Mr. Nguyen is a 56-year-old male patient visiting the Family Medicine Center for his first full physical examination in ten years. The client is a construction supervisor, and his job is physically challenging. His main complaint is the pain in both knees that he experiences daily, whereas his wife is concerned about him developing heart disease. There is a history of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure in the family. This essay will discuss Mr. Nguyen’s case and my duties as a nurse in the center.
Patient Case
To diagnose the patient and provide him with high-quality care, it is necessary to collect all available information on his health and assess it. The data should be gathered from Mr. Nguyen via the admission questionnaire, a physical examination, and, if possible, from his parent’s medical records. His wife’s concerns should be evaluated in the context of the patient’s complaints about his knee pain, as it is reasonable to assume that Mr. Nguyen’s pain adds to his feeling of exhaustion after a workday. The questionnaire and the client’s and his parent’s medical histories should be the primary sources for the evaluation of his health. I should also ask whether Mr. Nguyen has had a knee injury and whether he experiences pain in other joints. It would help learn what kind of diet the client has, as the lack of nutrients can severely affect the health. Overall, it is possible that the patient could have developed arthritis in both knees.
Nursing Knowledge
It is crucial to be able to utilize different aspects of nursing knowledge when working with any client. When addressing Mr. Nguyen’s health concerns, I should implement the theoretical and practical knowledge (Treas et al., 2018). The theoretical knowledge will help understand his health condition and probable reasons behind it (Treas et al., 2018). A good understanding of facts through theory will allow the healthcare team to address the patient’s knee pain. Practical knowledge is also an essential part of this stage, as it can inform the decision-making process (Treas et al., 2018). Overall, the theoretical and practical knowledge should play a pivotal role in assessing the client’s condition and deciding on the treatment.
The role of Zach Miller on the healthcare team can be defined by theoretical, practical, and ethical types of nursing knowledge. When deciding his role in the team, his theoretical knowledge base and experiences should be taken into consideration. The ability to decide what is right or wrong for the client and make moral decisions should be reviewed when determining Zach Miller’s role (Treas et al., 2018). Finally, I believe that all types of nursing knowledge are needed to define the role I will play in Mr. Nguyen’s care. However, it is primarily the self-knowledge that can help me determine whether I am qualified to be in the patient’s healthcare team.
Nursing Process
The nursing process includes several stages that help determine and assess the client’s condition and decide on treatment. When asking Mr. Nguyen about the reason for his visit, I will be in the assessment stage as I begin to gather the information relating to his health (Treas et al., 2018). The main activity that I will use in the diagnosis phase is evaluating the patient’s responses and identifying his needs (Treas et al., 2018). When planning outcomes, I will have a discussion with the patient to establish his health goals and make a list of possible treatments in the planning interventions stage (Treas et al., 2018). It is too early to conduct any form of evaluation at this stage, as no health outcomes have been achieved.
Conclusion
In conclusion, any clinical nurse should be able to provide patients with high-quality care. To achieve that, nursing practitioners should be familiar with the nursing process and have enough theoretical and practical knowledge. In this essay, I envisioned myself as a staff member in the Family Medicine Center and a part of Mr. Nguyen’s healthcare team and imagined the steps I should take when working with the patient.
Reference
Treas, L. S., Wilkinson, J. M., Barnett, K. L., & Smith, M. H. (2018). Basic nursing: Thinking, doing, and caring (2nd ed.). F. A. Davis Company.