The purpose of this assignment is to help you learn to do the following:
- Identify the roles and responsibilities of the advanced registered nurse practitioner as a member of the health care team.
- Identify and apply health promotion and prevention in primary care across the lifespan.
Overview
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In this module, you will examine and use the Circle of Caring Model to consider the barriers and facilitators to health and well-being. The purpose of this discussion is to begin to understand the family dynamics seen in the primary care setting and the role of the nurse practitioner student as you connect theory-to-practice. For this discussion, use the story below.
This is the profile for Joseph, who is a 76-year-old male of Northern European descent. Joseph was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida. He had a sister who died at the age of 64 from breast cancer. His brother Peter, now 82, is disabled from a stroke. He requires around the clock care and lives with Joseph and his wife. Sheila, who is 75, is the love of his life, and they have been married for more than 50 years. They have two sons, ages 56 and 54, and both are in good health.
Joseph started smoking when he was in the Navy and continues to smoke 1–2 packs of cigarettes a day and an occasional cigar. He enjoys 2 martinis in the evening with his wife over dinner. He doesn’t get much exercise now that he is taking care of Peter full time. He has noticed a little shortness of breath when taking his morning walk and wonders if this could be related to smoking. He also reports a nagging morning cough. He has been previously diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension.
You continue your conversation with Joseph, and he shares that Sheila has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She also has osteoporosis and chronic back pain. He expresses concern about his ability to provide ongoing care for his brother and uncertainty of what his wife will need as her condition declines. None of the family members have long term care insurance; they live on a moderate retirement incomes, and in a single story home. The sons live across the country. There are some friends close by, but most have their own health issues.
Action Items
- Considering the Circle of Caring and what you have learned about family theory, choose one of the following parts for discussion. Support your post with references from the text, peer-reviewed articles, and/or government sources:
- Part 1: In light of Joseph’s current medical condition, age, and the extended family living together, how might this affect his ability to care for himself, Peter, and Sheila?
- Part 2: Imagine that Joseph is a new patient and has never seen an advanced practice nurse. Thinking about family theory and your role as a nurse practitioner, explain to Joseph and his family your responsibility in facilitating access to the health care team, community resources, and continuity of care.
- Part 3: Using the concepts from the Circle of Caring Model (courage, authentic presence, advocacy, knowing, commitment, patience), describe to Joseph the possible barriers to and facilitators for health and well-being. Use language that a patient and his family can understand.
- Read all of your peers' work. To be able to read the work of your peers on the other discussion boards, you will first need to make a post. You may comment on your classmates’ work as desired, but no responses to peers are required.
- Return to your posting and explain an insight that you gained from reading your classmates' work. Name the peer(s) whose work prompted a positive insight into your own understanding as an advanced practice nurse. The insight could be a correction in your thinking or something you did not understand or see before. Explain why the insight is significant to you – how you think it will affect your practice as a professional. Illustrate with an example. If you feel that your greatest insight came from some other source than reading your peers’ work, then explain what prompted the insight but still explain why the insight is significant to you (how you think it will affect your practice as a professional). Illustrate with an example. Support your work with references from the text, peer-reviewed articles, and/or government sources in APA style.