lunes, 29 de abril de 2013

PROCESS OF CARE IN GERIATRIC AND GERONTOLOGICAL NURSING



Adapting to aging is not easy for adults older and requires professionals involved in their care characterized by a very special vocation and love to work with this group, resulting in an attitude values ​​as: respect for others, autonomy and compassion to provide care humanized the elderly and that extends to its direct group of caregivers.
 
Geriatric nursing professionals is responsible for the promotion, maintenance and restoration of health, prevention of illness or injury, and implementation of activities under diagnosis and treatment.

The elderly need a cash interdisciplinary care, which includes not only recovery but also, and most prominently, the promoting their health, individual and family growth, to achieve autonomy. It is at this general context in which the nurse must submit your complementing specific contribution to the science of healing.

Finally, I can note that among the most important objectives of geriatric nurse is the care and provide a comprehensive care based on the needs of the patient, disease prevention, and if necessary, help in the process of death . These functions and care will always be aimed at improving the care process, providing them both in their homes and health centers and in residential centers.

Bibliography
  • Eliopoulos C. Gerontological nursing, 6th ed, Philadelphia, 2005.
  • Interrelaciones Nanda, Noc y Nic. Elsevier Mosby. Segunda edición. Madrid, 2007

viernes, 26 de abril de 2013

INDEX BARTHEL



Nursing professionals carry out important work evaluating the needs of patients and care-givers. They also provide the required care, as well as transmit the knowledge and skills of self-care. In the planning of care it is necessary to evaluate the Basic Activities of Daily Living (BADL), essential for self-care, such as cleaning and dressing oneself, using the bathroom among others.


Order to collect information about the ability of the elderly to perform normal activity, and maintain independence there are various scales to assess the activities of daily living. Among these is the index of Katz, Plutchik scale, index of Lawton and Brody or index of Barthel, which I will highlight in this publication.

The Barthel Index is a measure of the level of independence in life activities daily (ADLs). Measurement scale is the best known ADL, studied and disseminated at International. It was described by Mahoney FI and Barthel DW in 1965, designed to measure rehabilitative treatment outcomes in patients incapacitated by processes neuromuscular and skeletal muscle. Assesses 10 areas of ADL (eating, transferring between the chair and the bed, grooming, toileting, bathing, moving around, up and down stairs, dressing and undressing, bowel control and control of urine).


There have been studies of validity and reliability of the Barthel index at various places and with various pathologies. Regarding the validity of the fact that over 30 years Barthel index is used to measure the specific objective of independence in ADL makes it the gold standard for measuring ADL, on the other hand has conceptual validity allowed studies that demonstrated the predictive ability of this index.


The Barthel index provides information both from the overall score and each one of the partial scores for each activity. This helps us understand what are specific deficiencies of the person and facilitates the valuation of its evolution temporary.


Bibliography.

  • Buzzini M, Secundini R, Gazzotti A, Lia Giradles R, Arbildo Castro RA, Druetta S,

         Sequeiros S, Rodríguez Vélez A, Li Mau L. “Valoración del Indice de Barthel”. Boletín
        
         del Departamento de Docencia e Investigación IREP. Vol 6, nº 1. 2002.

  • Trigas Ferrin, M. Escalas de valoración funcional en el anciano, 2011
          Disponible en: http://www.galiciaclinica.info/PDF/11/225.pdf




miércoles, 24 de abril de 2013

FREE RADICALS THEORY


We know what means aging, however, scientifically is rather difficult to define because it is not only the passage of time, but is a complex biological process, difficult to assess at the cellular, tissue and organTo explain the aging process there is different theories. These explain physiological, psychological or social changes…Some of these theories are biologic theories and psychosocial theories.

Within biologic theories is the free radicals theory, a very interesting theory because it consists of molecules that are suspected to cause adverse effects on the body, as in the cells, DNA and immune system. And thereby cause aging and degenerative processes as a cancer, atherosclerosis and immunodeficiency.
Free radicals are molecules unstable and highly reactive with one or more unpaired electrons, which cause damage around through oxidative reactions. It is an oxidative damage in the cell and really is an oxygen poisoning, all aerobic organisms are sentenced.



