NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion Building a Health History

NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion Building a Health History

NURS 6512 Week 1 Discussion Building a Health History

Being able to obtain a comprehensive health history for a patient is important in developing a treatment plan for them.  The purpose of this discussion post is to discuss interview techniques I would use for an 85-year-old white female living alone with declining health.  I will talk about the risk assessment instrument I would use and why.  Lastly, I will list five targeted questions I would ask to assess her health to start building a health history.

The use of nursing theories is critical to patient care because of the different purposes that they serve. Nursing theories assist in informing every interaction between nurses and patients. Through defining the features of the nurse-patient interaction, these theories shape how nurses develop relationships with patients (Wei et al., 2019). The purpose of most nursing theories is to help nurses identify care needs among patients, articulate what they can do for patients and why they do it, and determine the kind of information to collect to develop care plans. Through theories, nurses can comprehend and evaluate health situations, explain and anticipate certain responses from patients and map out objectives and anticipated outcomes (Bahabadi et al., 2020). These theories also help nurses determine the interventions to deliver, best practices, and selection of productive areas for research. The implication is that nursing theories are fundamental to quality care provision as they help nurses to possess background propositions to offer the best care.

The first meeting with any patient is so important to build a good relationship and partnership from the start (Ball et al., 2019).  With this patient being 85 and living alone there will be a lot to consider when interviewing her.  I will need to establish is she is mentally with it, if she has hearing problems, and how much she understands about her health.  Older adults often assume certain problems are just normal parts of aging and not anything to be considered (Ball et al., 2019).  Often, older adults can also experience agism (Garrison-Diehn et al., 2022).  Even in health care settings older adults experience feelings of incompetence and being a burden (Garrison-Diehn et al., 2022).  It will be important to make sure she feels comfortable speaking to me knowing there is no bias or judgement.

The risk assessment I would do for this patient is the functional assessment.  This is an older lady who lives alone.  It will be essential to figure out how well she is able to function on her own.  One of the biggest risks for older patients is falling.  Falling is associated with adverse outcomes that can lead to a patient not being able to live at home anymore along with increased mortality (Snehal et al., 2020).  The functional assessment would give information regarding how well she can move around the house, is she is able to keep a clean environment, how meals are prepared, how she goes to the bathroom, and keeps good hygiene (Ball et al, 2019).  All these issues are going to contribute to her overall health.  It is important to gather this information to determine what assistance, if any, she will need.

Thank you for your response. This brings to mind King James Bible/New Living Translation 2005, Luke 8:17; For all that is secret will eventually turn to light. I was in Nursing school and happen to be tutoring a nursing student that was a class or two behind me. The student was prepared to take her med-surgical exam; we had reviewed the pathophysiology so that she would be able to look at, for example, be given a scenario regarding a patient’s lab values and know if the patient was in metabolic acidosis. We reviewed the ability to think critically. Prior to her taking the test we, both felt confident that she would pass. Day later she called and asked to come over and when she arrived, she was distraught. I was dumb founded; she explained that she had taken the exam, but it did not go very well because she decided to cheat. A couple of her classmates reassured her that they had the answers to the exam; She did not even read the exam to use anything that we had reviewed as far a critically thinking and using pathophysiology, lab values, and so on to arrive at the answers. I was upset that she had taken up hours and days of my time to prepare for an exam and she just totally threw everything out the window and just put down answers. The class prior to hers had aced the exam, but the instructor and the Director of the Nursing department reviewed the class trends and knew that the class prior to her class should not have scored that many A’s. Therefore, the test was changed and the test that my friend took was different from the one the prior class had taken. On top of that she had to speak with the Director of the Nursing department and was expelled from the program. She needed to at least pass with a C to remain in the program. The class prior had students that were also expelled as well as the students that were in her class. I only knew about this as she confided in me regarding the situation; otherwise, the was emphasis in my class to make sure that all the concepts were understood; if not ask questions during/after lecture and because in clinical we were taking care of patients and need to know why we were administering some as simple as a vitamin E and the side effects. In my practice I have been conscientious regarding patient care. In the Neonatal Intensive Care everything we gave during the time I worked in the unit was doubled checked. If it did not fit into a 1cc syringe it was triple checked.

