Free Essay On Advanced Nursing

Learning Points

The patient in the case is presumed to be suffering from the clinical signs and symptoms of a herniated intervertebral disc.
It is possible to rule out other possible conditions often related to differential diagnosis simply by looking at the clinical signs and symptoms that the patient manifests (i.e. musculoskeletal pain particularly on the spine with matching neurological manifestations such as tingling in the back and lower extremity) .
A patient’s past medical history can have a direct correlation with the patient’s current medical condition; in this case, the patient has been complaining of less severe instances of back pain in the past but he decided to just leave it unchecked.
Lack of awareness on the importance of having a health insurance policy coverage can often lead to worsening of an otherwise simple and easily treated medical condition
A patient’s occupation can have a detrimental effect on his or her future medical condition. In the case, the patient has a labor-intensive job that often requires him to lift heavy objects using overhead movements and etc.—something which may have contributed to the herniation of one or a series of his intervertebral disc.
Some of the conditions that an advanced nursing practitioner may rule in would be a simple low back pain or a muscle strain. However, neither of these two conditions would typically present with neurological manifestations such as tingling in the back or in the extremities. Presence of neurological symptoms are often indicative of impinged nerve roots in the spine which in turn is often caused by slipped intervertebral disc or what is also known as herniated disc. This condition often presents with a combination of musculoskeletal and neurologic manifestations , such as the one presented in the case
All in all, these learning points about advanced nursing care plans made me realize that in order to understand and successfully solve cases, even the complex ones, the nurses have to be analytical and critical.

References

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Ostelo, R., Deyo, R., Stratford, P., Waddell, G., Croft, P., Von Korff, M., et al. (2008). Interpreting change scores for pain and functional status in low back pain: towards international consensus regarding minimal important change. Spine.
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Van Tulder, M., Becker, A., Bekkering, T., Breen, A., Real, M., Hutchinson, A., et al. (2006). Chapter 3 European guidelines for the management of acute nonspecific low back pain in primary care. European Spine Journal, 169-191.