After watching this video, I want to highlight that if aging is associated with the production of free radicals, but the elimination of these doesn’t prevent the aging, it is because they are not causes of aging but these are symptoms, as has been shown in some studies.

Therefore, it is not clear, is whether decreasing free radical damage, we will increase longevity. However the number of free radicals can be reduced by the use of antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, D, carotene, zinc, selenium and phytotoxic.


Bibliography.
  • Vargas F; Rivas C; Nursanarnaa A; Zoltan T. Reacciones de radicales libres con relevancia biológica en la teoría del envejecimiento. Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas. 2007. Disponible en:
          http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=93320202



lunes, 22 de abril de 2013

SOCIAL CHANGES IN AGEING



In ageing affect biological and psychological factors, but in this process, there are social changes too.

In my opinion these changes take second place, giving more importance to the physiological and psychic changes. 

On the one hand, the relationship with the family, change when his family considered admit elderly in a residence.
On the other hand, the ageing is a stage characterized by losses, for example emotional losses, as the death pf a husband or a wife, as the feeling of loneliness…


In addiction, the olds persons are conscious that death is near, and then their attitude towards death changes with age. By some old people this stage is accepted as the better way possible, and others feel fear and distress. 

Finally I don't want to forget mention that a big change is the retirement of the individual because the person must quit from their job. Thus it is a big difference in the social life of the old person because social relationships and economic resources  reduced after leaving the working environment.
                                                                                             



The elderly must adapt to the new stage of life in order to avoid negative consequences, and must maintain a good quality of life. So geriatric nursing besides giving great support to health care, she tries to get the final stage of life is lived in a happy and optimally, ensuring the satisfaction of physical and mental needs of older adults.




Bibliography.

ZAVALA, M. VIDA, D. CASTRO, M. QUIROGA, P. KLASSEN, G. SOCIAL FUNCTIONING OF ELDERLY, 2006. Available on:
http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=s0717-95532006000200007&script=sci_arttext

viernes, 19 de abril de 2013

GERIATRIC NURSE



The incessant growth in the life expectancy and the consequent ageing of the population, it is associated with loss processes of health and quality of life. This process is susceptible to attention of needs and comprehensive, continuous and prolonged care.

Here, nurse has critical role because she cares and she provides comfort and independence for improve the quality of life more than extend it. Geriatric nurse hasn’t only these functions, also she keeps specific functions like follow treatments and progress of the patient, prevention of complications and heath education at patient and his family, not forgetting care function. 

In my opinion, on the one hand the specialty of geriatrics hasn’t social recognition that it has really such as others nursing specialty. On it specialty nurse must have medical knowledge about the process of ageing (influenced by the effects of environmental) and the ageing process (the universal biological changes), besides nurse must possess social and empathic ability with elderly.

On the other hand, geriatrics specialty has a personal reward with the relationship nurse- patient that it doesn’t others specialities.


In conclusion, I want highlight the importance of the nurse in Geriatrics, she performs the assessment, planning, application of nursing care in elderly for meet their needs. What is more, the nurse has the objective of avert that elderly turn in a social duty or chronic ill, and get the most dependence of the patient as is possible.

Bibliography.
  • García Hernández M, Martínez Sellares R. Enfermería y envejecimiento. 1º ed: Elsevier- Masson; 2012.




miércoles, 17 de abril de 2013

¡ WELCOME !





Hello, my name is Emma Jiménez Catalán, nursing student in third year. Welcome to my blogger, in it you can see 16 comments for each unit of the subject of Cuidados al Anciano.


In each comment, I talk about some matter relevant of the unit suitable. All this blogger is about part of the science that studies in older patients their clinical, therapeutic and social aspects, it is the Geriatrics. But especially the comments are on nursing care in elderly.

In my blogger you can read interesting topics for me of each unit, and conclusions that I highlight. Finally, I hope you will like this blogger because the realization of this activity it is a new experience for me and in a different language, but I am satisfied with the results.