Disease Discussions

Disease Discussions

For a new nurse, trying to competently care for patients with complicated diseases is like drafting a high school band trombone player into the Boston Orchestra. The trombone player is not accustomed to managing the complex music pieces, thus is destined to experience many disappointments and failures. But with an instructor and over a period of time, the note combinations can appear less confusing and less intimidating. Likewise, new nurses too must learn to juggle symptoms and medications treating complex diseases and having some insight from nurses who have cared for those type of patients will give them the upper hand in their upcoming career.   

Question to Answer: When you are assigned a patient with a certain illness, what do you keep in mind while caring for them?    Tell me at least one tip, hint, or word of wisdom.

1. COPD and ASTHMA   

2. STROKE and PARALYSIS

3.RENAL FAILURE   

4. PATIENTS in ISOLATION

5.GASTRO INTESTINAL BLEEDS    

6. DIABETES 

7. PLACENTA PREVIA 

8. PATIENTS RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY 

9. ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE  

10. MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

11. HEART FAILURE 

12. PRECLAMPSIA 

13. SICKLE CELL CRISIS  

 14. DOWNS SYNDROME 

15. MENTALLY ILL    

16. CYSTIC FIBROSIS

 

Comments

[Account Deleted]

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[Shannon McGhee]

Downs Syndrome patients are the sweetest patients. It's important to remember that they are like small children trapped in a big body. They need to have every procedure explained to them and do not show your impatience with them. They need to know that they can trust you. Don't be surprised to find several different congenital abnormalities that go along with this condition. Be sensitive.

[Callie Burch]

1. COPD patients---don't forget that you don't want to give them too much oxygen. an O2 sat of 90% is perfectly fine :)
2. Aspiration! Some stroke patients may be silently aspirating, you can always get speech therapy to do a swallow eval.
4. Patients in isolation: Cluster your activities. Gowning up and putting all the gear on takes up a lot of time. I'll do vitals, assessment, blood sugar, bring water, etc all at once.
9. Alcoholism: high risk for FALLS. I've had
to restrain, put bed alarms, get sitters for patients in their 30s-40s who I was not initially expecting to be so confused/weak/unsteady/uncooperative :)

I'll try to answer more later...