The Korean journal of internal medicine

Running head: LIVING WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS 1
Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Name of Author
Institution of Affiliation
Date of Submission

LIVING WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
2
Introduction
This paper provides details of the interview that I contacted a patient living with chronic
conditions in my community. It provides the background of my client, her health status and her
personal background. Furthermore, based on the information that I got from the client, the paper
links it to pharmacology by using literature in support of the information. Furthermore, the essay
paper defines the health condition of my client and the impact that has had on his life and family.
It describes this health condition in support of the literature reviews and relates this information
to RLT models of nursing. Also, the paper identifies various nursing care priorities and goals that
I developed with Mrs. X. It discusses these nursing care goals by relating to the NSQHS
Partnering with consumer Standard.
Background (CRC 1 & 2)
I decided to interview Mrs. J, not her real name because of confidentiality reasons. Her
story of living with chronic illness starts when she was at college studying engineering in
California. Besides studying, she had a side hustle where she used to work. In other words, she
was living an active life until when she was a senior college student. Her life completely
changed, she did not have the same energy that she used to have. She started feeling terrible,
being stressed, being lonely and started drinking alcohol (Stenberg et al., 2016).
She discussed the issue with one of her friends whom she advised her to go and seek a
medical doctor as she was always sick all the time. She always complained of having a fever,
fatigue, and loss of appetite. After some time, her joints become swollen and become tender to
touch. She always used to feel stiffness which was worse during morning hours. It is at this time
she decided to go student’s health center where she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

LIVING WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
3
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory illness that affects one’s joints. According
to (Tanaka, 2016), the condition is dangerous when not managed well as it can damage a wide
variety of crucial body parts such as ad blood vessels, skin hearts, and lungs. By linking the
rheumatoid Arthritis case of my client to pathophysiology, I can conclude that the disorder is a
systemic inflammatory illness. As per (Firestein & McInnes, 2017), rheumatoid is an
autoimmune chronic disease whose pathophysiology is characterized by synovitis and joint
destruction. It attacks the tissues of the joints thereby causing pain and inflammation of the
joints. According to (Burmester & Pope, 2017), rheumatoid arthritis damages cartilages thereby
eroding the bone. As a result, it makes one loose articular surfaces and joint motion. The
degenerative change occurs in muscle fibers as the elasticity and the contractile power of
ligaments and tendons are lost.
Discussion (CRC 3)
Rheumatoid arthritis is a threatening chronic condition that can have a negative impact on
one’s life and the family. It is a very dangerous disorder that affects important parts of the body
such as the heart, lungs, and blood vessels among other parts (Chiaranai, Chularee &
Srithongluang, 2018).
Regarding my interviewee, rheumatoid arthritis has affected her quality of life in various
ways. One of these is the development of Osteoporosis. Rheumatoid arthritis made my client
develop osteoporosis condition that weakens one’s bones by making them more prone to
fracture. This has made her be unable to stay active. This has made her be unable to do slightly
hard tasks as well as traveling. Besides, sometimes, she finds it hard for her to do simple tasks
such as washing and dressing. According to the Roper-Logan-Tierney Model of nursing (RLT),
here are different kinds of activities that are essential in enhancing the quality of life (Holland &