PATIENT AND PATIENCE

Making a Bed

1. Why do we need to know how to make an unoccupied and occupied bed?

           So that if the time comes for us to be a home nurse to our family, we would know on how to make them sleep soundly, and comfortably. They would get well sooner and faster.

2. How does making a bed help in the fast recovery of our patient?

           Sleep is very important for our body. It allows us to rest and recover from the day's actions. A sleep can repair all the damages that have occurred earlier. A sleep can change our mood to a very cheerful one. A sleep can also help a patient recover fast. One factor to have a good sleep is the arrangement of the bed. If it is very messy, then one cannot sleep well. So if the patient sleeps in a properly arranged bed, then he or she can recover fast from her illness.

3. As a good home nurse, how will you be able to render your services to your patient through bed making?

           If I, the home nurse, had made the bed neatly, then the patient will be able to sleep and lie comfortably. He/she can be more relaxed and would lessen his/her stress. The making of bed neatly will help him/her recover fast. If the bed is improperly made, then the patient would not be able to sleep comfortably for he/she will be distracted by the moving of the bed sheet or the foldings.

 Bathing the Patient

1. Why do you need to give a bath to the patient?

           So that he or she would be comfortable and feel refreshed. Cleanliness helps a patient to recover faster. To be clean, is to take bath. A sick person cannot take a bath alone so we, home nurses, should be there to assist them and help them take a bath. The patient also needs to take a bath so that the germs from the body would be washed away. Bathing the patient would also make him or her be relaxed and would also serve as his or her exercise. A bath would also stimulate the circulation of blood in the body and this would aid in the elimination of certain wastes in the body.

2. What are the materials needed for bed bath or sponge bath?

           2 big towels, 2 small towels, rubber sheet, a basin with warm water, soap, and a light blanket are the materials needed for a bed bath or sponge bath.

3. What’s the importance of using a urinal or bedpan?

           A urinal is important if the patient is expected to remain bedridden for a long period of time.

4. What do you mean by back rub?

           Back rub is the same as of massage. Massage is the manipulating of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue using various techniques, to enhance function, aid in the healing process, decrease muscle reflex activity, inhibit motor-neuron excitability[1], promote relaxation and well-being[2][3], and as a recreational activity.

5. How do you differentiate cold compress from hot compress?

           We apply cold compress to relieve pain, to decrease the inflammation of skin and for relaxation purpose while hot compress is being applied to relieve pain and congestion.

HOME NURSE

1. If you are a good home nurse, what are the various home nursing techniques that you need to apply that will make the patient feel comfortable and speed up the recovery?

           If I were to be a good home nurse, I should always make the bed properly, occupied or not, I should take vital signs of the patient accurately and regularly, and I should bathe the patient so that he or she would feel comfortable.

2. Why should the home nurse monitor the vital signs of the patient?
       
           The home nurse should monitor the vital signs of the patient so that he would know the  blood pressure, body temperature, pulse rate, and respiratory rate of the patient to know the condition of his body if he is improving or getting more ill.

3. How do you take the body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure of the patient?

           There are instruments that one can use to measure the body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure of the patient. For body temperature, I can use a thermometer, digital or mercury. For pulse rate,  I can use my finger in measuring my pulse in different areas (wrist, throat, ankle, or temple where a large artery is underneath the skin) but I prefer the wrist because it is more convenient. I can use a sphygmomanometer with the stethoscope to measure the blood pressure.  

4. What are some practices that the home nurse must follow that will promote comfort to the patient?

           The home nurse should make an occupied bed neatly, orderly, carefully, and gently so that the patient would not get dizzy or be more sick.            

5. How will you differentiate signs from symptoms of illnesses and diseases?

           Signs are what a doctor sees while symptoms are what the patient experiences.

6. If you are the doctor, what will be your basis in giving the diagnosis for your patient?

           My basis would be the vital signs, condition of the patient, and from what the patient will say.These would help me determine if there are symptoms of an illness that had occurred. The patient should tell me all of his/her symptoms and history so that I will have sufficient information to be able to know what illness had occurred.

MEDICINES

            Medicine is the applied science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness in human beings. Medicines must be administered to patients properly and carefully. We need to follow what the doctor prescribes and obey these. Proper administration of medicine to the patient may result to a fast recovery.

           We were given the chance by our teacher to teach us something about administering medicine to a patient. She taught us the  different meanings of symbols, the meaning of dose, the proper medicines for a body part, and the things to remember in administering medicine to a patient (the right medicine, the right amount of dosage, the right approach, at the right time, right route, right patient). So whenever when a family member gets sick and needs a medicine, I will be ready to help and serve that family member. This teaching will help me be prepared for the future.

           Proper administering of medicine to a patient will help him/her recover fast. If the right medicine is administered, then the medicine will take effect and will lead to the improvement of the person's health. If the wrong medicine is administered, then it might result to the occurrence of more illnesses or maybe death. We must always be careful in administering medicine to a patient because we don't know what might happen if we administered the wrong medicine. We should always stay healthy and keep ourselves not only healthy but also clean.

Administering medicine to a patient