Theory Of Unpleasant Symptoms (TOUS)

The symptom management theory (SMT) of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), was revised by its faculty and students in 2001 (Smith & Liehr, 2014). According to Dodd et al. (2001), the subjective experience that suggests alterations in an individual’s functioning, sensation, and cognition is called a symptom. Dodd et al. state that their theory provides a nonspecific symptom management model to guide nursing practice and research. The SMT has three overlapping circles which contain the three domains of nursing science, also known as concepts of metaparadigm of nursing. The three nursing science domains are the person, the environment, and health & illness. In the theory’s model, the dimensions are affected by the three nursing science domains (Dodd et al., 2001).

Dale Gordon has been a patient in the ICU for 6 days after developing complications after open heart surgery. He is an 82-year-old African American who is disoriented to place and time. He lives with his daughter Claudia in her home. Claudia and her two brothers visit Mr. Gordon daily since he has been hospitalized. Mr. Gordon has not been eating well since the surgery and has lost 3 pounds. Mr. Gordon has type 2 diabetes and is on oral antihyperglycemic medication. Before he came to the hospital, Mr. Gordon was able to only ambulate for short distances. He has orders to get up in a chair twice a day. Joan, a student nurse, is caring for Mr. Gordon this morning. She has reviewed his medical record and is now ready to start caring for him.

One possible solution for the state and/or local government to consider would be to offer state funding for patients with chronic illnesses to be covered by a state funded insurance plan based on the patient’s income. This would allow for Mr. Davis to be seen for routine care, in an attempt to keep him healthy and reduce emergency room visits and hospitalizations. Another possible solution would be for local and state governments to fund healthcare facilities and/or clinics designated to care for patients with chronic health conditions; providing public health nurses who are available to visit the patients in the home in order to educate him or her on disease and disease processes.

The smoking cessation was witnessed by the author throughout her placement. This was used on a daily basis in the community by district nurses, health visitors, but especially by the general practice nurses as being incorporated in each consultation in the form of advices, leaflets, smoking cessation programs including medication and follow-ups.

This study by Naughton et al. (2014) was conducted to identify the effectiveness of the iQuit program, a self-help program supported by text messaging, as an adjunct to smoking cessation education offered in the primary care setting. The authors report smoking cessation offered in the primary care setting varies widely but research showed the added option of a self-help program for patients produces a cessation rate of as much as twice the rate of those patients who were given only in- office education (Naughton et al.).

The whole world has issues with healthcare and how to provide care for all their citizens. The United States is currently in the process of making changes to its healthcare system. There are currently multiple types of health insurance in the United States. Today, I will address the health care insurance I have, its products, source of my insurance, my out-of-pocket expenses, the level of coverage I receive with my plan, the major limitations to my coverage, and the process of receiving needed care, needed care in my plan including exams, how to get to a specialist if needed and the process for non-emergency care.

The United States of America has been known to be one of the most advanced countries in terms of our quality of medicine, medical programs, and medical advances. A person can walk into nearly any emergency room without the fear of being turned away or not getting care. With so many resources and cutting edge technology, it’s hard to believe that this health care system does not function to suit the needs of the populations that are most in need of care. Gaining access to long term, continuous health care has become an arduous task, especially over the past two years. Finding a primary care provider seems impossible nowadays, whether a person is insured or uninsured.

Many examples of innovative professional practice have been highlighted throughout recent literature; which suggest that the needs of a patient are best met by an interprofessional team. (Caldwell & Atwal, 2003) Benefits from effective interprofessional practice include improved health outcomes, interprofessional team effectiveness and efficiency, job satisfaction among interprofessional team members, cost efficiency and respect for the roles of other health professionals and colleagues. (McNair, Brown, Stone & Sims, 2001) Interprofessional practice is critical to the provision of effective and efficient health care; given the complexity of patient's healthcare needs and the range of health providers and organisations. (Reeves et al.,

Those who are admitted to hospitals nowadays either through the emergency department or elective admission usually have multiple and complex health conditions and classically require more than one health professional to address these needs. In today’s hospital settings interprofessional collaboration is being promoted as a holistic means of providing patient centred care and plays an extremely important role in healthcare. It is said to improve the delivery of healthcare by reducing morbidity and mortality by decreasing wait times, improving chronic disease management and promoting patient safety (World Health Organisation, 2010).

Patient care today is far more complex than it has ever been, and one single profession cannot account for every physical, mental, social, or spiritual issue that may arise within an individual (Hilton, Ghaznavi & Zuberi, 2002). In many health care systems, multidisciplinary care is used which involves a number of different types of professionals working alongside each other with separate goals. A more effective method, called interprofessional practice, is being researched which recommends that different professions combine their skills, knowledge, and expertise to better the outcome of patient care by working towards a common goal,

Cigarette smoking is widely accepted as one of the most readily available addictive substances a person can buy. A person may visit any corner store, any gas station, and there would be a strong chance cigarettes would be sold behind the register. A respiratory Therapists practice revolves around the lungs, not only do they treat patients suffering from pulmonary diseases, but they also help patients move away from unhealthy habits which may have a damaging impact on their lungs and respiratory system, namely smoking. The following points will further explore the Respiratory Therapist part in smoking cessation, such as their role in patient education and prevention, patient counseling as well as their role in forming a treatment

Smoking cessation: The status is uncontrolled and patient is willing to try to quit smoking.

“Interprofessional working involves complex interactions between two or more members of different professional disciplines. It is a collaborative venture in which those involved share the common purpose of developing mutually negotiated goals achieved through agreed plans which are monitored and evaluated according to agreed procedures. This requires the pooling of knowledge and expertise to facilitate joint decision making based upon shared professional viewpoints” (Barrett, Sellman & Thomas, 2005, p18). How individuals collaborate and work towards a common goal for the benefit of the patient is essential for a swift recovery.

It was one of the clinical days in cardiology department on Monday afternoon. One incident that is worth reflecting on was my encounter with a 52 years old female patient who smoke on average 20 cigarettes per day since more than 20 years. She is an overweight who has recently been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), COPD is a a lung disease characterised by the narrowing of the airways. COPD also refers to chronic bronchitis and emphysema, the latter of which Sarah has been diagnosed with. It is emphysema that is Sarah's primary health problem at present.The health promotion strategy adopted in this case was a brief intervention including motivational interviewing, which took place within the clinical area as part of Jessie’s consultation.

According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, accounting for more than 480,000 deaths every year, or 1 of every five deaths. In 2015, about 15 of every 100 U.S. adults age 18 years or older currently smoke cigarettes. However, this is a decline from nearly 21 of every 100 adults back in 2005. One reason for the decline is due to smoking cessation programs developed within our communities. These programs are helping smokers to quit their habit, and improve their health and lifestyle. Let us look at what it takes to make a smoke cessation successful within ones’ community.