NSG5125 Health Assessment

Medical nursing principals in treatment of diseases

In practice of medicine doctors and nurses are guided by certain key medical principles. These are doctrines that govern their actions in confusing situations they may find themselves in, while exercising their duty (Anderson & McFarlane, 2010). These values usually are not hierarchical and ensure that medical practitioners are able to achieve same universal goal without conflict. There exist general guidelines but also there are those that are unique to specific types of a diseases or disorder.

The general Principles of medical Nursing Practice

The first principle of medical practice calls for attention, respect and observation of humanity values (Potter, P.A, Perry, Stockert, and Hall, 2016). It requires that medical practitioners understand the personal needs of their patients, be compassionate, sensitive and provide treatment with equality.

The second principle is accountability. Practitioners are answerable for their own actions and decisions. They should undertake these decisions in a manner that concur with the sick, their caregivers and the patient’s family and also in a manner is in line with the law and coincide with requirements of their professional organizations.

The other major principle is on risk management which requires medical practitioners to identify and manage any presumed risk so as to keep every patient safe.  .

Patient centered treatment is also a key principle in medical practice (.Kitson, et al, 2013). This calls for health professionals to provide and promote healthcare whose major concern is the patient. This calls for healthcare that associates the patient, their families and their decisions and assists them in making knowledgeable decisions concerning treatment and care.

The fifth principle requires the healthcare providers be at the core of the process of communication. That is they should evaluate, note and report about care and treatment offered, handle the data with sensitivity and discretion, handle complaints effectively, and ensuring that they are thorough in reporting of the things under their discretion.

According to Hatcliff et.al 2012) practitioners ought to evaluate the patient and follow up to establish any unfavorable reaction to medication. Also they should also keep complete records and services reports of their treatment and services.

The sixth principle requires health professionals to have up-to-date knowledge skills and proficiencies, which they are expected to practice with insight, intelligence, and in consideration to personal needs of each patient who requires their treatment.

 This calls for the healthcare providers to best use guidelines provided, policies in place and research to help improve safety levels and minimize probability of failure. Research and technological innovations in medicine over time for instance has eased treatment of diseases such as chronic kidney disease.

Another key principle is on unity (Anderson & MacFarlane, 2010).  It requires that all professionals work closely with each other and within their teams for coordinated treatment and care of all patients. This aims at ensuring that care given to patients surpasses good standards, is of high quality and leads to production of optimal outcome.

Lastly the eighth major principle in the medical and nursing practice expects that nurses’ doctors and other health professionals’ lead exemplary, improve themselves and other colleagues, and impact the manner in which care is provided so that it is patient friendly and responsive to personal needs of their patients.

Practice of the above general principles can be evident in diverse ways in management of certain diseases as illustrated below

Specific codes in treatment of diseases

• Iron deficiency treatment codes

 Iron deficiency is a major nutritional disorder in the world and accounts for most anemia cases.

 In the course of its treatment certain principles are necessary in guiding the health professionals which include the following: 

It is required that presence of anemia be confirmed from valid laboratory tests as well as low iron stores evidence (McPhee, Papadakis, and Rabow, eds., 2010). Health practitioners should use Serum ferritin level test to diagnose iron deficiency .it reflects iron store in the body making it the most accurate method.

Practitioners are not encouraged to undertake screening of the mass population for iron-deficiency but instead should pin point patient based on symptoms review, a directed history and physical examination (Alleyne, Horne & Miller, 2008). In cases of postmenopausal women examination for gastrointestinal malignancy is recommended. Also testing malabsorption is encouraged if small bowel disorder is suspected.

For children and pregnant women iron testing and therapy is recommended along with identifying risk factors for its deficiency which may include squat birth weight, contact with lead, exclusive breastfeeding and not feeding iron rich feeds (Breymann, Honegger, Holzgreve, and Surbek, 2010). In depth physical and history examination is necessary as well as screening serology for celiac disease in cases of adult patients.

• Chronic kidney disease management guidelines

In its management Practitioners should pinpoint the group of people who are at high risk of contracting this disorder for evaluation. They are also expected to establish the cause kidney disorder wherever possible to necessitate development of a good management plan for their patients. The medical professionals are also expected to develop and personalize management plan in agreement with the patient and their family.

Another key recommendation with respect to management of chronic kidney disease is ensuring that referral to health care team as well as specialist is timely. This ensures reduced risk and increased chances of treatment success. In addition, population considered to be at risk ought to be examined at least once in every two years, depending on clinical circumstances.

