Nursing Instructor Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Nursing Instructor PHYSICAL HISTORY: My clinical rotation was at St. Francis Hospital on the orthopedic/medical-surgical floor, 5-1. I was assigned JB for a patient 10/7 and 10/8. He was one day post-op from an elective bilateral knee arthroplasty. JB is a 69 year old Caucasian male who stands 6 feet tall and weighs 251 pounds. He has a history of hypertension, benign prostatic hyperplasia, degenerative joint disease, and renal calculi. Medications taken at home: Nifedipine 60 mg. QD to manage his hypertension and nonsteriodal anti-inflammatories for the DJD. JB's major problem is the degenerative joint disease (DJD) also referred to as osteoarthritis. According to Colodny, more than 50 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis and nearly everyone 50 years of age or older is afflicted with one or more of its classic symptoms. "Symptoms include joint pain, stiffness, and limited range of motion." (Lewis et al. 1896) "DJD is a slowly progressive disorder of mobile joints, particularly weight-bearing articulations, and is characterized by degeneration of articular cartilage."(lewis et al. 1896) "In the afflicted joint, the connective tissue (cartilage) that cushions the ends of the bone degenerates and allows the bones to rub together. This bone-to-bone contact can be extremely painful." (Colodny, 24) JB recalled his knee difficulties beginning in early adolescence. He had no specific injury, but the discomfort began a few months after he became involved in athletics. His surgical history consists of two knee operations. The first surgery was at age 16 and the second was several years later. He has been treated frequently over the years for this problem. Recently the number of physician's visits has increased ... ...zed manner. My interventions were appropriate and corresponded with the overall medical team's approach in caring for this patient. A considerable amount of time went into establishing a trusting nurse/patient relationship. That enabled me along with the patient to develop a workable nursing care plan and have a valuable learning experience. Works Cited Lewis, S. M., I. C. Collier. and M.M. Heitkemper. Medical-Surgical Nursing. St. Louis:Mosby, 1996. Potter, P. A., and A.G. Ferry. Fundamentals of Nursing. Missouri: Mosby. 1997. Yandrich. terry J. "Preventing Infection in Total Joint Replacement Surgery" OrthoPaedic Nursing. March/April, 1995:15-19. Kasmot, Keith. "Catching Deep Vein Thrombosis in Time" Nursing. October, 1994:34-42. Colodny, L., and W. Minale. "Osteoarthritis -is there relief in sight?" Better Nutrition. June, 1997:24.