Nursing research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Nursing - Research Paper Example She is normal and not depressed although she retired from her job. Interviewing is similar to courting where two individuals have to agree on something before doing it. Connection between an interviewer and an interviewee can be seen through numerous aspects. In this interview, there was a sound and outstanding connection between the interviewer and the interviewee. This was seen through the attention that the patient gave to the questions that she was asked (Peate, 2010). She held onto her judgments and opened her mind. The patient kept her ears and eyes into what she was asked and held onto her feelings or body language that would indicate any sort of body language. Additionally, the patient remained curious and deferential throughout the interview. When the patient was engaged in the interview, she responded succinctly. The interview took place in the patient’s house, in her living room, on Monday 10th June 2013 at 6pm and took 30 minutes. Part II: General Assessment Whenev er individuals get to the age of 75 and above, they experience changes in their life. Such changes include deterioration of the person’s immune system, memory loss, wear and tear on joints and bones, skin changes and loss of sight. The patient has grey hair, vision loss, walking problems and difficulties in using the bathroom. Eyesight weakens as people get older. Research indicates that at the age of 60, eye cataracts degenerate resulting to weakened sight. Cataracts are cloudy regions in the human eye lens that cause loss of eyesight (Anderson et al, 2010). Cataracts may form and stay small and not affect eyesight while they may become large and affect eye sight. Graying of hair is a clear sign of aging. It can only be understood through delving into biology. Hair color is manufactured by melanin, a protein underneath the skin. When individuals age, the melanin cells also age and start dying out and stop making hair color. Therefore, the color of an aged person turns gray d ue to the loss of color by melanin. She cannot bear to stand in the bathroom since her joints and bones have worn out. Additionally, she needs help in order to take a bath (Anderson, 2010). The patient notes that she cannot walk for long periods and cannot walk too without a walker. The weight bearing joints and bones in an individual wear down as he or she ages. As a result, the weakened bones prevent an individual from walking. These bones could either be infected with arthritis. This results from the wearing off of cartilage in joints and, therefore, leaves the bones to rub against each other (Anderson, 2010). Additionally, the patient noted that she could not hold her bladder and stool. Loss of bladder control, commonly referred as incontinence, is a common disorder among the aged. Statistics indicate that out of 10 aged people, one is likely to have urinal incontinence. However, this problem seems to be more prevalent among women than in men. The patient is aware of her aging c ondition and understands that she cannot carryout normal daily activities without help. This is because she is unable to walk and cannot hold her bladder and stool. This makes it hard and challenging for her to do anything for herself. For instance, she faces difficulties when using the bathroom. This is because she cannot stand for long due to her weak bones and joints. The patient satisfies her basic needs through retirement or work through attending church meetings, hobbies through taking trips,

Gibbs Cycle of Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Gibbs Cycle of Reflection - Essay Example In view thereof, this paper is thus divided into the following sections: (1) description, (2) feelings, (3) evaluation, (4) analysis, (5) conclusion and (6) action plan. Description A sixty year old woman was recently operated because of a heart disease. A colleague and I received the recently operated woman into the post-operative recovery care unit. Upon seeing the woman, my colleague and I were unsure as to how she coped with the surgery and whether or not she has fared well in this regard. She looked a little pale and was not really showing distinct signs of whether she is alive or not. However, we are sure that she was still alive since this has been guaranteed by the surgeon and his team. My first instinct was to determine the vital signs of the patient as obviously, these were greatly affected because of the surgery and the anesthesia applied to the patient. In analysing the vital signs of the patient, I focused on its frequency and duration, depending on the condition of the patient who has recently undergone surgery and the normalcy thereof. When I first conducted this, we noticed that whilst the female displayed good vital signs, we were not however s ure as regards the normalcy thereof. Because of this, we had to undergo other tests so as to ensure that the operation was indeed successful. Aside from merely checking the vital signs of the patient, my colleague and I also assessed the level of consciousness of the patient. In conducting this test, we were able to determine that the patient was relatively conscious and we must only wait for a longer time before her vital signs begin to normalize. Moreover, we also focused on the following were determined: (1) the patient’s heart rate, (2) the ECG levels, (3) the respiratory rate of the patient, (4) oxygen saturation, (5) non-invasive blood pressure and (6) the skin temperature. In conducting these tests, we were able to determine that there is nothing wrong with the patient and she is merely recovering from her surgery. We also followed a simple procedure by which we can determine the improvement of the vital signs on the patients. In fact, this procedure entails that the v ital signs be recorded every thirty minutes for at least two hours and hourly thereafter. This was continued on until the woman was awake and has begun eating and drinking. We also monitored the temperature of the patient. Remarkable improvement was seen from the patient during the first two hours. Her vital signs continue to rise significantly every thirty minutes. After the second hour, we monitored her hourly and it was shown that her vital signs continue to rise towards normalcy. Six hours after her operation, the woman woke up. However, she was not ready to start eating and drinking anything. It was only two hours after she woke up that she expressed thirst and was given a drink. She also started eating after consuming her first drink. Considering the gravity of the operations performed on the patient, my colleague and I also performed other tests. These tests also focused on the fluid loss experienced by the patient. Generally, we were not able to actually determine something abnormal as regards her fluid loss. In fact, our observation showed that she was not really losing too much liquid than what is considered as average. Moreover, we also looked into whether there is actually excessive bleeding but there was no sign in relation to this. Aside from the physical condition of the patient, my colleague and I also focused on her physiological and psychological conditions. Basically, upon close examination of the patient, we did not find anything wrong as regards her physiological