Help with Patient Scenerio Using Skills of Critical Thinking

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hi! Help me solve this.

Scenario Using Skills of Critical Thinking

Here is the situation:

During assessment, Mr. Fellows relates a history of sudden onset chest pain rated at 10 on a 1 to 10 scale, relieved by rest, which started while he was mowing the lawn. He describes the pain as "crushing, like a truck ran over my chest." His blood pressure is 200/110 mm Hg, temperature is 36.7, pulse is 106 beats/min, and respirations are 24 beats/min. The pulse is irregular and thready, and the respirations slightly dyspneic (labored). The cardiac monitor reveals atrial fibrillation. During the assessment, his wife confides to the nurse that Mr. Fellows was treated 3 years ago for alcohol dependence. Currently, he is complaining of nausea and indigestion. His skin is pale and diaphoretic. He is restless and anxious. His wife is sitting at the bedside very tearful and emotional.

Based on the scenario, discuss your interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, self regulation and how would you use these to resolve a situation related to the PATIENT'S PAIN.

Interpretation (Clarify what the behavior means)

Analysis (During the Assessment, what questions should the nurse ask to determine the best plan of care?)

Evaluation (What outcomes do you expect to achieve with your patient today?)

Inference (What conclusion [explanation for behavior] could the nurse make, based on the analysis)

Explanation (During implementation, how can the nurse justify the actions being initiated)

Self-regulation (What issues should the nurse reexamine to correct or improve the nursing care?)

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

ok.....from our beloved daytonite....(rip)

here are the steps of the nursing process and what you should be doing in each step when you are doing a written care plan:

  1. assessment (collect data from medical record, do a physical assessment of the patient, assess adls, look up information about your patient's medical diseases/conditions to learn about the signs and symptoms and pathophysiology)
  2. determination of the patient's problem(s)/nursing diagnosis (make a list of the abnormal assessment data, match your abnormal assessment data to likely nursing diagnoses, decide on the nursing diagnoses to use)
  3. planning (write measurable goals/outcomes and nursing interventions)
  4. implementation (initiate the care plan)
  5. evaluation (determine if goals/outcomes have been met)

now, listen up, because what i am telling you next is very important information and is probably going to change your whole attitude about care plans and the nursing process. . .a care plan is nothing more than the written documentation of the nursing process you use to solve one or more of a patient's nursing problems. the nursing process itself is a problem solving method that was extrapolated from the scientific method used by the various science disciplines in proving or disproving theories. one of the main goals every nursing school wants its rns to learn by graduation is how to use the nursing process to solve patient problems. why? because as a working rn you will be using that method many times a day at work to resolve all kinds of issues and minor riddles that will present themselves. that is what you are going to be paid to do. most of the time you will do this critical thinking process in your head.

care plan reality: the foundation of any care plan is the signs, symptoms or responses that patient is having to what is happening to them. what is happening to them could be a medical disease, a physical condition, a failure to be able to perform adls (activities of daily living), or a failure to be able to interact appropriately or successfully within their environment. therefore, one of your primary aims as a problem solver is to collect as much data as you can get your hands on. the more the better. you have to be a detective and always be on the alert and lookout for clues. at all times. and that is within the spirit of step #1 of this whole nursing process.

assessment is an important skill. it will take you a long time to become proficient in assessing patients. assessment not only includes doing the traditional head-to-toe exam, but also listening to what patients have to say and questioning them. history can reveal import clues. it takes time and experience to know what questions to ask to elicit good answers. part of this assessment process is knowing the pathophysiology of the medical disease or condition that the patient has. but, there will be times that this won't be known. just keep in mind that you have to be like a nurse detective always snooping around and looking for those clues.

a nursing diagnosis standing by itself means nothing. the meat of this care plan of yours will lie in the abnormal data (symptoms) that you collected during your assessment of this patient. in order for you to pick any nursing diagnoses for a patient you need to know what the patient's symptoms are.

what i would suggest you do is to work the nursing process from step #1. take a look at the information you collected on the patient during your physical assessment and review of their medical record. start making a list of abnormal data which will now become a list of their symptoms. don't forget to include an assessment of their ability to perform adls (because that's what we nurses shine at). the adls are bathing, dressing, transferring from bed or chair, walking, eating, toilet use, and grooming. and, one more thing you should do is to look up information about symptoms that stand out to you. what is the physiology and what are the signs and symptoms (manifestations) you are likely to see in the patient. did you miss any of the signs and symptoms in the patient? if so, now is the time to add them to your list. this is all part of preparing to move onto step #2 of the process which is determining your patient's problem and choosing nursing diagnoses. but, you have to have those signs, symptoms and patient responses to back it all up.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/help-care-plans-286986.html

now address the pain....where is it...when did it start, are there any relieving factor's/aggravating factors, does it radiate. what are the vital signs, when was their last drink, what meds are they on. what are their vital signs? he has an irregular pulse....could that make it his heart? is he having a heart attack? a heart rhythm that is bad? all that can be caused by alcoholism. will it affect him now? yes. is the patient in detox? when was their last drink ? have they ever had this pain before?

is this pain heart? lung? injury to muscle? did they fall? consider fractured ribs?

nursing care plan

nursing resources - care plans

nursing care plans, care maps and nursing diagnosis

understanding the essentials of critical care nursing

what do you expect to happen.....relieve the patients pain...how. meds? angiogram? clot busting drugs? maalox?

look at these care plan examples...they will give you a place to start to see what you are looking for. these assignment are to get you thinking like a nurse so that when you are one you can help the patients. just like you plan your vacation....you need to plan how to care for you patient. :)

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

I know someone else said this, but I'm going to reiterate it: how about a 12-lead?

(one final note) even a first-semester nursing student has to know that crushing chest pain, anxiety, diaphoresis, and nausea are signs of impending myocardial infarction (mi). i have read this in my newspapers and that eminent medical journal, time magazine.

sure, you can see the last three sx with alcohol withdrawal, but part of this exercise is to get you to investigate more possibilities and then to prioritize. alcohol withdrawal will not kill him, his wife's anxiety will not kill him, mi can kill him. this is your priority. you should rewrite to reflect this.

It looks like everyone participating in this thread has posted extremely helpful and detailed information to assist the OP without giving him/her the answer. That is...until now.

I'm afraid it's becoming increasingly apparent that all of your assistance is falling on deaf ears. The OP doesn't seem to understand the words inference, analysis, interpretation, etc. He/she is reading the words and then retyping them but that's about it. I don't know if this a language barrier issue or a laziness issue or what.

that is why i decided to (figuratively) hit the op upside the head with the dang answer and rationale in as few words as possible. reasonable hints, pointing out the path to take, and all that were not being received.

i think it is a language barrier. op, can you get help from your college's esl (english as a second language) office? seriously, because students who can't read and understand are going to be in deep trouble as the work gets harder. and it will.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

I think the OP has left the building when we didn't do the homework for her.....:smokin:

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I think the OP has left the building when we didn't do the homework for her.....:smokin:

Boo! I wanted to hear her say "Mag level." (also, 'thank you' would have been nice)

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

No kidding right???? and they wonder why we are hesitant to answer questions and then get P.O'd when we don't do the work...jeeze

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