The Importance Of Nutrition In Nursing

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Introduction:
In this assignment the writer is going to discuss the role of the nurse with the multidisciplinary team in providing holistic nursing care to meet the nutritional needs of a patient in the hospital setting. The writer aims to greater the reader’s understanding about what nutrition, the nurse’s role in assessing and caring for the patient, the signs and symptoms of malnutrition, the roles of other multidisciplinary members in providing care for the patient, issues around nutrition in the hospital,
Main Body:
Nutrition is the intake of foods needed to meet the body’s dietary requirements, good nutrition is referred to as knowing a well-balanced diet combined with regular exercise (Who.int, 2016). A healthy well balanced diet consists …show more content…

After the initial assessment of the patient, if the nurse has any concerns regarding the patient’s swallow, it is the nurse’s role to refer that patient to the Speech and Language therapist. On assessment from the Speech and Language therapist they may find that the patient appears to have Dysphagia, which a difficulty or discomfort in swallowing, the Speech and Language therapists may prescribe a Dysphagia diet for such patients. A Dysphagia diet is highly individualised and involves modifications to food textures and fluid viscosity, foods may have to be chopped, minced and fluids may need to be thickened (Coxall et al., 2008). It is important that Dysphagia is addressed as there is a high risk of coughing and choking associated with it. Dysphagia can also lead to Aspiration pneumonia which is a chest infection which can develop from accidentally inhaling something such as food particles, it can cause irritation to the lungs or it can damage them (Nhs.uk, 2016). The Nurse must also liaise with the occupational therapist if required. The occupational therapist focuses of maximizing an individual’s ability to engage in all aspects of daily living. Eating and Drinking been an important activity in everyone’s day to day life, occupational therapy may be needed for this patient to meet their nutritional requirements. Occupational therapy in terms of nutrition may involve coaching the patient’s progress in oral feeding or the transition from tube feeding, designing equipment in the environment to support feeding or designing behavioural modifications to manage behavioural feeding difficulties, educating the patient, families, caregivers, and other health professional in food selection, preparation,

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