An 87-year female, with a 3-day history of intermittent abdominal pain, abdomina

Question

An 87-year female, with a 3-day history of intermittent abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, and nausea and vomiting, came to the emergency department. She moved from Puerto Rico to join her grandson and his family only 2 months ago and speaks very little English. All information was obtained through her grandson.

PMH includes an abdominal hysterectomy 12 years ago and an inguinal hernia repair 2years ago. She has nod history of coronary artery disease, diabetes or pulmonary disease. She takes only ibuprofen occasionally for mild arthritis. She has no known drug allergies (NKDA).

Vital signs are: Blood Pressure 134/84, Pulse 84 beats/minute and regular, Respirations 20/minute and Temperature 97.2º F (36.2 ºC). An IV of D5 ½ NS with 20 mEq KCl at 100 mL/hour is started Nasal O2 at 2 L is also ordered.Her grandson, an attorney, tells you that elderly women are extremely modest and may not answer questions completely.
2. How might you gather information in this case?

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Her grandson, an attorney, tells you that elderly women are extremely modest and may not answer questions completely. 2. How might you gather information in this case?

Explanation / Answer

A nurse should know every possible detail of the patient before interacting with the patient. She should build good interpersonal relationship with the patient. Even if the patient doesn't understand english properly she should be able to communicate with her with the help of her grandson, she should convince the patient that she genuinely cares for the patients health. She should introduce herself to the patient in a good manner . She should be able to connect with the patient by sharing a similar interests, using humor sometimes, sharing same experience and their opinions.

She should explain her the importance of a good medical history and how much helpful it is in health care and her treatment. She should encourage patient to be more open, she should listen to the patient without interrupting her in between. After the patient is comfortable and gains confidence she begins to ask the questions with simple words and avoid medical terms.

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