Question

Discuss how functional patterns help nurse understand the current and past state of health for a patients.

Answer 1

Functional pattern helps the nurse for systematical data collection and comprehensive nursing assessment.

* It allows nurse to ask questions and do an in-depth nursing assessment.

* Functional pattern helps the nurse to have a better idea of patient's overall health including past and present and lifestyle.

* Functional pattern includes assessing patient's general health, nutrition, elimination,hygiene, activity, sleep, cognition, living environment, sexuslity, culture and spirituality, different types of coping mechanisms used frequently and their effect on health,and self- perception.This includes all the areas of a person.

* Functional pattern involves assessment of all the areas,thus it helps to understand the patient's past and current status of health.

*Example - While collecting data about nutritional status ,the nurse comes to know dietary habits,health risk factors like eating food containing high fat, activity assessment shows very less physical activities- conclusion- risk for diseases like heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension.