Geriatric Heart Failure Management
Describe your clinical experience for this week as a student nurse practitioner taking care of geriatric patients.
- Did you face any challenges, any success? If so, what were they?
- Describe the assessment of a patient, detailing the signs and symptoms (S&S), assessment, plan of care, and at least 3 possible differential diagnosis with rationales.
- Mention the health promotion intervention for this patient.
- What did you learn from this week’s clinical experience that can beneficial for you as an advanced practice nurse?
- Support your plan of care with the current peer-reviewed research guideline.
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Geriatric Heart Failure Management
Submission Instructions:
- Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted and cited in current APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources. Your initial post is worth 8 points.
Clinical Experience and Patient Encounter
This week, I worked with several geriatric patients in a primary care setting. One of the main challenges I faced involved managing polypharmacy. Many patients could not recall all their medications. This made medication reconciliation difficult. A major success was adjusting a patient’s heart failure medications based on symptoms and lab values. I felt confident using clinical guidelines to guide this decision.
I assessed Mr. R, an 82-year-old man with fatigue and leg swelling. He reported shortness of breath and had gained four pounds. He denied chest pain but mentioned mild difficulty breathing when lying down. On exam, I noted pitting leg edema and elevated jugular vein pressure. His blood pressure was elevated. Breath sounds were decreased at the bases…………………..
Health Promotion and Clinical Learning
I promoted a heart-healthy lifestyle with low-sodium meals. I emphasized the importance of regular monitoring and follow-up visits. Immunization review was part of the visit.
This week, I learned that managing chronic illness in older adults requires clear communication and patient education. Using current guidelines helped build my clinical confidence. I will continue to rely on evidence-based practice to guide care for complex patients……………….
