Nutrition is vital for normal body functioning, prompting healing in recovery, preventing malnutrition and related disorders. Nurses have a role in educating and advocating for proper diet to their clients within the community and hospital settings (Cooper & Gosnell, 2018). Patients in the intensive care unit and neonates may present a challenge because they are unable to feed. The caregiver provides parenteral nutrition (PN), enteral nutrition (EN), or a combination of the two to deliver their nutritional requirement. Although both the EN and PN are viable methods of ensuring proper nutrition to patients, the nurses should assess their clients and evaluate the most appropriate technique based on the presenting problem.
The EN entails delivering a complete feed through a tube inserted inside the stomach, jejunum, or duodenum. It is more suited for patients with low oral intake, but the gastrointestinal tract is well-functioning (Lewis et al., 2018). In addition, people with some conditions, such as acute pancreatitis and sepsis, may benefit from this feeding method. Comparatively, PN is a non-physiological method involving the portal venous system. The nurse delivers the nutritionally complete feed through the peripheral or central catheter (Lewis et al., 2018). It is used for additional nutrition for bedridden people and when the PN fails to provide the required amount of food. However, it carries the risk of overfeeding and hyperglycemia.
Nurses are the advocates of patients with both preventive and management roles in nutritional care. They have the mandate of educating their clients and family members about proper diet to prevent some diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and malnutrition. They assist in monitoring the condition of their patients, such as vomiting, and electrolytes (Mushtaq, 2018). In EN and PN, nurses can positively impact nutrient delivery by assessing to determine the appropriate delivery method. Furthermore, they check for signs of hyperglycemia or vomiting and change the techniques if needed. Moreover, they can provide information to the family about the choices and care that the patient needs.
References
Cooper, K., & Gosnell, K. (2018). Adult health nursing E-book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Lewis, S. R., Schofield-Robinson, O. J., Alderson, P., & Smith, A. F. (2018). Enteral versus parenteral nutrition and enteral versus a combination of enteral and parenteral nutrition for adults in the intensive care unit. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019(1).
Mushtaq, B. (2018). Role of nurse in nutritional care. Novel Techniques in Nutrition & Food Science, 2(1), 1-4.