How would i use the nursing process within the community for this patient? -

patient A is 79 years old and has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition which she has had for the last 10 years. She has just been discharged from hospital after being treated as an in - patient for a chest infection. She has been prescribed a 7 day course of oral antibiotics and a reducing course of oral steroids. She has also been prescribed salbutomol via an inhaler which she must take using the spacer. This is the first time she has been prescribed this medication. She lives alone in a 1st floor warden aided flat. Her husband died 3 years ago and her daughter (her only living relative) lives some distance away. She relies heavily on the warden and her friends from the local community centre for company, shopping and social support. Patient A worries a lot because her vision is not as good as it used to be and she feels unsteady on her feet. She is not able to leave the house on her own. Past Medical History COPD since 1997 Type II Diabetes diagnosed 1997. Hypertension 1994 Medication No known allergies Salbutomol inhaler Cefuroxime 500mg BD Metformin 500mg TDS Bendrofluazide 2.5mg OD Aspirin 75mg OD Atorvastatin 10mg OD Prednisolone reducing dose from 50mg – 5mg over two weeks Vital Signs BP 150/90 Pulse 90 reg Respirations 20 breaths/min HBA1C – 8%

In her stats, it is obvious that she has some breathing issues. Her B/P is a little high, she has diabetes as well. Is she overweight? She is also taking aspirin - hopefully under a doctor s supervision - so I wonder if she also has CHF. There must be a home-nursing service in the area and perhaps they could come once a day to be sure that the meds are being used correctly and keep track of the Diabetes, CHF and COPD. The state offices can recommend a nursing service if she is low-income. Good luck.

I know that this is your homework and it is time consuming, but it is so very important that you do it and learn how the nursing process works. Look up nursing process in Wikipedia ... it wil help you to understand it and what you need to think about to answer this question. I don t think that Yahoo answers is really the best place to ask a question that is technical and involves a complex answer, as this one certainly does !