Goal:

To conduct an assessment of health promotion while applying the nursing process and evidence based research to disseminate findings to course colleagues.

Case:

Jessica is a 32 y/old math teacher who presents to the ER with a friend for evaluation of sudden decrease of vision in the left eye. She denies any trauma or injury. It started this morning when she woke up and has progressively worsened over the past few hours. She had some blurring of her vision 1 month ago and thinks that may have been related to getting overheated, since it improved when she was able to get in a cool, air-conditioned environment. She has some pain if she tries to move her eye, but none when she just rests. She is also unable to determine colors. She denies tearing or redness or exposure to any chemicals. Nothing has made it better or worse.

She denies fever, chills, night sweats, weight loss, fatigue, headache, changes in hearing, sore throat, nasal or sinus congestion, neck pain or stiffness, chest pain or palpitations, shortness of breath or cough, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, dysuria, vaginal discharge, swelling in the legs, polyuria, polydipsia, and polyphagia.

Patient is alert; she appears anxious. BP 135/85 mm Hg; HR 64bpm and regular, RR 16 per minute, T: 98.5F. Visual acuity 20/200 in the left eye and 20/30 in the right eye. Sclera white, conjunctivae clear. Unable to assess visual fields in the left side; visual fields on the right eye are intact. Pupil response to light is diminished in the left eye and brisk in the right eye. The optic disc is swollen. Full range of motions; no swelling or deformity. Mental status: Oriented x 3. Cranial nerves: I-XII intact; horizontal nystagmus is present. Muscles with normal bulk and tone; Normal finger to nose, negative Romberg. Intact to temperature, vibration, and two-point discrimination in upper and lower extremities. Reflexes: 2+ and symmetric in biceps, triceps, brachioradialis, patellar, and Achiles tendons; no Babinski.

Submission Instructions:

• Complete a comprehensive history and Physical Examination.
• What physical findings are you looking for to help determine a presumptive nursing diagnosis?
• Support your findings with peer reviewed articles.
• Presentation is original work and logically organized in current APA style. Incorporate a minimum of 4 current (published within last five years) scholarly journal articles or primary legal sources (statutes, court opinions) within your work.
• Power point presentation with 8 -10 slides, excluding the tile slide and the reference slide.
  The presentation is clear and concise and students will lose points for improper grammar, punctuation, APA and misspelling.
• Speaker notes expanded upon and clarified content on the slides.

An understanding of the factors surrounding women’s and men’s health, infections, and hematologic disorders can be critically important to disease diagnosis and treatment in these areas. This importance is magnified by the fact that some diseases and disorders manifest differently based on the sex of the patient. 

Effective disease analysis often requires an understanding that goes beyond the human systems involved. The impact of patient characteristics, as well as racial and ethnic variables, can also have an important impact..

An understanding of the symptoms of alterations in systems based on these characteristics is a critical step in diagnosis and treatment of many diseases. For APRNs, this understanding can also help educate patients and guide them through their treatment plans.

In this Assignment, you examine a case study and analyze the symptoms presented. You identify the elements that may be factors in the diagnosis, and you explain the implications to patient health. 

To prepare:

By Day 1 of this week, you will be assigned to a specific case study scenario for this Case Study Assignment. Please see the “Course Announcements” section of the classroom for your assignment from your Instructor.

Assignment (1-page case study analysis)

In your Case Study Analysis related to the scenario provided, explain the following as it applies to the scenario you were provided (not all may apply to each scenario):

• Anemia and the different kinds of anemia (i.e., micro and macrocytic).

Scenario: 67-year-old female presents with chief complaint of shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, unintentional weight loss, and mild numbness in her feet. She states she feels unsteady when she walks. PMH includes hypothyroidism well controlled on Synthroid 100 mcg/day. No hx of HTN or CHF.

Vital signs: Temp 98.7 F, pulse 118, Respirations 22, BP 108/64, PaO2 95% on room air.

Physical exam revealed pale, anxious female appearing older than stated years.

HEENT- pale conjunctiva of eyes and pale palate. Tongue beefy red and slightly swollen with loss of normal rugae. Turbinates pale but no swelling. Thyroid palpable but no nodules felt. No lymph nodes palpated.

Cardiac-regular rate and rhythm with soft II/VI systolic murmur. Respiratory- lungs clear with no adventitious breath sounds. Abdomen-soft, non-tender with positive bowel sounds. Liver edge palpated two finger breadths below right costal margin. Lab data- hgb, hct, reticulocyte count, serum B12 levels low, mean corpuscle volume, plasma iron, and ferritin levels high, folate, TIBC are normal.