Essay On Health Assessment

For the Health Assessment and Health Promotion portion of NURS 255, we were paired with 66 year old G.T., a resident of the senior living community Freedom Village. Over the course of two visits, we were able conduct a health history and physical assessment on our client, who was in outstanding health in comparison to her other individuals her age. She even reported, “this may not be too interesting to you -- I don’t have much wrong with me.” Our health assessment was incredibly average, with normal responses across the board and an occasional childhood story thrown in. The only health concerns that she had were related to weight-loss, risk for breast cancer, symptoms of a 10-year-old hip injury, and common fears about end-of-life and her social

reported intentional loss of 50 lbs over the course of the last two and a half years, with a desire to lose more. The symptoms of the extra weight, such as hypertension, prediabetic blood glucose levels, and joint pain, had all resided from the weight loss, and it was hard to see any evidence of remaining manifestation. Our client shared her strict exercise and diet regimen with us -- mandated by the cancer preventative clinic that was administering her Tamoxifen. This included jogging four times a week and a diet free of added sugar and heavy with vegetables. Despite her incredible progress and ambitious goals, G.T. was seemingly unhappy with her current weight. While “body image” is typically classified as a problem for adolescents, a study conducted by Clark and Korotchenko found that there is an increasing presence of insecurity in the older age group (2011). With this weight-loss mindset and expressed dissatisfaction with her body, we used the NANDA risk diagnosis of “risk for imbalanced nutrition related to negative self concept and diet accompanying Tamoxifen” (Doenges, Moorhouse, & Murr, 2016). We advised her to continue pursuing a lifestyle that makes her feel healthy, but reminded her that change was not essential; her health was not in danger from excess weight. We also suggested exercises that are relaxed and fun, like aerobics and