Aged Care Services in Emergency Team (ASET) Nurse Interviewing Max: A Critique and Analysis

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT 1
Nursing Assignment
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

NURSING ASSIGNMENT 2
Introduction (150)
This paper will analyze and evaluate an Aged Care Services in Emergency Team (ASET)
nurse interviewing Max who is a patient in a rural hospital emergency department (The Division
of Student Learning, 2017). Furthermore, it also discuss the impact of age-related physiological
changes and how this effects, strength-based nursing assessment, and theories. Supporting this
assessment is the identification of four relevant assessment tools and how they could have been
utilized to provide optimal care and reduce re-admissions to the health facilities. The conclusion
of this report will investigate what strength based nursing is and how the principles during the
ASET enabled Max to solve problem and take control of his own care decisions. (Devitt, 2018)
Question: Person-centered communication with an older person (400)
Person-centered communication comprises of many facets and is a complex skill that
needs to be adaptable to any situation. Patient-centered communication defined by BMJ open
journal publication is "verbal, para-verbal and non-verbal communication” (Hafskjold et al.,
2015, p. 2). The conversation starts with first impressions, building rapport, establishing a
therapeutic relationship and showing empathy. Robyn, on entering the room introduces herself
and explains the role of the ASET followed by gaining permission to take a seat and ask a few
questions. Max initially had a solid understanding of who Robyn was, and the role and reasoning
behind her assessment with appropriate tone and language which was clear and concise.
What should have been established right from the beginning of the assessment was if
Max had any hearing or vision impairment. Conversely, Max had left glasses on the bedside
table; this was a clue to the patient potentially having vision impairment. Max's visual
impairment is likely to be contributed to age-related physiological changes. These changes cause
visual impairment through the reduction of pupil size and reaction to light, reduction in tear

NURSING ASSIGNMENT 3
production, and loss of peripheral vision (Heiting, 2018, p. 260). Robyn overcame this challenge
immediately by sitting close to max and in an almost direct line of sight. This was not the only
aged related change that was defeated by Robyn at the beginning of the assessment.
Communication from the very beginning of the evaluation could have been obscured or
miss construed or even lost if Max was unable to hear adequately. The ability to listen
sufficiently is associated with the narrowing of the ear canal, structural changes in the pinna and
reduced hairs in the cochlea diminish sound transmission to the eardrum (Bernoth, 2017). Robyn
un-intentionally from the beginning used alternative communication methods to strength her
assessment. This can be seen as non-verbal communication, using hand gestures and providing
visual descriptions to enable Max to understand what was being said (Guest, 2016, p.36). This
was evident when explaining to max the process of sitting to standing from his armchair. This
visual aid may have enabled Max to gain further more of an understanding of what was being
explained.
It was identified that Robyn used the SOLAR model of non-verbal communication. This
is defined as “sit squarely, maintain an open position, lean slightly towards the patient, maintain
reasonable eye contact and relax” (Guest, 2016, p. 36). It was this SOLAR model from the
beginning of the assessment that enabled Max to understand Robyn and partake in the
conversation about his care. It was this model of care that enabled Robyn to understand Max as a
unique individual and “respect his values, preferences” (Delbanco & Gerteis, 2018, p. 2).
Question 2: The process of assessment of the older man in the video (400)
During the ASET assessment, Robyn disregards facets of the evaluation and or fails to
continue to question for further information. These areas include; falls risk assessments
medication reviews, alcohol consumption, and mental health assessment. Max at the start of the