There are times when a patient will be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This can be a danger to other patients and the staff. If a patient is suspected of being under the influence, how should this be handled?
More often than not, nurses and caregivers will receive patients who under the influence of different drugs or alcohol (Ferreira et al., 2013). These patients can pose numerous challenges to staff members and other clients. Healthcare professionals should be in a position to handle such situations intelligently. The first thing is ensuring that the healthcare setting is safe and secure. For instance, security officers should be informed about the situation to provide the required support. During the assessment and diagnosis processes, nurses should “not place themselves at risk of harm” (Ferreira et al., 2013, p. 331).
The environment should also be able to support the healthcare delivery process. The concept of multidisciplinary teams will ensure different professionals such as psychiatrists, nurses, physicians, relatives, and therapists. Interviews can also be conducted to understand the patient’s medical history and behaviors. Intervention should be implemented at the right time to ensure the needs of the patients are met. The members of staff should also be trained to tackle similar cases. The caregivers should be equipped with adequate skills to manage these patients. Effective drugs can be prescribed to minimize the effects of the targeted drugs. Such measures will ensure the needs of the patients are addressed while at the same time promoting safety without discrimination.
Interviews are an important time to gather information from patients and family members. What is the difference between direct questions and open-ended questions?
Medical practitioners will embrace the use of interviews to understand the unique health problems facing their clients. Healthcare professionals can use direct, closed, and open-ended questions to gather the intended information. A question can be described as direct if it should (or can) be answered. Such questions should have questions mark at the end (Lizarondo, Grimmer, & Kumar, 2014). There are different types of direct questions that are used whenever conducting interviews or research studies. The first example is known as a no or yes question. The second example “is called question word” (Lizarondo et al., 2014, p. 582). The last type is characterized by choice questions. The outstanding aspect of a direct question is that it seeks an answer from the respondent. On the other hand, open-ended questions are different because they usually require long responses or answers (Lizarondo et al., 2014). The respondent can use several sentences or descriptions to answer the questions. In some cases, the interviewee can use paragraphs, speeches, or essays to answer depending on the nature of the question. That being the case, these two types of questions will be used differently depending on the targeted responses from the interviewees.
What are the components of a mental status examination? Why is this important?
Physicians and psychiatrists can use some elements to complete a mental status examination. Various components of the examination should be considered throughout the process. To begin with, the physician should be aware of the major components that can be used to identify potential illnesses. These components include appearance and behavior, motor activity, mood, thought content, speech, judgment, insight, and perceptual disturbances. A proper analysis of these components can guide different psychiatrists and psychotherapists to address the health needs of their patients. The use of the components can make it easier for healthcare professionals “to distinguish cognitive impairment, thought disorders, and mood disorders” (Yajima et al., 2013, p. 341).
A mental status examination is therefore a powerful tool that guides physicians to ask appropriate questions in an attempt to assess various psychological conditions. When the mental examination is completed successfully, the healthcare worker can use the collected information to come up with the best diagnostic test for the suspected psychiatric condition. The doctor can “go-ahead to refer the patient to a competent mental health professional” (Yajima et al., 2013, p. 342). Consequently, the components of the mental status examination are useful because they guide medical practitioners to identify and address the psychological health problems affecting the targeted patients.
Caregiver burden, identification, and the best approach to offer respite
The caregiver burden is a unique problem that affects the performance of many workers in healthcare settings. The term refers to the kind of stress experienced by caregivers due to the issues associated with the healthcare situation. This kind of burden can be identified using several indicators. The major indicators or triggers of caregiver burden include lack of adequate energy, poor nursing environments, the suffering of the patient, and absence of work-life balance. Professionals in the healthcare environment can focus on specific aspects such as the level of patient satisfaction and workplace performance.
This kind of identification can make it easier for health leaders (HLs) to determine the level of caregiver burden. Consequently, the HLs will be able to identify and implement the best strategies to offer respite (Grant et al., 2013). This goal can be achieved by designing a powerful model to ensure the caregivers are supported whenever providing quality support to their clients. The model should focus on specific aspects such as professional support, continuous training, better salaries, and empowerment. The concept of work-life balance should be considered to ensure the caregivers focus on their personal goals (Tang et al., 2013). Proper training will ensure the caregivers can handle stress and engage in teamwork. These evidence-based approaches will reduce the level of caregiver burden and empower more patients. The approach will eventually ensure quality and safe services are available to different clients.
Respiratory assessment and advantages of performing a complete one
A respiratory examination is a “test performed by medical practitioners to assess the degree of an existing respiratory health problem such as chest pain, cough, or shortness of breath” (Smith & Rushton, 2015, p. 35). The test can also be done by medical practitioners to study the health status of the lungs (Smith & Rushton, 2015). A complete respiratory examination is characterized by different components such as checking oxygen saturation, inspecting the chest, analyzing respiratory rhythm and rate, and listening for lung and adventitious sounds. Healthcare professionals should perform complete respiratory examinations because of some reasons.
To begin with, the examination will reveal any form of deterioration in the respiratory system. The complete examination will make it easier for the practitioners to identify the major health problems that might be affecting the patient. The examination will also make it easier for healthcare workers to respond to the identified conditions promptly (Smith & Rushton, 2015). Each of the components of the examination can be used to identify every health problem affecting the patient. As a result, the healthcare professional will be in a position to come up with a powerful care plan for the targeted client. A complete examination is necessary because it can help physicians identify any condition affecting the cardiovascular system. Smith and Rushton (2015) argue that both cardiac and respiratory examinations should be completed together to have a complete assessment of the health problems affecting the targeted patient.
References
Ferreira, M., Heineck, I., Flores, L., Camargo, A., Pizzol, T., Torres, I.,…Kadri, M. (2013). Rational use of medicines: Prescribing indicators at different levels of health care. Brazilian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 49(2), 329-340. Web.
Grant, M., Sun, V., Fujinami, R., Sidhu, R., Otis-Green, S., Juarez, G.,…Ferrell, B. (2013). Family caregiver burden, skills preparedness, and quality of life in non-small-cell lung cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 40(4), 337-346. Web.
Lizarondo, L., Grimmer, K., & Kumar, S. (2014). Assisting allied health in performance evaluation: A systematic review. BMC Health Services Research, 14(1), 572-589. Web.
Smith, J., & Rushton, M. (2015) How to perform respiratory assessment. Nursing Standard, 30(7), 34-36. Web.
Tang, B., Harary, E., Kurzman, R., Mould-Quevedo, J., Pan, S., Yang, Y.,…Qiao, J. (2013). Clinical characterization and the caregiver burden of dementia in china. Value in Health Regional Issues, 2(1), 118-126. Web.
Yajima, K., Matshushita, T., Sumitomo, H., Sakurai, H., Katayama, T., Kanno, K.,…Kitaoka, M. (2013). One-minute mental status examination for category fluency is more useful than mini-mental state examination to evaluate the reliability of insulin self-injection in elderly diabetic patients. Journal of Diabetes Investigation, 5(3), 340-344. Web.