The nursing process is a tool that puts knowledge into practice. By utilizing this systematic problem-solving method, nurses can determine the health care needs of an individual and provide personalized care.

Write a paper (1,750-2,000 words) on cancer and approach to care based on the utilization of the nursing process. Include the following in your paper:

1. Describe the diagnosis and staging of cancer.
2. Describe at least three complications of cancer, the side effects of treatment, and methods to lessen physical and psychological effects.
3. Discuss what factors contribute to the yearly incidence and mortality rates of various cancers in Americans.
4. Explain how the American Cancer Society (ACS) might provide education and support. What ACS services would you recommend and why?
5. Explain how the nursing process is utilized to provide safe and effective care for cancer patients across the life span. Your explanation should include each of the five phases and demonstrate the delivery of holistic and patient-focused care.
6. Discuss how undergraduate education in liberal arts and science studies contributes to the foundation of nursing knowledge and prepares nurses to work with patients utilizing the nursing process. Consider mathematics, social and physical sciences, and science studies as an interdisciplinary research area.

You are required to cite to a minimum of four sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and relevant to nursing practice.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. 

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion. 

Benchmark Information

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:

RN-BSN

2.1: Incorporate liberal arts and science studies into nursing knowledge.

3.1 Utilize the nursing process to provide safe and effective care for patients across the life span.

Many people in the US, particularly the elderly, take more than one prescribed medication. CDC (2014) reported that between 2009 and 2012 nearly 48% of persons asked used at least one prescription drug, 22% used three or more prescription drugs, and nearly 11% used five or more.

In a recent study published by the Mayo Clinic, seven out of 10 Americans take at least one prescription drug. The most commonly prescribed drug is antibiotics — taken by 17 percent of Americans — followed by antidepressants and opioids — each taken by 13 percent of Americans. In addition, findings showed that:

• Even more staggering than the CDC findings, currently more than half of Americans take two prescription medications, and 20 percent of Americans are on at least five prescription medications.
• More women than men receive prescription medications.
• Antidepressant prescriptions are more common among women than men, and are most common among women ages 50 to 64.

When people take multiple medications, there is a greater risk for confusion about which medications are taken, when they are taken, and what they are being taken for. There is also a higher risk for drug interactions and increased side effects and adverse reactions.

Sometimes because of the sheer number of medications being prescribed, they may be forgotten, become too much of a bother, or a financial burden which can significantly impact client compliance and lead to poor health outcomes.

In this written assignment, you will be conducting an interview of a client who is taking multiple prescribed medications (three or more) and submitting a written paper describing the findings from the interview. You will then develop a Client Teaching Plan. Your instructor will assist you in the selection of the client. You must achieve a “pass” in this assignment to satisfactorily fulfill the requirements for the Pharmacology course.

The three parts of this assignment are:

Conduct an interview of a client who is taking multiple medications (polypharmacy). You must prepare the client before the interview by explaining why you are conducting the interview. You can say “my assignment is to find out about the medications you are taking so I can determine if you need more information about what you are taking”. You must always get permission from the client to conduct the interview and you must tell the client how the information will be used. You can say, “I will not be using your name in the information I share and I will be submitting it to my instructor only for this student assignment”. If there is important information that needs to be communicated to you, your doctor, family, or nurse, my instructor will assist me in following up on this”. Tell the client you will take no more than 30-45 minutes for the interview.

There may be a family member or significant other present during the interview. That is fine. Be sure to identify who answered a question and if possible always have the client answer first. Always thank the client (and others) when you complete the interview.

Do not use recording equipment for this interview. Have a notepad and pencil or pen and explain that you will be taking notes. When the interview is over, go to a quiet place and take some time to fill in any information you did not jot down. If you wait, you will not remember.

When setting the environment for the interview, make sure the client (and others) is comfortable and you are comfortably seated facing the client. If possible, do the interview in a quiet place. Ask questions slowly giving the client time to answer. Pay attention to the client’s hearing and ability to respond to the questions. Be sure your non-verbal communication demonstrates you are calm and relaxed.

Use the following interview question guidelines when conducting the interview. Be aware that the client may not be able to answer each of the questions with detailed information. Collect as much information as the client is able and willing to give you. Remember you are the interviewer so you will be collecting information and not making any comments about the information shared by the client except to ask for further clarification if you are not sure what was said or need more detail if it is available.

