Care Plan R/T infection exiting at knee.

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I am a student working on a care plan and I always seem to have trouble with the S.T.G. I have one that is: Pt. pain rating will be under 3 on a scale of 1 - 10 at all times. The pt. somehow acquired an E. Coli infection that decided to use her right knee as a point of exit. She is having some pain/discomfort in her right knee due to this infection and it has caused only slight edema. Any suggestions on short term goals?

Thank you.

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Specializes in Sub Acute Rehab/ Oncology Med-Surg.
I am a student working on a care plan and I always seem to have trouble with the S.T.G. I have one that is: Pt. pain rating will be under 3 on a scale of 1 - 10 at all times. The pt. somehow acquired an E. Coli infection that decided to use her right knee as a point of exit. She is having some pain/discomfort in her right knee due to this infection and it has caused only slight edema. Any suggestions on short term goals?

Thank you.

hmmhmmhmm.. e.coli infection through the knee, interesting mind these bacteria have! LOL

What are your nursing diagnoses? Just "Pain" or do you have to have others?

Anyway, for "pt. pain rating..." I would rephrase if to "Pt will report a pain level of 3" .. sounds better to me.

What are your interventions? Ice therapy, heat therapy, elevation, pain medications?

Hope this helps :specs:

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

e coli are you sure? well anyway you need interventions. what have you decided on the best choices? the poster above did a great job helping. please keep us posted on how you are doing !!!

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I looked on the internet. Search, "short term nursing goals AND knee pain." I paged down and found a site by 2 authors re: orthopedics and knee pain. Might be worth checking out those STGs listed in the paper.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

i am having difficulty answering your question because you have not provided the diagnosis. i have one that is: pt. pain rating will be under 3 on a scale of 1 - 10 at all times. is this a short-term goal for the diagnosis of acute pain? goals, or outcomes, are intimately linked to the related factors [cause] and defining characteristics [symptoms] of the nursing problem (nursing diagnosis). this is because these things describe exactly what that nursing problem is. they are also what your nursing interventions are aimed at altering or correcting. your goals, or outcomes, are intended to alter the related factor(s) [cause] and/or defining characteristic(s) [symptoms] of a nursing problem (nursing diagnosis). therefore, there will be interventions of some type to reduce this pain.

goal statements have four components:

  1. a behavior
    • this is the desired patient response/action you expect to see/hear as a direct result of your nursing interventions.
    • you must be able to observe the behavior

[*]it is measurable

  • criteria that identifies exactly what you are measuring in terms of
    • how much
    • how long
    • how far
    • on what scale you are using

[*]sets the conditions under which the behavior should occur

  • such conditions as
    • when
    • how frequently

    [*]take into account the patient's overall state of health (this requires knowing the pathophysiology of their disease process)

    [*]take into account the patient's ability to meet the goals you are recommending

    [*]it is a good idea to get the patient's agreement to meet the intended goal so both the nurse and the patient are working toward the same goal

[*]have a realistic time frame for completing the goal

  • long-term goals usually take weeks or months
  • short-term goals can take as little time as a day
  • it all depends on knowing what your nursing interventions are designed to do and what you believe your patient is capable of doing.

let's examine your goal statement: patient pain rating will be under 3 on a scale of 1 - 10 at all times

  • behavior - stated as "patient pain rating". so you expect the patient to tell you about their pain.
  • measurable - measurable criteria is clearly stated as "under 3 on a scale of 1 - 10". a numerical scale is measuring the pain.
  • conditions - it should occur "at all times". is it realistic to say you want pain to remain at "3" all the time?
  • time frame - not provided. when do you anticipate this will begin to take place?

what intervention did you anticipate would be done to provide that short-term goal? better wording that includes the time frame would be five minutes after repositioning of the right knee the patient will rate the pain in that knee to be under 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.

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A patient will report a decrease in pain from a (what her pain is) to a (what her pain was minus 3) while in my care.

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