Patient/Family Care Study on Hypertension

Abstract

Centuries ago, the nursing profession was just caring for the sick. From the day the profession started, it has undergone many changes throughout the years. Starting from the patient centered approach to a more complicated form of care which includes: the family and the community as a whole. Nursing became a profession when Florence Nightingale, in the nineteenth century provided and set a pattern which has become the basis of educating nurses today. Nursing care has moved from the physical care of patients to a more complex approach which includes the psychological, spiritual and intellectual needs as well as that of their family as a whole (Nursing process). To achieve ultimate goal, the nursing process requires the cooperation of the family, the patient and the community. Also, education is given to help prevent the disease and to help them to know their right. pertaining to their care. The patient and family care study entails rendering holistic care to the patient and family starting from the day of admission till discharge. Individualized nursing care is the area of interest in the study. The nursing process is a deliberate problem-solving approach for meeting a person’s health care and nursing needs. It consists of a sequence of steps in the following order; assessment, diagnosis, objective/outcome criteria, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The patient/family care study also offers the student nurse the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge acquired at school in giving effective nursing care to client with reference to the client’s condition. In addition to the above, the patient/family care study enables the student to acquire more knowledge about the causes, signs and symptoms, diagnosis and treatment given to patients with specific conditions using the nursing process. The confidentiality of the patient/family was ensured by the use of patient/family members initials instead of full names. The patient/family care study is a requirement for the award of the license to practice as a Registered General Nurse by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana. The comprehensive care rendered was made possible by the employment of skills and knowledge in such disciplines as psychology, anatomy and physiology of the human system, public health nursing, medical nursing, surgical nursing, pharmacology and nutrition and dietetics