A patient/family care study on Pneumonia

Abstract

Although the origins of nursing predate the mid-19th century, the history of professional nursing traditionally begins with Florence Nightingale. Nightingale, the well-educated daughter of wealthy British parents, defied social conventions and decided to become a nurse. The nursing of strangers, either in hospitals or in their homes, was not then seen as a respectable career for well bred ladies, who, if they wished to nurse, were expected to do so only for sick family and intimate friends. In a radical departure from these views, Nightingale believed that well-educated women, using scientific principles and informed education about healthy lifestyles, could dramatically improve the care of sick patients. Moreover, she believed that nursing provided an ideal independent calling full of intellectual and social freedom for women, who at that time had few other career options. In 1854 Nightingale had the opportunity to test her beliefs during Britain’s Crimean War. Newspaper stories reporting that sick and wounded Russian soldiers nursed by religious orders fared much better than British soldiers inflamed public opinion. In response, the British government asked Nightingale to take a small group of nurses to the military hospital at Scutari. Within days of their arrival, Nightingale and her nurses had reorganized the barracks hospital in accordance with 19th-century science: walls were scrubbed for sanitation, windows opened for ventilation, nourishing food prepared and served, and medications and treatments efficiently administered. Within weeks death rates plummeted, and soldiers were no longer sickened by infectious diseases arising from poor sanitary conditions. Within months a grateful public knew of the work of the “Lady with the Lamp,” who made nightly rounds comforting the sick and wounded. By the end of the 19th century, the entire Western world shared Nightingale’s belief in the worth of educated nurses. ii Nursing became professionalized after the Civil War. The Nightingale system of nurse training was adopted and offered at hospitals. After the war, the role of nurses evolved once again to become what it is today. Nurses became more authoritative and took control of their profession. Today, nurses remain the cornerstone of our healthcare system, especially those working with Clipboard Health. The field of nursing continues to grow, and more areas of specialization are open to nurses as technology evolves. Nurses continue to prove how integral they are, and at no time in recent history has this been more apparent than during the COVID-19 pandemic. Modern nursing is a profession that requires knowledge, skills and attitude. The ability to render comprehensive nursing care rests on the nurses’ ability to assess the client’s condition, analysis, plan, implement and evaluate the effects of management on client health status. The Patient/ family care study is a detailed account of nursing care rendered to the Patient and family to meet their needs. The study is designed to give a comprehensive nursing care to both patient and family from the time of admission till when patient is finally discharged to go home, as well as follow-ups or home visits for continuity of care. The study also involves the nursing process which involves assessment of patient/family, planning of care to be rendered, implementing the plan and evaluating care rendered to patient/ family. The study is carried out to enable the student nurse put into practice the knowledge and skills acquired from the three-year training period in school to ascertain how best the theoretical knowledge would be used to nurse patients who will come under his or her care in the near future. The study also forms part of the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana for the award of license in General Nursing. In this study, initials of patient are used for confidentiality.