response 1: Lany
Educating patient about disease prevention and health promotion, are initiated by the onset of signs and symptoms. To obtain a diagnosis, disease screenings have to be performed and data collected to understand the developmentally process of the disease. Working in healthcare setting often providing education to the patient related to screening test and lab results are the most vital part of patient care and health maintenance.
Previous experience with disease screening is very detrimental to health promotion and disease prevention. Over the years I have notice individuals who are more likely to obtain screening to rule out possible causes are usually more responsive to medical treatment and have better health outcome. Those that are more reluctant of screening test and evaluation tend to have short life expectancy and more complication through their disease process when finally assessed.
My most recent experience in working with a patient who has been apprehensive about getting screened for certain disease was a disoriented 80 year old women admitted for weakness and anorexia. Her children surround her bed side day and night, taking turns spending the night and assisting with care, also being the proxy of the patient care (Manalel, Marcum, Calabrese, Hughes, Prichard, Wilson, de la Haye, Hutchinson, & Koehly, 2019). Patient spent over 3 weeks in the hospital and still had trace of disorientation and anorexia at discharge. During her stay many screenings test and lab test were ordered. The family object to many test as they believe the testing was the source of her weakness. Even with extensive educating and explaining procedures and testing to the family, they would decline screening measures (Chen, Baird, & Straub, 2019). Needless to stay the patient ended up not progressing and was discharge with hospice without any proper diagnosis on how to treat her underlining condition, expect with her previous known chronic condition. Without a doubt, if she received the screening test necessary to find out her medical condition in more detail, would have offer this patient more effective intervention to help recuperate her health condition. Due to the lack on knowledge and stringent practices this woman was not offered optimal care from the healthcare facility while in the care of health care providers with all the means within reach.
No matter how educated or how much education you give an individual during hospitalization, it is completely up to the patient on how effective treatment will be for their health maintenance.
References
Chen, L., Baird, A., & Straub, D. (2019). Fostering Participant Health Knowledge and Attitudes: An Econometric Study of a Chronic Disease-Focused Online Health Community. Journal of Management Information Systems, 36(1), 194–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2018.1550547
Manalel, J. A., Marcum, C. S., Calabrese, S., Hughes, D., Prichard, I., Wilson, C., de la Haye,
response 2: rachelle
Share your experiences with disease screenings and how you would respond to patients who are apprehensive about getting screened for certain diseases.
Disease screenings are a common yet critical part of providing healthcare. Without disease screenings, it would be impossible to provide a proper prognosis and a viable treatment plan to the patients in need. I have had many experiences with disease screenings, being that I am working in the acute care setting. Some of the disease screenings that exist include a Pap smear, which detects abnormal cell growth in the cervix. These abnormal cell growths may lead to cancer, which is why this screening is so critical. Also, there are mammographies to detect the presence of breast cancer, colonoscopies to detect colorectal cancer, and also dermatological checks to assess for melanoma. There are also simple blood screenings, such as complete blood counts (CBC) and basic metabolic panel (BMP) to detect abnormal blood work. High LDLs and triglycerides may indicate potential cardiac issues. Other cardiac disease screenings include standard echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, stress tests, CT scans, and an MRI (Heidenreich et al., 2018). Furthermore, simpler screenings include a full set of vitals, cholesterol screening, BMI screening, and a blood glucose test (Heidenreich et al., 2018).
Some of the tests mentioned may cause patients to become apprehensive and worried. For example, in my experience, I have had anxious patients who need to take anti-anxiety or mild sedative medications to go through with an MRI. Because of the loud noise, and how long it takes to complete the exam, it may be necessary to explain to the patient the importance of completing the exam and clearing them of any possible disease.
However, explaining to patients who have no background in the medical field may be difficult to convince. As with the example I am presenting, it may be challenging to convince certain patients to proceed with disease screenings. Anxiety and apprehension are almost expected when there is a chance that the result may bring negative news. One of the best ways to respond to patients is to educate them on the importance of disease screenings, and how early diagnosis may allow for a swift full recovery. Furthermore, providing the patient with a listening ear and support may also release some anxiety a patient is facing. Defusing a patient that is nervous about screening would allow the patient to have comfort while testing, and to be confident that the healthcare system is intended to benefit them.
In all, it is the job of nurse practitioners to calm patients and provide only disease screenings that are necessary to the patients. While some screenings may be preventative interventions, some screenings are not necessary and may result in a false positive in the patient (Welch & Black, 2019). Recognizing that aggressive screenings may also be harmful to patients is also the role of the nurse practitioner to understand. Patients also have the right to refuse and accept any and all disease screenings, provided they have received all information regarding that screening. Allowing patient autonomy is something that should be taken seriously in the field because, at times, it is all a patient has.
References:
Heidenreich, P. A., Schnittger, I., Strauss, H. W., Vagelos, R. H., Lee, B. K., Mariscal, C., Tate, D. F., Horning, S. J., Hoppe, R. T., & Hancock, S. L. (2018). Screening for Coronary Artery Disease After Mediastinal Irradiation for Hodgkin’s Disease. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 25(1), 43–49. https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2006.07.0805
Welch, H. G., & Black, W. C. (2019). Overdiagnosis in Cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 102(9), 605–613. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djq099
Reply
K., Hutchinson, A., & Koehly, L. (