After introducing myself and establishing how the patient would like to be addressed, I would start by simply asking “What brings you in today?”  This is a way to find out what her chief complaint is for coming in.  My second question would be “When did this start?”  This brings the patient back to the beginning and prompts them to tell the whole story regarding why they came in.  My third question would be “What medications do you take on a regular basis and what are they for?”  In my experience patients may or may not even know what they are taking, let alone why they are taking them.  It can also lead to her discussing if she is compliant with her medications.  To follow that, my fourth question would be “What medical problems do you have?”  Before going through a formal review of systems, this can give a clue to what she considers to be important in her history.   My last question would be “How well do you feel you are able to take care of yourself at home?”  This is an open-ended question to gain some insight on the functional assessment.  If the patient’s initial chief complaint is not urgent it is okay to give the patient some time while understanding the time constraints of you as the provider (Ball et al., 2019).

Establishing a relationship with patients and getting a thorough health history can be a daunting task for providers.  It is key to tailor interviewing skills to meet patient specific needs.  Modifying interview skills to the individual will eliminate communication barriers between the provider and patient (Bass et al., 2019).  Creating a strong relationship with the patient will allow the nurse practitioner to obtain the most comprehensive health history and provide the best possible care to clients.

References

Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Seidel’s guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Garrison-Diehn, C., Rummel, C., Au, Y. H., & Scherer, K. (2022). Attitudes toward older adults and aging: A foundational geropsychology knowledge competency. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 29(1), 4–15. https://doi.org/10.1037/cps0000043

Snehal, K., Rashmi, G., & Aarti, N. (2020). Risk factors for fear of falling in older adults in India. Journal of Public Health, 28(2), 123-129. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-019-01061-9

Effective communication is vital to constructing an accurate and detailed patient history. A patient’s health or illness is influenced by many factors, including age, gender, ethnicity, and environmental setting. As an advanced practice nurse, you must be aware of these factors and tailor your communication techniques accordingly. Doing so will not only help you establish rapport with your patients, but it will also enable you to more effectively gather the information needed to assess your patients’ health risks.
For this Discussion, you will take on the role of a clinician who is building a health history for a particular new patient assigned by your Instructor.

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NURS 6512 Building a Health History

NURS 6512 Discussion Building a Health History Essay

NURS 6512 Discussion: Diversity and Health Assessments

NURS 6512 Discussion: Diversity and Health Assessments

Discussion: NURS 6512 Diversity and Health Assessments

NURS 6512 Discussion Diversity and Health Assessment

NURS 6512 Discussion Diversity and Health

NURS 6512 ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITION IN CHILDREN

NURS 6512 CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT: ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITION IN CHILDREN

Assignment 2: Digital Clinical Experience (DCE): Health History Assessment NURS 6512N-32

To prepare:

With the information presented in Chapter 1 of Ball et al. in mind, consider the following:
• By Day 1 of this week, you will be assigned a new patient profile by your Instructor for this Discussion. Note: Please see the “Course Announcements” section of the classroom for your new patient profile assignment.
• How would your communication and interview techniques for building a health history differ with each patient?
• How might you target your questions for building a health history based on the patient’s social determinants of health?
• What risk assessment instruments would be appropriate to use with each patient, or what questions would you ask each patient to assess his or her health risks?
• Identify any potential health-related risks based upon the patient’s age, gender, ethnicity, or environmental setting that should be taken into consideration.
• Select one of the risk assessment instruments presented in Chapter 1 or Chapter 5 of the Seidel’s Guide to Physical Examination text, or another tool with which you are familiar, related to your selected patient.
• Develop at least five targeted questions you would ask your selected patient to assess his or her health risks and begin building a health history.

