Essay About Hired Caregiver And S World Of Healthcare

Collaborative Practice Paper
Essay title: Collaborative Practice Paper
Collaborative Practice Paper
In today’s world of healthcare, collaborative efforts are in place between all members of
the healthcare team. Collaboration exists to help initiate improved outcomes for the patient in
the healthcare delivery system. Today, providers and patients work together in care. At one
time, the healthcare model was doctor dominated and solely focused on just the pathophysiology
of the patients illness, not the patient as a whole. Doctors, nurses, physical therapists, social
workers, case managers, nurse practitioners and dieticians all make up members of the
collaborative healthcare team. A joint collaborative practice among all healthcare team members
leads to continuity of care, decreased costs, quality care and patient satisfaction. Ongoing
collaboration between healthcare members results in mutual respect, trust and an appreciation of
what each individual brings to the overall goal in care of the client. (Blais & Hais, 2006). The
following case study will provide the foundation for the discussion of when collaborative care is
provided, the difference between nursing diagnosis and collaborative problems, and potential
barriers to successful collaboration.
FM is an 80 year old married Caucasian female diagnosed with congestive heart failure
(CHF). She had a longstanding history of diabetes with a right below-the-knee amputation,
coronary artery disease with stenting and valve replacement, chronic renal failure and dialysis
dependent, fibromyalgia and colon cancer that has just been discovered to have metastasized
to the spine. She is non-ambulatory due to her amputation and does not have a prosthetic. She
lives with her very supportive husband of over 40 years, who takes care of her, along with a
hired caregiver that is at the house for 12 hours a day to help FM with activities of daily living.
FM is a retired nurse who spent most of her career working in critical care. FM has three step-
children, two of which live in the immediate area and offer to help out when they can. During
this hospitalization, FM is very short of breath. The week before, FM received a steroid shot in
her left deltoid. Since that time, her left arm has swollen to “three times its size.” Due to FM’s
nursing background, she is very aware of all of the medical treatments that she has received and
has decided that she no longer wants to try chemotherapy or radiation. FM has lived with
chronic pain for the past 40 years and states that her pain has gotten worse with the discovery of
cancer metastasis to her spine. FM rates her pain at 8/10 that is usually unrelieved by oral pain
medications. FM states she constantly has nausea and has recently suffered from a loss of
appetite with a 30 pound weight loss over the past few months. FM states, “I am ready to go to
heaven. I’ve suffered enough during this lifetime. It’s time for me to go.” Per her husband’s
request, FM is still a full-code with all resuscitative measures in place. FM disputes this when
she is awake, however, the doctor states, “She’s just not feeling well. When we treat her for the
CHF she will feel better towards life.”
Physical assessment of FM reveals crackles at the bases of her lungs. She is using her
accessory