Nursing Diagnosis : Health Assessment Essay

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

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.

The ASPIRE framework, also referred to as the nursing process (Barratt, Wilson and Wollands, 2012) was used to structure and develop Susan’s care plan. Introduced by Barrett, Wilson and Wollands (2012), following on from APIE developed by Yura and Walsh (1967), ASPIRE stands for assessment, systematic nursing diagnosis, planning, implementation, recheck and evaluation. Hogston and Marjoram (2006) believe that systematic nursing diagnosis was added to offer direction and time for the nurse to reflect on gathered information and systematically develop a diagnosis. Also the aspect of rechecking is to enable the nurse to monitor and plot a patient’s progress contributing to the final stage of evaluation of care and if its successfulness (Barratt, Wilson and Wollands, 2012).

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.

Assessment is the initial stage of the nursing process. Roper et al consistently use the term ‘assessing’ to signify that it is an on-going process, and highlights its continuity throughout the patient’s episode of care (Aggleton & Chalmers, 2000). It is divided into two stages to allow for a holistic representation of the patient to be established (Barrett et al, 2009). Effective assessment allows the prompt identification of any changes in a patient’s health status, and if necessary; allows any action to be carried out immediately supporting the delivery of safe, effective care DH (). The formulation of an accurate assessment is a fundamental skill for a student nurse as outlined by the NMC (2004), and so it is important that a holistic approach is adopted for this skill to be achieved. An holistic approach supports the consideration of……..needs,(THEME?) which

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.

Write a nursing diagnostic statement for one of the nursing diagnoses by combining the nursing diagnosis label with the “related to” (r/t) factors.

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.

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.

Lily was a 65 year old lady with stage 5 CKD, she had recently begun hemodialysis treatment three times a week as an inpatient and had been responding well to treatment. During dialysis treatment on the morning of the first day, Lily’s observations showed that she was: tachycardic, hypotensive, tachypnoeaic, had an oxygen saturation level of 88% and was becoming confused and drowsy. It became apparent that Lily had become hypovolaemic. The hypovolaemic shock seen in this patient was of a particular critical nature due to the fact that her dialysis treatment had moved her rapidly through the first two stages of shock with her compensatory mechanisms failing very quickly (Tait, 2012). It was also much harder to identify the early signs of

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.

It is during the second phase that the nurse must establish a nursing diagnosis. Only diagnosis approved and listed through The North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) may be used. Ineffective airway clearance, risk for impaired skin integrity, risk for infection and ineffective coping are just a few examples of NANDA approved diagnosis. A nursing diagnosis is a clinical judgment about actual or potential individual, family, or community experiences/responses to health problems/life processes. A nursing diagnosis provides the basis for selection of nursing interventions to achieve outcomes for which the nurse has accountability (Defining the Knowledge,” 2012).

Assessment in nursing has been determined by the problem-solving framework of the nursing process and nursing models. It is a dynamic and continuous process as clients needs change; it promotes individualized care and responds to clients in a responsible and timely manner to improve or maintain their level of health (RCN, 2004). A health assessment not only comprises of gathering health information about a patient, but also analyzing and synthesizing the information, and evaluating the effectiveness of nursing interventions on patients health care outcomes (Weber & Kelley, 2013).