By Day 3 of Week 1

Post a summary of the interview and a description of the communication techniques you would use with your assigned patient. Explain why you would use these techniques. Identify the risk assessment instrument you selected, and justify why it would be applicable to the selected patient. Provide at least five targeted questions you would ask the patient.
Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link, and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit!
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6 of Week 1

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on 2 different days who selected a different patient than you, using one or more of the following approaches:
• Share additional interview and communication techniques that could be effective with your colleague’s selected patient.
• Suggest additional health-related risks that might be considered.
• Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.
• Discussion Week 1
•
• Case G Pre-school-aged white female living in a rural community
•
• Summary of the interview and a description of the communication techniques you would use with your assigned patient. Five targeted questions you would ask the patient.
• To provide a summary of the interview and communication techniques I would use with a preschooler age child from a rural community would be getting down to the level of the child, briefly evaluating the family dynamics and the overall support within the home. Likely the child will be accompanied by an adult or caregiver.
• Five target questions I would ask are:
• 1. If there are several concerns that bring you hear today; what problem concerns you most?
• 2. Can you tell me what happen?
• 3. Why do you think it happened?
• 4. Do you feel safe in your home?
• 5. Is there anything else that you want me to know?
• Explain why you would use these techniques
• Many children love it when you get down on the floor to play with them. They often have anxieties and fears that must be eased (Ball et al., 2019). I would use these techniques to allow the preschool age child to feel comfortable and decrease anxiety. I would also provide the patient with a coloring paper or something to allow her to feel interested in what we were discussing. I could use this as a distraction tool while asking question to her guardian and her. At some point within the interview I would discuss safety hazards related to her age group such as falls, chocking, burns, and poisoning (Ball et al., 2019).
• Identify the risk assessment instrument you selected and justify why it would be applicable to the selected patient
• Many risk assessments instruments have been developed to improve child welfare workers’ decision making (Vial et al., 2021). For this patient I would complete and organize the health record by SOAP ( subjective ,objective ,Assessment, Plan) (Ball et al., 2019). The screening tool I would use is HEEADSSS (home environment, education, eating, activities, drugs, sexuality, suicide/depression, and safety from injury/violence) (Ball et al., 2019). I would use this tool to both review with the patient as well as parent to get and overall understanding of the concerns for the visit. The collection of family health history information is part of routine healthcare interactions and can inform clinical decision making and preventive services (Lushniak, 2015). This as well would be an area to focus my assessment.

 References

• Ball, J., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). In Seidel’s guide to
• physical examination: an interprofessional approach (9th ed., pp. 58–59). essay, Mosby.
• Lushniak, B. D. (2015). Family Health History: Using the past to Improve Future Health. Public
• Health Reports, 130(1), 3–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/003335491513000102
• Vial, A., van der Put, C., Stams, G. J., Dinkgreve, M., & Assink, M. (2021). Validation and
• further development of a risk assessment instrument for child welfare. Child Abuse &
• Neglect, 117, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105047
• Reply Quote Email Author

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Discussion: Building a Health History

The patient in this scenario is a 14-year-old biracial male. The first step in interacting with the patient is to build a trustworthy rapport with the patient and determine his fluency in communication and speaking the English language, as any language barriers can hinder the effectiveness of the communication, it is important to ensure the client understands the language of communication (Brooks et al., 2019). Effective communication is required needed in any patient-healthcare provider interaction. The language assessment is important in making communication easier.

Communication Techniques

Furthermore, the use of verbal techniques will be ensured in the communication process (Wang et al., 2018). However, caution will be taken not to offend the client in the conversation. The meaning and interpretation of the non-verbal techniques tend to vary from one cultural group to another (Sullivan, 2019). Therefore, considering that the client is from another cultural group and young, understanding their values would be necessary to reduce the conflicts in the communication process. I will also be empathetic to the client (Ball et al., 2019).

