Thank you Debbie, I am an old ICU/CCU nurse. I never treat symptoms, I always look for the underlying cause. Once you observe the symptoms and identify the underlying cause you usually have TWO changes that lead to a SCSA MDS. Care planning for treatment of the underlying cause resolves the problem.
No matter what single change you observe, assess for the underlying cause. Never treat symptoms alone my favorite example is to have my audience sit properly in their chairs, put the right arm in their lap bent at a right angle at the elbow. Turn the hand up with the palm up and the thumb pointing away from the body. See how long you can sit that way without developing pain. DO NOT MOVE THE HAND UNTIL YOU FEEL PAIN. Then I instruct them to just take hold of the thumb and turn the hand over so it is pointing toward the body. AWWWW, pain relieved--no medication needed. See, we did not treat the pain, we treated the underlying cause and the condition was resolved with positioning. Now--care plan it.
Delores
A very wise consultant once lectured on this very issue, she said....
"Why was there weight loss? A person does not start losing weight unless something else is going on somewhere...." Find that somewhere.
Thank you Dolores Galias...that mode of thought kept our facility free of MDS deficiencies for 8 years.
The Nose
Delores L. Galias, RN, RHIT
STATEMENT OF CONFIDENTIALITY:
The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this message are intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify D. Galias, RN, RHIT immediately at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and destroy all copies of this message and any attachments. Thank you for your cooperation
IF YOU WISH TO BE REMOVED FROM MY MAIL LIST PLEASE SEND A BLANK E-MAIL TO [EMAIL PROTECTED].com WITH THE WORD 'REMOVE' IN THE SUBJECT LINE. THANK YOU.
