Nursing Practicum – Week 1 Journal Entry

1 Practicum – Week 1 Journal Entry Nurses can apply various theoretical frameworks to guide their practice. These theories provide a solid background on which to propel the nursing practice. They also provide an outline of the way nurses should conduct themselves during care delivery to improve the outcome of patient care. Although nursing theories have different principles, they are all focused on creating an environment that promotes healing and improves the quality of a patient’s life.

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2 The aging theory selected to guide practice, in this case, is the implicit theory of aging, which is also referred to as the activity theory. This theoretical framework states that for aging to occur successfully, the elderly persons must be actively involved in social activities and maintain social interactions with other people (Sue et al., 2019). This theory is driven by the perception that when elderly persons maintain a socially active lifestyle, their quality of life may be enhanced, and the aging process delayed (Manenti, Brambilla & Cotelli, 2019). The activity theory assumes that life satisfaction is directly related to participation in social activities. Older adults who engage in social activities, are able to adjust their lives better than those with poor social interactions (Estes & DiCarlo, 2019).

This theory can be integrated into patient care to promote social interactions between patients and nurses as well as between patients and families (Manenti, Brambilla & Cotelli, 2019). The commitment of patients to their care may improve if their interaction with the care providers is positive. Through promoting a patient's participation in social activities, nurses can positively influence the patient’s health and quality of life.

Goals and Objectives The practicum, which describes a well-organized practice experience, is grounded on several goals and objectives. These goals include providing nurses with an opportunity to put theoretical knowledge into practice in addition to integrating the skill acquired in different courses into knowledge (Garthwait, 2016). Another practicum goal is to establish a platform to facilitate knowledge and skills development through direct involvement in geriatric care. The practicum also aims to instill nurses with the skills necessary to actively participate in community health promotion and disease prevention initiatives. Another practicum goal is to improve the nurses’ capacity to apply evidence-based principles in all geriatric care decision-

3 making processes. This goal is guided by the first domain of nursing practice to ensure that decisions made during care are relevant to the health needs of the patients. Importantly, the practicum experience targets to improve the communication skills of the nurses (Garthwait, 2016). These skills are essential for the establishment of positive interpersonal relationships with the patients.

Practicum Timeline

Practicum timeline

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References Estes, C. L., & DiCarlo, N. (2019). Aging A-Z: Concepts toward Emancipatory Gerontology.

Milton: Routledge.

Garthwait, C., (2016). The Social Work Practicum: A Guide and Workbook for Students.

Pearson Education.

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4 Manenti, R., Brambilla, M., & Cotelli, M. (2019). Age-related changes in implicit emotion processing. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 26(1), 86-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2017.1408769 Sue, D. W., Sue, D., Neville, H. A., & Smith, L. (2019). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

5 Practicum – Week 4 Journal Entry Compliance with treatment is one of the main factors that determine the outcome of care.

Patients who strictly follow the instructions of the care providers are likely to experience better health results than those who do not comply (D'Onofrio, Greco & Sancarlo, 2018). When dealing with elderly patients nurses have an obligation to make thorough follow-ups to ensure compliance with the medication regimen is sustained. However, numerous factors tend to threaten geriatric’s compliance with treatment.

Medication adherence issues among geriatrics One of the issues that hinder compliance with the medication regimen among geriatrics is the administration with numerous medications. In most cases, elderly patients fail to keep track of all medications. Another issue that hinders adherence is decreased memory capacity due to aging. Elderly persons tend to not only forget to the right dosage but also completely forget that they are on medication (Jin, Kim & Rhie, 2016). Poor perception of medication also tends to hinder compliance. Some seniors believe that medications cannot help alleviate their suffering.

Thus some may refuse to take more than one medication.

The effects of noncompliance Poor outcome of healthcare is one of the potential implications of noncompliance with medications. For instance, the failure to take antibiotics as prescribed by the physician may result in bacterial resistance. Under-dosing and failure to take some medications may prolong the recovery process (D'Onofrio, Greco & Sancarlo, 2018). Such eventualities may require the patient to be administered with costly medications to avert adverse health results.

6 Tactics to improve geriatric medication adherence The establishment of effective communication means is one of the potential ways to avert non-compliance with medications. Nurses and pharmacists should provide patients with reliable and actionable information regarding the health benefits of medications. Importantly, the patient should be provided with a table chart highlighting the time and dosage for all medications. The involvement of family members can also help improve compliance (Shruthi et al. 2016). Family members should remind the patient when to take medications.

Conclusion Compliance with treatment is one of the main factors that determine the outcome of care.

Unfortunately, compliance may be affected by the age of the patient, the patient’s perception of medications, and the memory status of the patient. Noncompliance leads to poor outcomes of care and may be addressed through proper patient and family involvement in care.

7 References D'Onofrio, G., Greco, A., & Sancarlo, D. (2018). Gerontology. IntechOpen.

Jin, H., Kim, Y., & Rhie, S. J. (2016). Factors affecting medication adherence in elderly people.

Patient preference and adherence, 10, 2117. https://doi:10.2147/PPA.S118121 Shruthi, R., Jyothi, R., Pundarikaksha, H. P., Nagesh, G. N., & Tushar, T. J. (2016). A study of medication compliance in geriatric patients with chronic illnesses at a tertiary care hospital. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research: JCDR, 10(12), FC40-FC43. https://doi:10.7860/JCDR/2016/21908.9088

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