Subsequently, active listening is also important when interacting with the patient. Listening actively help the healthcare provider to capture important information about the patients and their possible health needs (LeBlond et al., 2014). On the other hand, some clients may be too talkative and so the healthcare provider must be able to control and ensure that the relevant information is obtained from the interaction. Controlling the conversation also helps in managing the time used in the interaction. The HEEADSSS risk assessment tool will be used when interviewing the patient because it will help in understanding the client’s home environment and education experiences among other areas of interest.

Target Interview Questions

1. Whom do you live with at home?
2. What is your relationship with the parents and siblings?
3. What is it that makes you happy about your family?
4. Who is your best friend?
5. What do you like doing during your free time?

Conclusion

Finally, communication is important in the interaction between the patient and the healthcare providers. Both verbal and non-verbal communication matters in the interaction. Cultural values vary from one patient to another and this could be a major hindrance to effective interaction between the patient and the healthcare providers. Therefore, the nurses must demonstrate cross-cultural competencies and interact with their clients accordingly without judging them or looking down upon their cultural values.

References

Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Seidel’s guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Brooks, L. A., Manias, E., & Bloomer, M. J. (2019). Culturally sensitive communication in healthcare: A concept analysis. Collegian, 26(3), 383-391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2018.09.007

LeBlond, R. F., Brown, D. D., & DeGowin, R. L. (2014). DeGowin’s diagnostic examination (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw- Hill Medical.

Sullivan, D. D. (2019). Guide to clinical documentation (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis.

Wang, Y., Wan, Q., Lin, F., Zhou, W., & Shang, S. (2018). Interventions to improve communication between nurses and physicians in the intensive care unit: An integrative literature review. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 5(1), 81-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2017.09.007

I really liked the way you presented your discussion post; it was very organized and thought out. However, as a PMHNP student, I was inclined to read through a few articles and I came across the following Risk assessment tools that would assess the psychological issues associated with one’s LGBTQIA status.

The Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Scale (GMRS) is used to measure the difficulties associated with identifying as a gender minority and protective factors for psychological well-being.The 58 items were adapted from other measures and compiled into the GMRS to measure nine different constructs, including Gender-related Discrimination, Gender-related Rejection, Gender-related Victimization, non-affirmation of Gender Identity, Internalized Transphobia, Negative Expectations for Future Events, and Nondisclosure (Shulman et al., 2017).

Strength of Transgender Identity Scale (STIS)This assesses how strongly an individual identifies as transgender and how important transitioning is to them. Although largely related to identifying transgender people, it contains items that may be relevant to understanding someone’s gender identity and how that might change in therapeutic interventions. The STIS has six questions and no factors were identified in the original validation study. Example items include “I identify as trans,” “It is important to me that people I am close to know I transitioned,” and “The fact that I transitioned is important to who I am.”

Transgender Adaptation and Integration Measure (TG AIM) measure the stresses associated with being transgender and the individual’s efforts to cope with stress. The TG AIM has 15 items, and three factors were identified in the initial validation study that is scored as subscales: Coping and Gender Reorientation Efforts, Psycho social Impact of Gender Status, and Gender-related Fears. A fourth factor, Gender Locus of Control, was also identified but was not recommended for use due to poor internal consistency. Example items of the three recommended factors include “I fear discrimination,” “I take/have taken hormones,” and “Being transgender causes me relationship problems.”

References,

Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Seidel’s guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Shulman, G. P., Holt, N. R., Hope, D. A., Mocarski, R., Eyer, J., & Woodruff, N. (2017). A review of contemporary assessment tools for use with transgender and gender nonconforming adults. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 4(3), 304–313. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000233Links to an external site.

Effective nursing health assessment interview techniques. (n.d.). Walden University. https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-programs/bachelor-of-science-in-nursing/resource/effective-nursing-health-assessment-interview-techniquesLinks to an external site.