This week I have encountered a familiar patient to my office, who was an elderly (60 years of age) Spanish male. His history of diseases included colon cancer, hypertension, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), indicating the potential for severe digestive tract complications. He reported abdominal pain and watery black stool, with the first instance occurring during the previous night. The patient was distressed by the symptoms and relayed a dangerous frequency to the event, with over 10 separate episodes occurring since the first incident. Due to his history of cancer, the patient was requested to undergo colonoscopy every half a year, with the last visit being 6 months ago. Physical assessment data for the patient was as follows: B/P is 80/55 P 100 RR 15 T97.7F and 02 SAT on RA is 95%. Another examination discovered the symptoms associated with gastrointestinal bleeding. The patient was hospitalized in order to determine the causes of the issue.
This scenario was relatively straight-forward in application and in line with my short-term goals of learning more about working with elderly populations and implementing my skills in various healthcare settings (Buppert, 2018). It was also beneficial to my strengths of seeking opportunities for self-improvement, which was why I was eager to deliver the highest standard of care for the patient (Thomas et al., 2012). As it stands, we are waiting for the results of the detailed examination of the samples, in order to determine the reason for bleeding. It is possible that the symptoms observed on that day are caused by a much greater healthcare issue, such as re-emerging colon cancer or even an entirely different gastrointestinal disease (Benson et al., 2017). It is likely for the patient to remain hospitalized in the foreseeable future.
References
Benson, A. B., Venook, A. P., Cederquist, L., Chan, E., Chen, Y. J., Cooper, H. S.,… & Grem, J. L. (2017). Colon cancer, version 1.2017, NCCN clinical practice guidelines in oncology. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 15(3), 370-398.
Buppert, C. (2018). Nurse practitioner’s business practice and legal guide (6th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Bartlett & Jones Learning.
Thomas, A. C., Crabtree, M. K., Delaney, K. R., Dumas, M. A., Kleinpell, R., Logsdon, M. C., … Nativio, D. G. (2012). Nurse practitioner core competencies. Web.