Justification of Choosing Outpatient Population
After the complex surgery required for placing a nephrostomy tube into a patient’s kidney, the threat of an inflammation or any other complication that may aggravate a patient’s condition is highly probable. The described danger to a patient’s health increases as they are released from the hospital setting into the outpatient environment, which can be quite hostile to the people that have recently undergone a complicated surgery. Therefore, studying the health problems that the outpatient population may develop after having a nephrostomy tube placed in their kidney is critical for preventing future health problems in the specified demographic.
By assessing the existing methods of increasing the safety of outpatients, one will prevent them from developing health issues. Moreover, patient and caregiver education is critical since, when unattended, the catheter may lose its viability. As a result, draining may be needed to address the possibility of a blockage and the aggravation of a patient’s condition. In addition, patients may require the support of outpatient clinics for biweekly dressing changes. Therefore, an analysis of the threats to which outpatients are subjected after nephrostomy, as well as the approaches for helping outpatients to manage their health, is needed.
Relevance of the Setting with the Sample Population
The target setting, which includes different types of environments outside of the hospital, is quite relevant with the target population due to the increased vulnerability of the latter. After the nephrostomy tube is planted into a patient’s kidney, the threat of inflammation emerges, requiring regular checks and appropriate health services (Azer, Abd-El Mohsen, & Sayed, 2018). However, in the outpatient environment, people with a nephrostomy tube may fail to notice the signs that may indicate the presence of a threat. Furthermore, without proper education, patients may fail to recognize the symptoms of a health issue related to the nephrostomy. The outcomes of an unattended inflammation, or any other issue that may occur with a nephrostomy tube are likely to be dire for a patient’s health, even possibly posing a threat to their life (Abbott, Deem, Mosley, Tan, Kumar, & Davalos, 2016). Thus, the analysis of the setting and the dangers that it contains for outpatients with a nephrostomy tube is critical.
Moreover, the consideration of the techniques that can be utilized to address a problem with a nephrostomy tube is desirable. By evaluating the strategies for reducing a threat to the health of a patient with a nephrostomy tube, a nurse will be able to identify the framework that will be most beneficial and lead to the best health outcomes possible.
Finally, the issue of patient education and the impact that the outpatient setting produces on it needs to be mentioned. Studies show that outpatients seriously lack the skills and awareness needed to maintain good health and identify threats to their well-being in their everyday environment (Fahmy, Rhashad, Algebaly, & Sameh, 2017). The specified characteristic of patients that no longer use the hospital facilities makes those with a nephrostomy tube particularly vulnerable to external factors, namely, the ones that may lead to tube blockage or dislodgement (Bechis et al., 2018). Therefore, the relevance of the setting is particularly high with the specified population.
Frequency of the Patient Visit at the Clinic
In addition to the promotion of patient education, one should consider encouraging the target demographic to visit their physician more often. Clinic visits will help to locate a problem before it grows into a major health concern and identify the tools for getting rid of it. Therefore, patients must be encouraged to make clinic visits more frequently. According to the recent statistics collected on the frequency of clinic visits made by outpatients with a nephrostomy tube, the number of patients making regularly health checks has been devastatingly low, and it keeps dropping (Azer et al., 2018). The lack of willingness to visit clinics can be attributed to low awareness and poor health education levels in the target demographic (Abbot et al., 2016). Thus, nurse-patient communication should be reinforced to prompt patient education and create a system of reciprocal information sharing between a patient and a nurse.
As a result of the intervention described above, patients will receive guidelines for managing the issues associated with their nephrostomy tube, whereas nurses will be informed on the needs of the specified population and the cases that require urgent healthcare assistance. Therefore, a program for educating patients and building their awareness concerning the issues linked to the nephrostomy tube maintenance should be established. Similarly, new communication channels through which nurses will interact with patients and receive detailed feedback will have to be built.
Evaluate the Patient Capacity to Care for the Nephrostomy Tube
Apart from guidelines for managing a nephrostomy tube, nurses will need to assess patients’ ability to care for it in the outpatient settings. For this reason, regular checks and supervision of outpatients will have to be established. Patients will have to be aware of the essential care for their nephrostomy tube to avoid infections, inflammations, and the related health problems. The assessment of patients’ capacity to care for their nephrostomy tube will be performed by providing them with follow-ups at intervention radiology clinics. The proposed method of knowledge assessment will also help to identify patient-specific knowledge gaps and create strategies for addressing these gaps.
References
Abbott, J. E., Deem, S. G., Mosley, N., Tan, G., Kumar, N., & Davalos, J. G. (2016). Are we fearful of tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy? Assessing the need for tube drainage following percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Urology Annals, 8(1), 70-75. Web.
Azer, S. Z., Abd-El Mohsen, S. A., & Sayed, S. Y. (2018). The effect of nursing guidelines on minimizing incidence of complications for patients with percutaneous nephrostomy tube. American Journal of Nursing, 6(5), 327-334. Web.
Bechis, S. K., Han, D. S., Abbott, J. E., Holst, D. D., Alagh, A., DiPina, T., & Sur, R. L. (2018). Outpatient percutaneous nephrolithotomy: The UC San Diego health experience. Journal of Endourology, 32(5), 394-401. Web.
Fahmy, A., Rhashad, H., Algebaly, O., & Sameh, W. (2017). Can percutaneous nephrolithotomy be performed as an outpatient procedure? Arab Journal of Urology, 15(1), 1-6. Web.