Nursing Assessment Case Study: David - Alcohol Abuse and Recovery

This case study presents a nursing assessment of David, focusing on his alcohol abuse and potential recovery. The initial assessment includes vital signs, wound assessment, dietary habits, medication history, and mental health evaluation to identify the extent of alcohol abuse and any related health issues. The study emphasizes the importance of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) in David's recovery, highlighting key principles such as hope, personal responsibility, education, self-advocacy, and support. The WRAP is designed to assist in managing distressful situations and promote a healthy recovery process. The study references relevant literature and resources to support the assessment and recovery strategies.

Running head: NURSING ASSESSMENT: CASE STUDY OF DAVID
NURSING ASSESSMENT: CASE STUDY OF DAVID
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1NURSING ASSESSMENT: CASE STUDY OF DAVID
Question a
One of the first nursing assessments to be conducted by the nurse in charge, is a physical
assessment or examination of David’s vital signs such as his heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen
saturation time, respiratory rate, body temperature as well as capillary refill time. This will assist
the nurse in identifying the presence of any acute health issues in David as a result of alcohol
abuse or alcohol related injuries, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disorders, deep vein
thrombosis and respiratory diseases which can further prompt the nurse to implement specialized
assessments and related referrals (Royal College of Nursing, 2019).
The nurse must also conduct a wound assessment in order to inspect the presence of
wounds and their associated causes, duration, state and risk of any infections. The nurse must
also assess David’s diet, weight, eating habits and history of medications, drinking, mental
health, personal and family issues in order to understand his state of alcohol abuse and the need
for mental and psychiatric or counseling referrals (Royal College of Nursing, 2019).
Question b
The Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) is a personally designed mental health
wellness and prevention plan which assists individuals in their road to recovery as well in the
monitoring of their experiences for timely detection and management of distressful and
uncomfortable situations (Mak et al., 2016). Thus, the WRAP tool can assist David in his
personal recovery, via the following principles (Murray and Hamilton 2015):
 Hope: David must learn and accept that his mental health condition does not mean that
his ability to have goals, dreams and live a healthy life will decline.

2NURSING ASSESSMENT: CASE STUDY OF DAVID
 Personal Responsibility: Despite receiving assistance from professionals, David must
learn that he is solely responsible for his own recovery.
 Education: David must educate himself and engage in continuous learning regarding
management of his condition.
 Self-advocacy: David’s mental health does not mean that he is not liable to ask for help
and support when needed.
 Support: Taking assistance from relevant professionals and peers as well as
collaborating with them, will quicken David’s road to recovery.

3NURSING ASSESSMENT: CASE STUDY OF DAVID
References
Mak, W.W., Chan, R.C., Pang, I.H., Chung, N.Y., Yau, S.S. and Tang, J.P., 2016. Effectiveness
of Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) for Chinese in Hong Kong. American Journal
of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, 19(3), pp.235-251.
Murray, K. and Hamilton, S., 2015. It's a WRAP! Delivering wellness for women in the UK. The
practising midwife, 18(5), pp.11-13.
Royal College of Nursing, 2019. The Role of Nurses in Alcohol and Drug Treatment Services: A
resource for commissioners, providers and clinicians. [online] Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk.
Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/
attachment_data/file/652963/Role_of_nurses_in_alcohol_and_drug_services.pdf [Accessed 29
Dec. 2019].