tidwella980

Yes thanks so much! Seriously, I'm already understanding this whole thing better. Actually I have been using Ackley's 9th edition. Its great!

Okay so I my instructor wants us to come up with three nursing diagnoses and then pick one to create a care plan. Here's what I have so far: 1. Acute pain r/t obstruction of pulmonary arterial blood flow aeb pain 10/10 and evidence of embolus. 2. Impaired gas exchanged r/t altered blood flow to alveoli secondary to lodged embolus aeb shortness of breath. 3. Ineffective peripheral tissue perfusion r/t deep vein thrombus formation aeb swollen left leg, 5/10 pain with mottled erythema. Are these done accurately? I wasn't too sure about the priority. I know that breathing is the 1st, but with this patient, it says it was upon admission and now Dr. has ordered he be on O2 therapy. The reason I put pain first was because pt. stated pain being 10/10. This is pertaining to the case study I posted in the original post. Thanks so much for everyone's input! It really means a lot. I just want to make sure I am doing this accurately. I know that this is a very important skill to master!

Esme, You're a lifesaver!

Thank you SO MUCH! You are awesome! :)

"Well THIS is gonna be a problem..."

We are just now being introduced to nursing diagnosis and got our first care plan assignment that's due Monday. When reading the case study, I just see a whole bunch of symptoms and I'm having a very hard time picking out the stuff for the diagnosis. I'm having a hard time picking a MAIN diagnosis for the patient, along with the r/t and aed/amb. I'm not looking for anyone to do this for me...just some pointers in the right direction would be nice. I don't even know where to begin... Thanks so much!! Heres the case study! Your patient is a 70 year old male who presented at the ER with chest pain and shortness of breath. The history shows he has had a swollen leg with pain for 4 days prior to coming to the ER. He is admitted to your unit. He has significant swelling and mottled erythema of his left leg pain 5/10 while his chest pain is 10/10. The electrocardiogram shows he has atrial fibrillation. The diagnostic work shows that he has a large thrombosis in the left popliteal vein and evidence of a pulmonary embolism. The doctor has ordered he be started on IV anticoagulation therapy, best rest and O2 therapy. Physical assessment reveals diminished breath sounds in the bases. BP 130/80, P 106 and irregular, R 22, T 99 F.