Facilitating Physiological Balance ( Part I )

One fateful day at the end of June in 1998 when I was spending some time at home; my mother came to me with the bad news: my parent's best friend, Tommy, had been diagnosed with brain cancer. He had been sick for some time and we all had anxiously been awaiting a prognosis. But none of us were ready for the bumpy roads that lay ahead: testing, surgery, chemotherapy, nausea, headaches, and fatigue. Even loud music would induce vomiting. He just felt all around lousy.

However, no other death of a patient has stuck with me the most than my first encounter. Two years ago, I was reviewing my list of patients

Working as a Patient Care Technician has taught me that hospitals are a special kind of library. The halls are not lined with books, but are still lined with stories. Every patient I encounter has a unique story; some are triumphant, and others heart wrenching. Nonetheless, there is something meaningful to be learned from each one. What I love most about my job is that my care becomes part of their story. Sometimes all I can offer to my terminal cancer patients is a warm blanket in the middle of the night. Seeing a patient’s eyes glisten and mouth widen in appreciation of something that you have done is rewarding. Knowing that I have eased even one story makes the less glamorous aspects of my job worthwhile. Through this experience I have encountered many stories with different plots, characters, and settings. Every time I walk in the hospital I am overcome with excitement at the prospect of learning a new story where the characters are tangible. It is a privilege to be a part of someone’s story, even if all we can offer is an act of kindness. One thing is certain,the stories I have encountered will always remain on my

On a chilly Saturday afternoon around the end February, I arrived home from my grandparents only to find that my great aunt, who lives in Washington State, had taken my great grandmother to the emergency room because she couldn't walk. My aunt was up here visiting at the time. My great grandmother was in the local hospital for a few days before they shipped her to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where they proceeded to diagnose her with breast cancer and lymphoma. The breast cancer had a tumor that was against her spine, so she couldn't walk. This was her third time being diagnosed with cancer. The round that did her in.

In the case of the patient, Mr.J, an 86-year old with a two-year history of dementia, small cell lung cancer, and metastasis to the femur, he would benefit of a referral to palliative care. There are many explanations on why he would need to be referred. This consists of his cancer spreading quickly, mental status, and non-verbal behavior suggesting he is in pain. His daughter has even requested that the goal of her father’s treatment would be comfort care rather than chemotherapy.

Last semester in Acute Care, I had a great patient experience when I prepared and accompanied an eighty-nine-year-old lady for her hiatal hernia surgical repair. At Banner Estrella, on the medical surgical unit, my nurse was very busy taking care of her five other patients and knew she did not have enough time to prep her patient nor walk her down for surgery. She delegated the task to me and I was more than willing to do the job. As I took the patients vitals, helped wipe down her body in cleansing clothes, removed unnecessary jewelry, got her into a new gown we made small talk to pass the time. I discovered a lot about her life though casual conversation. She lives by herself in Pine, Arizona, she still burns her trash every Wednesday, shovels snow off her driveway, gets on her roof

Scenario One As a social worker on oncology, you have a client who has suffered

In respect to implementing a plan for Mel, a treatment team is very important because every department in the medical field correlates to each other. The treatment committee usually consists of medical doctors, psychiatrists, and therapists; these vital individuals communicate with each other to provide the preeminent outcome for the patient. The psychiatrist is an imperitive part of the team because he/she is trained and equipped to evaluate individuals with medical and emotional illnesses (American Psychiatric Association, 2015). In addition, their education also qualifies them to prescribe mental illness medication, order psychological assessments, plan treatment packages, and diagnosis. Mel will benefit from having a psychiatrist on his team because he may have a underlying emotional disorder based off of his behavior history.

So, this long term plan is just a hypothetical sketch, which addresses key challenges, most appropriate therapeutic choices for best outcome of the patient health.The most difficult challenge in this patient is lack of time; How long you can wait to improve patients depression and energy level? ; Because waiting might have injurious to his health, and jeopardize

Cancer is one of the most destructive and scariest diseases that anyone could develop. According to statistics, there is approximately a 38.5% chance of getting cancer in one’s lifetime. Even if you personally do not get cancer you will live through the destructiveness of cancer from someone close to you because cancer does not discriminate; cancer kills young, old, weak and strong. I myself have lived through this horrible experience and have seen how it completely destroys and tears a family apart. I have lived through all the pain it makes the patient go through. I have seen, however how medical staff bring family together, creates hope for the impossible, and strengthen a patient's will to fight, and that is what I want to undertake.

Without the kind help of her nurses and other medical professionals, it would have been a much more sorrowful experience. This interaction made me want to become a nurse and create a positive and warmhearted environment to patients in need of support.

Anxiety disorder is a condition in which a person’s emotional state, impairs the rationalization of their judgement. A certain amount of anxiety is normal; but patients suffering from an anxiety disorder have an inability to lead a normal life. Those suffering from this mental illness encounter a variety of symptoms that can possibly alter their perspective of life; including: feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness, problems sleeping, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath. Anxiety can be caused by a number of reasons, including: mental conditions, finances, school, work, marriage, and can even be a side effect of various medications. As medical professionals encounter those who suffer from anxiety disorders, providing proper patient care is imperative.

Gathering information related to their values and health care wishes would be other critical pieces of information to help guide care. The Code of Ethics for Nursing (2010), state that we are to "practice with compassion, respect or inherent dignity and worth unrestricted by the nature of health problems" (Fowler, 2010. p. 1). This value needs to be integrated into the discussion about his final phase of life and care. He will reach a point where he will be unable to have these discussions, and therefore, they should occur when he can be part of the planning. Additional data to collect could have included his mental status, trends over time. He was already on Aricept. Therefore, there was a history of cognitive deficits in the

This patient taught me more about myself than any other patient I have taken care of. Her and her family showed me how short life can be and to enjoy every moment. They also showed me the importance of family and how being there for one another has

Before a diagnostic such as pulmonary cancer, explaining to the patient and family about the services offered by the hospice is a task that should be planned. You must first assess the level of anxiety that presents the patient and try to get it down because only if the patient and family are calmed will be able to pay attention and understand the benefits they will get receiving the services. It is very important that the wife understands the importance of the patient understanding the reality of his condition, we must ensure that she understands this point and allow the patient to participate in the planning of his care. We have to start by telling them that in hospice they will receive services from the multidisciplinary team where they