Nursing Observation Report

Home Health hospice and palliative care nurses are versatile and adaptable individuals within the nursing field. They are required to be proficient in many skill sets and adapt to change as it arises. These individuals are a critical part of the health care team and its ability to provide quality health care in unique settings.
According to Stanhope, the nurse in home health, palliative care, and hospice provide skilled services to home bound patients, comfort measures, family support, and much more. Through my own observations I have witnessed just this. While out in the community my nurse has been an advocate for patients while providing care. Particularly in the personal care home setting, I have seen how crucial it is that a nurse can provide skilled services in environment patients are otherwise not getting this sort of care. My nurse is actively the one performing wound care, ostomies, and catheters in the personal care home. Additionally, she is quick to advocate for her patients by educating the staff in these

facilities on how they can assist the patients from further developing pressure ulcers and complications from invasive devices such as catheters. In many of our visits my nurse was able to coordinate care with other members of the health care team such as the home health aides and the physical therapist. Collaboration plays a vital role in ensuring quality, safe care to the patient.
While working with my nurse I was able to gain a greater appreciation for the Omaha System and how she applied it to each individual patient while assessing them. One of our patients was a middle-aged man who had fallen off of a roof and had suffered severe back injuries. While meeting with our patient we addressed the environmental domain involving workplace safety. Talking with our patient to find ways to make the job that provided for his family safer was crucial when developing a plan to get him back on the job. We also addressed the physiological domain of neuro-muscular-skeletal function because it was critical intense physical therapy takes place in order to get our patient functioning optimally again. At the fourth level of the Omaha system we are able to identify the problems and symptoms of our patient in order to develop a care plan that involves teaching, counseling, and guidance in order to help them make a strong recovery.
Technology is a key component to home health nursing in all aspects of care.

When looking at the primary level of care, technology such as Telehealth and medication dispensers in the elderly population can prevent medication errors and mistakes by sending alerts to care takers and or providers when medications are not taken or taken incorrectly. Technology is beneficial in secondary prevention because as nurses assess and monitor patients in their homes they can instantly share informatics with the health care team and collaborate in order to provide effective interventions in the event of medication side effects and more. Technology is also crucial to tertiary prevention in the home health population. Technology such a telehealth could use live video streaming to educate diabetic patients and their families on healthy dietary habits while they cook in their kitchens and more. The benefits of technology in the home health setting are

endless.