Pain Assessment: The Fifth Vital Sign (graded)
John, a 46-year-old African American male presents for admission to your hospital for hemi colectomy for colon polyps. He is complaining of chronic back pain. Patient is on disability from work-related injury. History of two previous back surgeries with relief of numbness in RLE, but pain has not been relieved. His current medications include Methadone, Neurontin, and Norco. John states he takes Tylenol PM every night in addition to his prescribed medications. John is a smoker and smokes 1 PPD. John confides in you that he is considering a spinal cord stimulator for the chronic pain. What risk factors does John have for risk of opioid withdrawal during this hospitalization? Is there a stigma connected to being disabled and/or methadone? Does the nurse need to be concerned about acetaminophen use? What are the differences in acute and chronic pain? .next.ecollege.com/(NEXT(f291f528024448eeba573bc64dac3c84))/Main/CourseMode/Thread/ListThreadsView_V2.ed#”>RespondNutritional Assessment (graded) Red Yoder is an 80-year-old farmer who lives alone in the farmhouse where he grew up. It is located 20 miles outside of town. Red has been a widower for 10 years. Red rarely cooks for himself and mainly eats packaged or processed foods. His son, Jon, manages the farm now, but Red is still involved in the decision making. Red’s current medical problems include insulin-dependent diabetes complicated by an open foot wound. He also has some incontinence and difficulty sleeping. Red is awaiting a visit from the home health nurses. He relates that he has an open wound on his big toe that developed after walking in a new pair of shoes. When his daughter-in-law, Judy, saw the wound, she called the family doctor, who suggested a visit by the wound care nurse, who works with the home health agency. Red agreed as long as his VA benefits cover the costs. Red is aware that his son and daughter-in-law have concerns about him living alone, but Red insists that while he needs a little help from Jon and Judy at times, he is still capable of caring for himself. What are Red’s strengths? What are your concerns for this patient? What is the cause of your concern? What information do you need? What are you going to do about it? What is Red experiencing?
