Nursing Care Plan Essay

Running head: NURSING CARE PLAN ESSAY
Nursing care plan essay
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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NURSING CARE PLAN ESSAY
Table of Contents
Part A:........................................................................................................................................2
Medical diagnosis:.................................................................................................................2
Theory of aging:.....................................................................................................................2
Physiology of Ageing:............................................................................................................3
Primary health services:.........................................................................................................4
Strategies and Interventions for dementia/challenging behaviours:......................................5
Oral hygiene:..........................................................................................................................6
Pain:........................................................................................................................................7
Complementary therapies:.....................................................................................................7
Part B: Nursing Care Plan: Clinical Reasoning Cycle...............................................................8
References................................................................................................................................13

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NURSING CARE PLAN ESSAY
Part A:
Medical diagnosis:
The nursing essay focuses on the case study of a patient named Alice Jones, an 89
year old patient that have been suffering from many age related conditions, all the while
living in the Minnows aged care facility. She has many concerning components in her past
medical history, including Myocardial infarct (MI), Hypertension, osteoarthritis, anxiety and
depression. Although, the most delimiting diagnosis and presenting complaint is the
Alzheimer’s Dementia and urinary incontinence. Her many complaints include mobility
assistance due to her osteoarthritis, and along with that, she even had had sustained two falls
in the past which could have potentially caused considerable injuries or concussions for her.
The presenting complaints include altered perception of time and place, as she had been
reported to be up at 2am and required redirecting to her bed. At time of report, she is having a
shower with the night Personal carer as she was up and at the nurses’ station requesting to go
to the shops. Her past medical history will have a huge impact; due to her altered perception
of time and place, her tendency to walk out of the bed can lead to fall, leading her to sustain
significant injuries. Similarly, her myocardial infarction indicates a blocked heart which in
turn can complicate her medical conditional and can even lead to fatal health risks. Hence,
her medical diagnosis based on the case assessment data includes Alzheimer’s dementia,
urinary continence and fall risk due to restricted mobility (Beck et al., 2015).
Theory of aging:
The ageing theory which would be appropriate is the neuroendocrine hypothesis of
ageing, which focuses extensively on the interconnectedness of the endocrinal system and the
central nervous system. The hypothalamus plays a key role in the hormonal activities outlined
in this theory and instructs the pituitary gland in the functional regulation of additional

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NURSING CARE PLAN ESSAY
endocrinal glands such as ovaries, testes, adrenal and thyroid glands (Adelman & Roth,
2017). Due to the disruptive health effects characteristic of the ageing process, the efficiency
of this endocrinal system degrades and results in hindrances in cognitive functioning, sleep
disturbances, difficulties in sleeping further cascading into cardiovascular deficits and
hypertension (Bauer et al., 2015). Alice has demonstrated characteristic symptoms of
Alzheimer’s Dementia in the form of hypertension, damaged cardiovascular functioning,
cognitive loss and sleeplessness. As per the neuroendocrine theory of ageing, loss of
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function due to ageing leads to hindered insulin-like growth
factor functioning, cortisol dysfunction and damage to the dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
circadian activity further resulting in a hampered cortisol-DGE ratio and the resultant shift
from anabolism to catabolism, loss of appetite, immune system degradation cognitive loss
and increased cardiovascular disease susceptibility (Greenwood et al., 2018). The effects of
this theory can be observed in Alice’s symptoms and history of myocardial infarction,
sleeplessness, Alzheimer’s dementia, depression, hypertension and anxiety.
Physiology of Ageing:
Ageing results in detrimental impacts upon the musculoskeletal system leading to
reduced muscle tissue size, elasticity and strength. Ageing also leads to reduced ATP,
myoglobin and glycogens stores in muscles leading to mobility difficulties and impaired
movement of muscles as seen in Alice’s issues in daily activity performance (Palmer &
Goodson, 2015). Ageing is associated with neurosensory changes resulting in cerebral and
spinal neuronal loss, dendrite degradation, impaired transmission of synapses, inflammation
associated amyloid deposition in the brain further leading to hindered cognitive and sensory
capabilities, as evident in Alice’s acquisition of Alzheimer’s Dementia (Yanai et al., 2017).
The ageing process also results in malfunctioning cardiovascular processes leading to
increased risk of hypertension, stroke and myocardial infarction which are clearly observed in