Geriatric Clinical Assessment
From the perspective of a nurse practitioner student doing their fourth week of clinical rotation at a gerontology primary care office: Describe your clinical experience for this week.
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Geriatric Clinical Assessment
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- 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.
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.
- in paragraph form, no bullet points or numbering.
Clinical Reflection: Week Four – Gerontology Primary Care Rotation
This week marked my fourth clinical rotation at a gerontology primary care office. I deepened my understanding of how vital it is to approach this population with empathy, patience, and a strong sense of respect. Many patients showed deep trust in their healthcare providers, which reinforced the importance of building strong therapeutic relationships in geriatric care.
One significant challenge I faced this week involved differentiating between symptoms that often overlap in older adults. Complaints such as fatigue, dizziness, and confusion can stem from several causes—polypharmacy, chronic illness, or age-related changes. Making sense of these symptoms required careful clinical judgment and a holistic approach. I also had to rely on collateral information from caregivers to ensure that patient histories were accurate and complete. Despite the complexity, these cases helped sharpen my diagnostic reasoning and communication skills.
A particularly memorable patient was a 78-year-old woman who presented with worsening fatigue, muscle weakness, and mild confusion over the last two weeks. Her daughter noted occasional palpitations and poor sleep quality. During assessment, the patient appeared pale and mildly diaphoretic, with limited orientation to time. Vital signs showed a blood pressure of 102/60 mmHg, heart rate of 96 beats per minute, respiratory rate of 18 breaths per minute, and oxygen saturation of 96% on room air. Her temperature was 97.8°F. Cardiac examination revealed an irregularly irregular rhythm, but there were no signs of focal neurological deficits……….
