Approaches To Family Nursing Paper

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Approaches to Family Nursing
The family health nurse has many responsibilities. He/she must function as an advocate, counselor, educator and a role model to name a few. (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tobacco, & Harmon-Hanson, 2015) The family health nurse can use several different interventions to manage a patient’s illness. These interventions will also focus on the patient’s family. The purpose of this paper is to review these approaches to family nursing and provide examples from my nursing experience.
Interventions
Family as Context This is a traditional approach to nursing. The care is centered on the patient but will also involve parents and/or caregivers. This approach is common in the specialty of pediatrics. (Kaakinen et al., 2015) An …show more content…

(Kaakinen et al., 2015) For example, I cared for a male who was the primary provider for he and his wife. He experienced a myocardial infarction and was temporarily unable to work. This caused strain on the relationship between he and his wife. They were worried about him being able to return to work and whether or not he would be able to afford his medications. An article from the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing conducted a study of how spouse’s cope when their loved on experiences a myocardial infarction. Studies showed that the spouse experienced sleep disorders, decreased appetite, anxiety, depression, and feelings of powerlessness. (Salminen-Tuomaala, Astedt-Kurki, Rekiaro, & Paavilainen, 2012) The wife experienced a lot of these symptoms. She had to resume daily responsibilities as well as become the primary provider for the family. This affected her health and impacted her spouse’s ability to …show more content…

The family interfaces with community agencies and institutions to educate and provide care. (Kaakinen et al., 2015) An example of this would be a patient who is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The patient and the family must inform themselves as well as others regarding the prognosis and outcome of this disease. A patient must coordinate his/her care with therapy as well as the primary care physician. The family may also be forced to use outside resources to provide the proper care their loved one needs. Resources such as new treatment options or tips on how to cope with MS. (National Multiple Sclerosis Society [NMSS], n.d.) In conclusion, there are many different interventions to approach family nursing. Each families’ situation is unique and should be treated that way. The same intervention may not meet the needs of every patient or family. As a family nurse, one must recognize this and choose his/her approach

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