Nursing Assessment Critique: Communication and Assessment of an Older Patient

Nursing Assessment Critique

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Person Centred Communication with an Older Person................................................................................3
The Process of Assessment..........................................................................................................................4
Strength Based Assessment.........................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................7
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Introduction
Aged-based care is of much importance and the nurses handling aged people must be well-
equipped with needful skills and knowledge. This report will be analysing an assessment
regarding the condition of Max, an older patient who just went through crucial knee surgery,
conducted by Registered Nurse from Aged Service Emergency Team (ASET). It will reflect the
communication problems caused to the older patients due to age related factors. It will show that
aged people are more vulnerable to health problems and will also state the underlying reasons.
Needful person centred communication strategies would be suggested after identification of
barriers of effective communication of the patient through thorough analysis. The report will also
focus on the assessment related factors which could have been addressed more briefly by the
nurse. Self-help strategies will also be provided to him on the basis of his health concerns.
Person Centred Communication with an Older Person
Person-centred communication is a tool by using which the care givers or nurses enable a person
to identify their positive and negative health aspects and suggest how to use their existing
potential to reduce the negative aspects and strengthen the positive ones (Philp et al. 2017). This
not only helps the individual to assess their present health condition, but also renders them
needful ideas to overcome those. Person centred communication is a commonly used phenomena
is the context of aged care. With age, the bodily functions start to lose its efficacy due to
numerous health related factors. Minor to major issues start to create hindrances for the aged
people, affecting their communication (Ewing, Austin, Diffin & Grande, 2015). In the given
assessment, Max is also experiencing certain health issues which are impacting his effectiveness
of communication process. Hearing impairment among aged people is a common issue which is
caused when the hair cells or the nerves in cochlea are affected (Yang, Schrepfer & Schacht,
2015). As the hair cells do not grow again, it becomes a permanent damage. As a result, the
hearing of the host is impacted. Hearing deficit stops a person from receiving information
properly, thereby impacting the effective communication. On being asked, Max states to Robyn
that he does have some hearing issues. Robyn was talking in a clear audible way and she also
came to know that Max was not using his hearing aid. She did not further inquire about the
reasons behind his unwillingness to wear those.
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