Kidney failure may be attributed to many causes the main ones being hypertension and diabetes (Levey et.al, 2011) However, health professionals are required to take into consideration the likelihood of other serious conditions. These considerations should be done in patients with such disorders as consistent kidney function deterioration, urinalysis and severe start of symptoms

• Guidelines in treatment of Sexually transmitted diseases

In treatment of STD’s medical practitioner are required to obtain health and sexual history of their patients’ so as to offer enlightened treatment. They are also expected to collect specimen and undertake necessary laboratory test to affirm presence of a given disease (MMWR, R. 2014,). Performing physical and pelvic examination to sexually transmitted disease patients is a major requirement.

Practitioners ought to evaluate the patient and conduct a follow up to establish presence of any unfavorable reaction to medication. They should also keep complete records and services reports. It is also expected of them to provide complimentary and relevant education to patient concerning STD’s as well as create favorable relationship between them and the patient in the course of treatment.

• Leukemia disorder treatment codes

For effective management and treatment of leukemia, health care providers are supposed to prescribe treatment on the basis of the type of leukemia a patient is suffering from, age of patient, chromosomal abnormality and overall health of patient. For instance stem cell transplant might be used for adult below 55 years of age and while watchful waiting should be used in treatment of people with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (Mostert et.al, 2006).

 Follow up visits to leukemia patients are also necessary, to appropriately monitor the progress of their patients and realize any form of any deterioration. This would help lower chances of contracting sepsis. Similarly these professionals should educate their patients on prevention to improve compliance and lower anxiety among them and those around them.

Healthcare givers should avoid using procedures which could lead to high risk of infection which and also give timely medication so as to maximize patients benefit and response to medication. 

• Codes used in treatment of Acute kidney disease  

Heath practitioners should identify those at higher risk of contracting this disease (Ishani, et.al, 2009). They are also expected to collect specimen for screening to determine whether a patient has contracted acute kidney disease and the level of severity. They also should also educate their patients on necessary preventive measures and administer drugs to reduce the severity of their condition. Enquiry on the history of the patients’ and keeping their health records and reports conditions are also necessary.

In conclusion, the eight major principles of medical nursing practice are vital in treatment of almost each disorder. They are commonly applicable in management of various diseases in one way or the other and all health practitioners are expected to follow these guidelines for effective delivery of their services. Proper use and practice of these values would ensure optimal delivery in provision of healthcare and in treatments of patients. They also act as a guide in times that a health professional is required to make a challenging decision.

References

Alleyne, M., Horne, M. K., & Miller, J. L. (2008). Individualized treatment for iron-deficiency anemia in adults. The American journal of medicine, 121(11), 943-948.

Anderson, E.T. and McFarlane, J.M., 2010. Community as partner: Theory and practice in nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Breymann, C., Honegger, C., Holzgreve, W. and Surbek, D., 2010. Diagnosis and treatment of iron-deficiency anaemia during pregnancy and postpartum. Archives of gynecology and obstetrics, 282(5), pp.577-580. on-deficiency anemia in adults. The American journal of medicine, 121(11), pp.943-948.

Hatcliff, J., King, A., Lee, I., Macdonald, A., Fernando, A., Robkin, M., Vasserman, E., Weininger, S. and Goldman, J.M., 2012, April. Rationale and architecture principles for medical application platforms. In Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE/ACM Third International Conference on Cyber-Physical Systems(pp. 3-12). IEEE Computer Society.

Ishani, A., Xue, J.L., Himmelfarb, J., Eggers, P.W., Kimmel, P.L., Molitoris, B.A. and Collins, A.J., 2009. Acute kidney injury increases risk of ESRD among elderly. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 20(1), pp.223-228.

Kitson, A., Marshall, A., Bassett, K. and Zeitz, K., 2013. What are the core elements of patient?centred care? A narrative review and synthesis of the literature from health policy, medicine and nursing. Journal of advanced nursing, 69(1), pp.4-15.

Levey, A.S., De Jong, P.E., Coresh, J., Nahas, M.E., Astor, B.C., Matsushita, K., Gansevoort, R.T., Kasiske, B.L. and Eckardt, K.U., 2011. The definition, classification, and prognosis of chronic kidney disease: a KDIGO Controversies Conference report. Kidney international, 80(1), pp.17-28

McPhee, S.J., Papadakis, M.A. and Rabow, M.W. eds., 2010. Current medical diagnosis & treatment 2010. New York:: McGraw-Hill Medical.

MMWR, R. (2014). Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, 2015. MMWR Supplements, 64(1).

Mostert, S., Sitaresmi, M.N., Gundy, C.M. and Veerman, A.J., 2006. Influence of socioeconomic status on childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment in Indonesia. Pediatrics, 118(6), pp.e1600-e1606.

Potter, P.A., Perry, A.G., Stockert, P. and Hall, A., 2016. Fundamentals of Nursing-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.Perry, A.G. ed., 2011. Basic nursing. Mosby Elsevier.