By: Madeleine Holmes, Madison Martin and Sarah Starr

Pre-requisites

Course work

Overall Nursing Curriculum Nursing curriculum lasts five semesters and includes topics such as fundamentals of nursing, pathophysiology, medical surgical nursing, pharmacology, pediatrics, obstetrics nursing, community nursing, psych nursing, and leadership courses Nursing emphasizes topics such as patient assessment, patient care, and disease process

Approaching patients/ Assessment Assessment of a patient begins before even saying a word So much is said about a patient’s life based on their environment(this is a quick assessment). Home visits offer a unique look into the patient’s life Observe environment Is the home clean? Pride in clean home? Evidence of family support? Pictures letters Evidence of interest in current events? Newspapers News on television Etc. Is there a risk of injury? If so, make suggestions! Falls are a major cause of hospitalization in older people Loose cables, slippery floors, etc. What does the environment tell us?

Approaching Patients/ Assessment Now the patient, visually observe the patient Does the patient look comfortable? Are they groomed? Are they appropriately dressed for the season? What em0tions are they expressing? Are they smiling? Frowning?

Therapeutic communication Therapeutic communication can be used by all health care providers Tips for therapeutic communication Open ended questions- “How does that make you feel?” Use general leads. Encourage the patient to continue -“go on..” “and then…” Reflecting. Repeat part of the last statement so the patient can verify/continue. For example, is the patient says “Everyone here ignores me”. The HCP might say “ignore you?” Share observation. Making a statement like “You seem anxious” might help patients to open up. Acknowledge the patient’s feelings Using silence. This is a great technique is some instances. Assess the silence(sadness, distress,etc) as well slow the conversation down and reflect on conversation Give information. One of the greatest causes of anxiety is the unknown. Explain procedures and tests in advance Other techniques include clarifying, verbalize implied thoughts and feelings, explore further into topics, and present reality.

Physical assessment Integumentary What is the skin color? is the skin warm or cool? how is the skin turgor? are there bruises or abnormal discoloration? Mental Alert and orientated? Confused? Cardiac Heart rate? Swelling of hands or feet? High blood pressure? heart sounds? Capillary refill time? Pulse quality? Respiratory Shortness of breath? O2 saturation? Wheezes? GI Complains of nausea/ vomiting/diarrhea/constipation? Abdomen pain? Bowel sounds? GU Frequent urination? Difficulty going? Pain/burning during urination? Reproductive Problems during sex? Women: irregular menses? Unusual discharge/smell? Pain during sex? Menopause?

Madeleine’s story Expectations: I came into this process with the notion that pharmacists were only there to serve as a health care professional who knew about drugs. I also expected us to work well as a group, and I didn’t envision many areas of our education overlapping besides drugs. Reality: I didn’t realize pharmacists learned so many other things besides medications, especially assessment techniques. I really enjoyed working with my team because I felt like we made up a very well rounded group and were able to provide our patients with some valuable help.

Madison’s story I decided to do the IPE experience because it seemed like a good experience in addition to it being something that could help me once I got a job where I would be communicating with pharmacists. I didn’t really know what to expect as this was the first year we have done this and therefore there was no one to tell me what to expect I have learned that pharmacy students really know their medications and have a good handle on how different co- morbidities affect one another. Was able to learn a lot about different disease processes and practice my assessment skills on some interesting patients.

Sarah’s story Expectations: I didn’t know what the pharmacy students were when it came to assessments. I knew the pharmacy students would be proficient in medications Reality: Pharmacy students provided a knowledge of disease process as well as proper medication administration and knowledge. Pharmacists are a great resource for people in the community. I have a greater admiration for the work pharmacists do.