Question

Mrs. Rojas, a 56-year-old Mexican American with heart failure requiring home infusions of Dopamine, has been referred to a local home health infusion company following discharge. An appointment with the pharmacist and IV infusion nurse has been made with Mrs. Rojas and her family in her hospital room prior to discharge so the family can receive the appropriate education. The appointment time was arranged for “lunchtime.” When the pharmacist and the nurse arrived, they had to wait for over an hour before meeting with the client and her family and the family did not apologize for the delay. Since the pharmacist and nurse were rushed for time due to many appointments that day, they became impatient and irritable with the family. The Rojas family, sensing their apparent irritation, became withdrawn, not participating in the client’s care. The session became a waste of time since home care instruction is impossible without the cooperation of both the family and the client. the pharmacist and the nurse told the discharge planner the family was not able to be educated on the appropriate techniques for the client’s care and home IV therapy was inappropriate.

1.Think about the roles of the different players in this situation and how they interact. If you were the bedside nurse caring for this client, how would you respond to the different players? What would your interventions be?

Answer 1

The problem arised here because of no planning.It is everyones responsibility to make a session success.Here the nurse and pharmacist could have taken few more measures to complete the task.

If I would be the nurse,I will plan the session.I will discuss with the client and the family about the appointment time and make sure they have no work at the same time.I will assess the readiness of the client and family to learn about the instructions.

If the client and family still made us wait,I will explain to the client and family about the importance of time management for health care workers like pharmacist and nurse.I will make them understand the fact and to feel comfortable at the same time.if the client and her family feels comfortable,I will explain the instructions and ask them to repeat to assess their understanding. Making the client and her family to understand the situation and the importance of the session is the main responsibility I would take as a nurse in the scenario.