Patient-Centered Care—At First Contact

NURS 3020 Health Assessment

Week 5 Discussion

Patient-Centered Care—At First Contact

Nurses and patient-centered care (PCC) go hand-in-hand. Nurses enjoy taking care of patients in a holistic, personalized, relationship-based way that honors the patients’ preferences, needs, and values. In its landmark book, Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001, p. 40), the Institute of Medicine (IOM) defined patient-centered care as “…providing care that is respectful and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values—ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions.”

This is the last week in which we are reviewing health assessment techniques. We end by covering cognitive assessments and musculoskeletal and neurological examinations. The purpose of this discussion is for you to reflect on your relationships with your patients and to identify ways that you can strengthen your PCC approaches beyond health interviews and assessments.

As you move forward in the program, you will learn more about encouraging patients to be engaged at every level of care design and implementation within the health care system. After all, PCC is connected to improved quality and patient outcomes, and you will learn more about that too!

To Prepare

Review the Week 5 Discussion Rubric provided in the Course Information area.

Review Chapters 5, 22, and 23 in the course text.

Choose two of the six dimensions of patient-centered care (PCC), listed below, on which to focus for this Discussion.

Think about how you might implement the two dimensions you selected into your health interview and assessment process in order to improve quality in patient collaboration and outcomes.

Respect for patients’ values, preferences, and expressed needs

Coordination and integration of care through collaboration and teamwork

Accessibility and free flow of information, communication, and education

Physical comfort

Sensitivity to non-medical and the spiritual dimension of care (emotional support)

Involvement of family and friends

By Day 3

Post a substantive 3-paragraph response (at least 350 words) discussing the selected dimensions of patient-centered care.

Be sure to use evidence from the readings and include in-text citations. Utilize essay-level writing practice and skills, including the use of transitional material and organizational frames. Use the writing resources and the Discussion Rubric to develop your post.

Evidence

In-text citations

Essay-level

Transitional material

Organizational frames

Define the two dimensions of patient-centered care that you selected.

Describe how your implementation of the two dimensions in your health interview and assessment will improve quality in patient collaboration and outcomes.

By Day 7

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings for the Discussion question.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues in one of the following ways:

Expand upon their Discussion.

Suggest an alternative to their viewpoint.

Ask a clarifying question about a colleague’s proposed technique or strategy.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

Provide a Discussion entry on three different days of the week. See the Discussion Rubric for more information.

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