1. What medications are you taking?
2. Before the interview research each of the medications. In your paper include the reason for each medication, the drug classification, the route of administration, the dose, and possible side effects/adverse reactions.

For the following questions, paraphrase the client’s answers for your written paper.

1. How long have you taken each these medications?
2. Do you know why you are taking these medications?
3. Who told you about the medications and why you need to take them? Were you able to ask any questions about the medications and if so were they answered so you understood what was said?
4. How do you feel about taking these medications?
5. Are you taking other medication purchased “over the counter” such as in a drug store? If so, what is it and why are you taking it.
6. How and when do you take your medications?
7. Do you have any difficulty taking the medications? If so, what happens and how do you deal with any difficulties.
8. Have you ever felt any uncomfortable feelings and/or body reactions to taking these medications? If so, what were they and how were they handled?
9. If you had the above reaction, did they take you off the medication and/or replace it with another medication? Were you told why this happened?
10. Do you have any reason not to take the medications?
11. Have you ever not taken the medication? If so, what was the reason?

Ask a final question about whether the client would like to tell you anything further about their medications.

Write a paper describing your research and findings about the medications being taken and the results of the interview. Report your findings in a 3-5 page written paper. In your paper include the reason for each medication, the drug classification, the route of administration, the dose, and possible side effects/adverse reactions.

Use accurate and appropriate spelling and grammar and APA Editorial Format for sources used in your written paper.

Develop a teaching plan for this client based on your findings. Based on the findings from the interview, develop a 2-3 page teaching plan to include the following:

1. List one goal for this teaching plan
2. Describe two to three teaching resources that might be used
3. Identify two teaching strategies that can be used based on the client interviewed
4. List specific client instructions regarding the medications and what adverse reactions they should be aware of/and what to do
5. Identify at least one factor that may negatively influence adherence to the medications and how it can be overcome
6. If, appropriate, describe how the family might be involved in ensuring the client is on a proper and safe medication regime

Submit your completed assignments by following the directions linked below. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.

Save your assignment as a Microsoft Word document. (Mac users, please remember to append the “.docx” extension to the filename.) The name of the file should be your first initial and last name, followed by an underscore and the name of the assignment, and an underscore and the date. An example is shown below:

Jstudent_exampleproblem_101504

As an advanced practice nurse, you will run into situations where a patient’s wishes about his or her health conflict with evidence, your own experience, or a family’s wishes. This may create an ethical dilemma. What do you do when these situations occur?

In this Lab Assignment, you will explore evidence-based practice guidelines and ethical considerations for specific scenarios.

To Prepare

Review the scenarios provided by your instructor for this week’s Assignment. Please see the “Course Announcements” section of the classroom for your scenarios.

• Based on the scenarios provided:
  • Select one scenario, and reflect on the material presented throughout this course.
  • What necessary information would need to be obtained about the patient through health assessments and diagnostic tests?
  • Consider how you would respond as an advanced practice nurse. Review evidence-based practice guidelines and ethical considerations applicable to the scenarios you selected.

The Lab Assignment

Write a detailed one-page narrative (not a formal paper) explaining the health assessment information required for a diagnosis of your selected patient (include the scenario number). Explain how you would respond to the scenario as an advanced practice nurse using evidence-based practice guidelines and applying ethical considerations. Justify your response using at least three different references from current evidence-based literature.

CASE STUDY 

A 12-year-old girl has come in for a routine check-up and has not yet received the HPV vaccine. Her family is very religious and believes that the vaccine would encourage premarital sexual activity.

Read the following case study and answer the posed questions:

Mr. Les Brown has been diagnosed with COPD 10 years ago. He has been increasingly shortness of breath doing activities of daily living, needing to rest more frequently and feels he is coughing more often.

1. Explain the pathophysiology behind the signs and symptoms of COPD
2. What relationship do you see with Mr. Brown’s vital signs – 26 RR, 91% oxygen saturation, temp: 37.8, HR: 93 BP: 150/70
3. Describe the goals of care for Mr Brown. Make sure to use the COPD gold standards of care( https://goldcopd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/WMS-GOLD-2018-Feb-Final-to-print-v2.pdf (Links to an external site.)) for your plan.
4. How would you follow up on your proposed plan of care?

Responses need to address all components of the question, demonstrate critical thinking and analysis, and include peer reviewed journal evidence to support the student’s position.

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

Please review the rubric to ensure that your response meets the criteria.