Exam 3 Flashcards
Pain scales
Children: Wong’s Faces
Adults: numerical 0-10
Who should not receive PCAs?
People who are not cognitively intact or little kids
What does the nurse need to do more often when a pt is on a PCA?
Assess vitals signs because of the risk of respiratory depression
-O2, BP, RR
What is a big side effect of PCA?
Constipation
Who determines if a pt needs a PCA?
anesthesiologist
How much Tylenol can be given to the elderly in one day?
1g/day
Alternative methods to ease pain
- Sleep
- drink lots of water
- thermal treatments
- acupuncture
- acupressure
- exercise
What do you document with pain patches?
Must mention that the old patch was removed and disposed of properly
PQRST pain assessment
P=provokes (what causes the pain) Q=quality (what does it feel like) R=radiates (where does the pain radiate) S=severity (scale of 0-10) T=time (time pain started)
Where are epidurals administered?
in the epidural space
Factors affected by cognitive disorders
Orientation Attention Memory Vocabulary Calculation ability Abstract thinking
What is the most common psychiatric syndrome in hospitals?
Delirium
-50% of occurrence in elderly inpatients
What is the priority care for patients experiencing delirium?
Safety
Delirium
Usually results from an acute disruption in the homeostasis of the brain
Dementia
-Results from primary brain pathology that usually is irreversible, chronic, and a slow progression
Diagnostic criteria for delirium
- Disordered cognition
- attention deficit
- disturbed consciousness
- disturbed sleep-wake cycles
- abnormal psychomotor behaviors
How many Americans are affected by Alzheimer’s? Prevalence in ages >65 and >85?
- 5 million
- occurs in 10% of people >65 years
- almost 50% of people >85
Deficits related to dementia
- impaired learning
- compromised ability for complex tasks
- impaired reasoning
- compromised spatial ability and orientation
- language deficits
- behavioral problems
Apraxia
inability to perform motor tasks despite intact motor function
Aphasia
loss of language
Sundowning
change in behavior after sunset
Agnosia
inability to recognize familiar objects
Risk factors for delirium
- aging
- postop status
- metabolic disorders
- drug withdrawal
- toxicity secondary to drugs or other exogenous substances
How is dementia characterized?
- several cognitive deficits that result from a general medical condition, use of substance, or multiple biologic etiologies
- gradual onset
Hallmark sign of Alzheimer’s
Post-mortem findings of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain
What does forensic mean?
Law
T or F:
You will always be in a forensic milieu even if you aren’t a forensic nurse.
True
Forensic nursing environments
- community based outpatient clinics
- secure units in general hospitals
- state psych hospitals
- forensic psych hospitals
- custodial type setting
Who has the highest population of incarcerated people in the western world?
The U.S.
Factors contributing to growing forensic population
- more drug-related activities
- rising interpersonal & urban violence
- anticrime & antidrug legislation
- poor economic conditions and associated homelessness
- criminalization of the mentally ill
T or F.
Correctional facilities have become the country’s front-line mental health providers representing the mental health institutions of the 21st century.
True
Approaches to prevent incarceration of the mentally ill
- Forensic assertive community treatment
- Sequential intercept model
Forensic assertive community treatment
integrates assertive community treatment and community justice intitiatives
Sequential intercept model
Envisions 5 points of interception, from law enforcement to community corrections and support, to prevent people from entering the criminal justice system
Characteristics of forensic clients
- demonstrate poor judgment
- have limited reasoning
- have a history of not learning from mistakes
- report an exceptionally high level of substance abuse at the time of arrest
Role of forensic nurse
To come up with alternatives to incarceration of offenders with mental illness
T or F
People with substance use disorders are at increased risk for mental illness
True
Forensic Populations
- suspects or convicts
- sentenced or unsentenced
- not guilty by reason of insanity
- incompetent to stand trial
- not criminally responsible because of mental disorders
What percentage of any prison or jail population has a mental disorder?
15%
Types of offenders in the prison population
- mentally ill
- violent
- juvenile
- female
- older adult
- offenders with HIV/AIDS or hepatitis
- offenders with terminal illness
Expressive violence
interpersonal altercations, usually with people known to the assailant and of similar age, ethnicity, and cultural background
Instrumental violence
usually involves premeditated, motive-driven acts
Gang violence
associated with group alliances and committed for retaliation or revenge
Custody vs caring
Doing what is beneficial for the community while advocating for the client
Characteristics of skilled forensic nurses
- Good communicators
- wide range of physical and psychosocial assessment skill
- solid critical thinking and decision making
- social maturity, adaptability, professionalism, and analytical skills
- confidence
- nonjudgmental attitudes
- ability to work independently and within teams
- decisiveness
- ability to work in a secure environment
A forensic psychiatric nurse performs crisis intervention for an inmate in a prison setting. What level of prevention does this action reflect?
Secondary
Factors affecting the provision of forensic psychiatric nursing care
- context of care
- number of clients
- lengths of stay
Recurring themes dominating therapeutic intervention
- power
- control
- negotiation
- trust building
when can children go back to regular activities after loss of function in a limb?
when they regain strength in that limb
how do you manage shoulder dislocation?
sling
difference between sprain and strain
- strain effects the muscles and tendons and could happen over time
- sprains effect the ligaments and happen immediately
therapeutic management of soft tissue injuries
RICE:
Rest Ice Compression Elevation Immobilization and support