Comfort and Pain Management
Comfort and pain management in nursing is essential to enable nurses assess the needs of each patient and evaluate their response after implementing a treatment plan. Pain management is vital since unrelieved pain reduces patient mobility and causes complications to patients. Pain management is a collaborative effort between caregivers and patients, and it is dependent on the patient’s needs and the selection of appropriate intervention. On the other hand, comfort is a substantive need in patients since comfortable patients cope better and heal more quickly than those who are uncomfortable. Therefore, comfort is an indispensable constituent in nursing care, and caregivers are entitled to ensure their patients are comfortable, and their pain is managed using an appropriate treatment plan.
Patient Description
The patient is James, who is a 72-year-old male that has been admitted to the palliative care unit. He has been oxygen-dependent for two years and has a history of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heart failure, hernia repair, appendectomy, and pacemaker. He is admitted because of restlessness and unmanaged pain. Eight months ago, he was diagnosed with stage IV bladder cancer due to a failed chemotherapy that did not improve his prognosis. Thus, the family decided to center the care of preserving the quality of life and has been receiving home hospice care in the past few months. In the past week, he has been increasingly uncomfortable and restless, as well as not taking drinks and food through the mouth.
Patient Care
The patient is currently in palliative care so that his symptoms are managed. Nurses are ensuring that the patient’s pain is addressed as well as his restlessness and discomfort. The process involves James being given oxygen via a nasal cannula and has a catheter. Pain is being treated through the administration of Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA) using an implanted port according to protocol. Normal saline (0.9%) is also being administered to the patient through an implanted port. These interventions are essential to the patient’s overall health because they can preserve his quality of health and consequently prevent his condition from deteriorating further (Pastino & Lakra, 2020). The provision of oxygen ensures that the patient can breathe comfortably. Morphine is used to reduce the pain, which is caused by discomfort and restlessness. In addition, IV saline is administered to James. According to Sheikh et al. (2016), this solution is delivered to rehydrate the patient’s daily water needs. James’ level of pain was identified each hour by the nurse so that the medication can be adjusted. Since the patient is at a terminal stage, there is a need for a collaborative approach of care between healthcare personnel and the primary caregiver.
Analysis
James is receiving evidence-based care. For instance, the nurse is addressing his pain by using morphine Patient Controlled Analgesia. Pastino and Lakra (2020) state that the aim of Patient-Controlled Analgesia is providing pain relief to a patient with efficacy, which is effective if the medication is given according to schedule and at the appropriate dose. Patient Controlled Analgesia allows administration of bolus dose on-demand, and the bolus can be provided with a background infusion of the medication. The patient is under palliative care, which is aimed to manage the patient’s primary symptom, which is pain. Pain management is highly dependent on palliative care, and pain relief improves the quality of life of terminal patients (Sholjakova et al., 2018). The nurses used an evidence-based approach in managing the pain and discomfort that James was undergoing. Therefore, palliative care entails the provision of holistic needs of the patients and the caregivers (Hagan et al., 2018). As mentioned above, there needs to be a collaborative approach whereby nurses work and support caregivers to provide quality care that leads to the patient being released.
Summary
Generally, the main focus of James’s terminal illness was managing his pain. He has been having discomfort and pain that requires medication to address. The nurse ensures that James is administered with morphine Patient Controlled Analgesia throughout his stay, and it is being monitored hourly. Other than medication, the patient is being provided with normal saline and has a catheter. Under palliative care, the patient can receive the best care for his condition, particularly when it comes to pain management.
Reflection
Despite the main focus of the patient to be pain management, other aspects of his condition were identified and attended to. For instance, the nurses addressed the patient’s inability to consume food and drinks through the mouth. Before this research, I believed dealing with patients requires caregivers to focus on primary symptoms, which are the most critical. However, patient care is efficient when all vital aspects of a patient’s health are addressed. I feel that patient care is a complicated process, but having the right tools and knowledge is necessary when addressing a patient’s critical needs. For example, when treating pain, it is essential to follow the protocol for treatment. Treatment protocol ensures that the patient is continuously monitored, and medication is administered as required. This assignment changed most of my perspectives regarding patient care, particularly for those who are terminally ill. Furthermore, I noted that the primary caregiver who takes care of a terminally ill patient at home requires substantial support because of the emotional and physical demands. I also learned that a patient’s history and any other necessary information must be taken into consideration by caregivers from this assignment. When I come across similar patients in the future, I will be equipped with essential information about how to improve and offer wholesome care to patients while interacting with the patient’s close family. During the assignment, there was not an “a-ha” moment because most of the information was relatable, particularly in an old patient such as James. The connection that I had from the class, textbook, research, and experience proved that healthcare requires evidence-based practices. Understanding information from class and in books enables boosts an individual’s confidence when providing care. Besides, the information provides a basis of reference when a caregiver is stuck at any point.