A Patient /Family Care Study on Cellulitis

Abstract

Patient/Family care study is a detailed account of nursing care rendered to a patient and his or her family within a specific period of time. The interaction between the patient, his or her family, the community and the health team comprise of planning, implementation and evaluation of the care given to the patient to meet his or her physiological, spiritual, and socio-economic needs. The patient and family care study helps the student nurse to identify patient and family problems so as to be able to formulate appropriate interventions. This enables the student nurse to look into the disease condition to be able to put to use the theoretical knowledge and practical skills acquired to provide holistic nursing care including health education to the patient and family. The study utilizes the nursing process, which is a systemic approach to nursing care taken to care for a sick individual and comprises of assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation of all care rendered to patient and her family to ensure an effective nursing care. I decided to choose this patient for the study because I had been taught the theoretical aspect of cellulitis and wanted to utilize this opportunity to put theoretical knowledge into practice. The patient and family care study has helped me gain practical experience and gain in-depth knowledge about the care of patients with cellulitis. The challenge I experienced was not difficult in getting to my patient’s house during the first home visit because I got there through the help of my patient’s father who accompanied me safely to the house. Finally, the patient and family care study is part of the final assessment of the student nurse by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana for partial fulfillment for the award of certificate in Registered General Nursing students. Initials were used to protect the confidentiality of the patient and family.