurture faith and hope
Sensitive to self and others