So as previously established in blog #1, Professor Stewart and his depiction of the course has continue to captivate and hold my attention. So during the last class we were all assigned to a patient and were given the opportunity to access our patient charts. The chart was filled with an array of information ranging from past medical hx, doctor appointments, follow ups, and a brief synopsis on the patient personal upbringing and life. The primary task of this assignment was to read the chart create a comprehensive image of the patient, meet the patient, and then compare the charted info with the oral information collected from the patient. So finally I met my patient and we spoke in depth about the community, her accessibility to the resources, children (daughter) grandchildren( 4 grandchildren), southern upbringing, life in the Big Apple, and how she was introduce to CNR. So the next time we meet I will be fine tuning my discussion to cover specific community related questions such as: who she lives with, where she lives–lower level / upper level apartment, private or apartment building, transportation, day-to-day living , friends or family member support system. The information collected is vital to understanding her accessibility to community resource, family support, and psychosocial development. It also helps to assess for potential and actual problems that may warrant further intervention. Based on one of her several diagnosis I am also in the process of developing a teaching model about NIDDM(Type II). Topics such as food substitution, blood glucose monitoring, and adhering to medication regiment will be presented in a manner that is elucidated and understandable.
Archive for February, 2013
Clinical for me has thus far been a very interesting experience. Professor Stewart knows how to bring the life to the party. He is informative, captivating, and best of all passionate about being a clinical instructor. He has been involved in many different areas of nursing such as: long term care, acute care, school nursing, case management; which enables him to explain the connection between the various fields of nursing. He explains community nursing as placing emphasis on the individuals and family within their natural setting in the communities. So one of the very first task the class did was to walk around and survey the community. The purpose of the community survey was to identify community resources, determine quality of life in the community, and assess the family structure. We were interested in things like: proximity to hospitals, nursing homes, parks, food stores, laundry mats, school, etc. The focal point of the exercise however, was much more profound than superficial. We simply look at the exterior of the buildings, scanned the environment directly proximal to the buildings, and were able to create a depiction of the interest of the people residing in the buildings and moreover, the community. For example, by looking at the buildings we saw that most of the buildings were equipped with fire escapes and window guards; indicating that fire and children safety were a concern amongst community residents.
So that was the first day of community clinical… being able to analyze what you see and defining it in terms of the overall community. Because each community is unique and has properties that are particular to itself and residents. Identifying those properties and how they facilitate, impede, or impact the delivery of nursing care to the community is the primary focus of this course.
