Gordon's Functional Health Assessment

By carrying out an assessment nurses can identify the causes of problems that require medical involvement. Nettina (2006)

The assessment process is the back bone to any package of care and it is vital that it is personal and appropriate to the individual concerned. Although studies have found that there is no singular theory or understanding as to what the purpose of assessment is, there are different approaches and forms of assessment carried out in health and social care. These different approaches can sometimes result in different outcomes.

Nursing process is a systematic process that involves a continuous cycle of five interrelated phases: holistic assessment of a client, nursing diagnoses, nursing care planning, implementation, and evaluation (Wilkinson et al. 2015). It enables nurses to assess the person’s health status and health care needs, to create plans to meet the identified needs, and to provide and evaluate individualised nursing interventions according to the person’s needs (Luxford 2015). The holistic assessment is the first step of the nursing process that includes the collection of subjective and objective data related to the physical, psychological, social, developmental, cultural, and spiritual status of a client (Wilkinson et al. 2015). This comprehensive approach to nursing assessment is essential because it allows nurses to comprehend not only clients’ health status, but also their routines and needs in order to incorporate their life-styles into the care interventions (Luxford 2015). It ultimately enables nurses to provide appropriate quality person-centred care rather than nurse-initiated care (Luxford 2015). Responsibility for holistic nursing assessment is supported by the Registered nurse standards for practice (2016), ‘Standard 4.1: The registered nurse conducts assessments that are holistic as well as culturally appropriate’ (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia [NMBA] 2016, p. 4). This essay will discuss the elements and the importance of holistic assessment in nursing.

Thus, the aim of this paper is to assess the determinants of health that affect a specific client by taking into account Gordon’s Functional Health Patterns. Gordon’s Functional Health Patterns provides an effective framework for evaluating the many factors that can affect an individual in his or her day-to-day life. This method was developed by Majory Gordon in 1987, and used as a guideline for establishing a comprehensive nursing assessment. By using these specific categories, health care professionals are able to create a standardized method to collect data in order to determine aspects of health and

Health assessment is also vital in collecting information in the nursing process. In order to collect data in a systematic and standardized approach, and enable the nurse to determine different aspects of health and human function, the Gordon Functional Health Patterns which have 11 categories are usually used as a framework of the assessment.

Assessment of a patient is a big process of decision making, it is about the collection of information which will contribute to an overall judgement of a person and the illness they may have. Lloyd (2010) states that assessment is one of the first steps which is needed to be done in the nursing process, it is a building block for a relationship and an ongoing process which lets health professionals gather the correct information to help them understand the problems and needs that the patient is going through. Most of the nursing assessment which are in use today will all have very similar aims. The difference is that how the assessment’s are carried out is where the differences come from.

A family health assessment is a process by which a nurse evaluates and describes the health status of a given family. It is a framework that helps to identify areas of potential risk for illness, opportunities for health education and actions needed to address these (World Health Organization, 2001). Specifics covered in a nurse led family assessment will include family history, perceptions about health, reports, health records, and any clinic test results. The nurse conducts an interview, compiles data and performs an appropriate

In this Assessment nursing course, one of the major things that is taught is the most important part of giving proper care to a patient. Correct patient assessment is needed before any nursing care plan or treatment can be implemented. This post-review of a person’s assessment will demonstrate the proper way to go about assessing a person’s health.

Assessment in the nursing process will establish the patients' ongoing needs and provide a quality of care best suited to the individual, to achieve a desirable health outcome.

Nursing care is focused on the assessment, nursing diagnoses, planning, implementation, and evaluation of patients. This nursing process can also be implemented in aspects outside of nursing and on the nursing field as a collective group. The nursing role is evolving, following the process the outcomes have to be evaluated and put into perspective. Research is being completed the conclusions are all the same, the higher education of nursing care the better the patient outcomes.

A comprehensive family assessment provides a foundation to promote family health (Edelman & Mandle, 2011). 1987 Marjorie Gordon purposed 11 functional health patterns to use for guidance in order to facilitate nurses to have a frame work for the family assessment in. Gordon’s 11 functional health patterns help organizes basic family assessment information. This standardized format will guide nurses to complete the family assessment using system approaches, which will identify a patient’s

The first stage of the process is assessment. Roper et al (2001) refer to this process as ‘assessing’ indicating an ongoing activity; this encourages nurses to recognise the on-going nature of this initial phase. The assessing stage includes gathering information about a patient, reviewing this information, identifying actual and potential problems and prioritising (Roper et al 2001). Roper et al (2001) explain the importance for assessing, as early as possible in the patient’s stay. Extensive, in-depth information may not be gathered on an initial assessment, however any information obtained contributes towards individualised care (Roper et al 2001). Ambrose and Wittig (1998) explain that the initial assessment becomes a foundation for ongoing assessing and holistic care. Barrett, Wilson and Woollands (2009) concord with Roper et al and Wittig in that assessing is an ongoing process and elaborate on this explaining that assessment should not be confused with admission. They state “an admission tends to be a one-off process when you first meet the patient, whereas assessment carries on throughout your relationship with the patient” (pg22). Assessment enables the nurse and patient to identify actual and potential problems. Although, some problems can be directly related to biological needs, holistic needs must be considered, i.e. psychological state and cultural/social standing

The aim of this essay is to demonstrate the assessment process of a patient using the Roper Logan and Tierney (RLT) model of nursing framework and to show how the nursing process works alongside this model. This will be shown by a holistic history of the patient being shown, followed by how the RLT model is applicable to this patient. This is then followed by one nursing intervention being discussed showing how the nursing process is applied to patient care. The patient will be referred to as Mr Frederick Valentine to protect the patient’s anonymity as stated in the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Conduct (2008) guidelines.

Assessment is described as”The first stage of the nursing process, in which data about the patient’s health status is collected” (Oxford dictionary of nursing, 2003, p23), following this phase a care plan can be devised.

Minardi (2007) maintains that assessment is an evolving, incremental gathering and processing of information relevant to the clients situation or needs. Assessment must take place firstly to get a picture of the patient before setting out