Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy: Case Study

Heart failure is a health condition affecting millions of people worldwide. Heart failure readmissions for healthcare agencies continues to be an area of concern due to the cost associated with each readmission. Readmissions to the hospital for heart failure is tied to reimbursement and financial penalties. Developing a plan to combat readmission is a difficult task.

It is important to provide this information to client which may provide hope for restoration. The video described various areas the client should address in treatment, including sleep, diet, exercise, and social activities. These areas should be assessed in a biopsychosocial assessment prior to treatment. As a clinician, I incorporate all these areas of functioning in my treatment plan for clients. I want to provide effective treatment, and as this video explained, we must do this from a systems perspective, looking at all areas of functioning that can affect

Chapter 10 is about the Folk Psychotherapy of Alcoholics Anonymous ( AA) by L A. Alibrandi. The focus of the Chapter is “detailed examination of the relationship between the sponsor and the new comer. A.A. sponsors help others to achieve and maintain sobriety. I like the statement of an AA member “Drunks get sober every morning, or every time they go to jail or a hospital, but in A.A we learn how to stay sober.” (Zimberg, S, et al pg. 165).

Limitations recognised throughout the SDM process were related to risk of further deterioration in the Consumer’s mental state. As the Consumer was slowly taken off his medications, in a safe clinical manner, his presentation deteriorated. The Consumer’s sleep pattern worsened due to the elevation in his mood, there was a noted increase in impulsivity and poor boundaries with others on the inpatient unit, leading to the Consumer becoming vulnerable. There was a prominent increase in erratic and aggressive towards others, leading to the assault of a staff member on the inpatient unit and subsequently required the use of restrictive interventions. The decline in mental state resulted in the Consumer’s father, case manager and treating team coming together for a family meeting with the Consumer present in which the previous medications the Consumer had been previously prescribed were recommenced in an attempt to re-stabilise his presentation, unfortunately this was a substituted decision made by the consumer’s father and treating tream.

Triggers, warning signs, and crisis planning are the components of the process, and require interdisciplinary work from the patient, nurse, doctor, counselor and other support staff. As with every human being, stress is a normal part of life. How we cope with those stressors is the difference between mental illness and mental wellness. With patients with substance-abuse issues, their coping mechanism is their substance of choice. So it is important to identify those stressors early on, identify early warning signs, look for inevitable situations where the patient feels like everything is falling apart, and most of all, prevent them from using.

competency. I learned that in the crisis situations associated with mental health and substance dependence, such as, experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms, including physical and psychiatric complications, the patient is provided with an immediate assessment in order to determine the appropriate level of care. If it is necessary, the referrals to detox or psychiatric facilities are

Alcoholism has been the consumption of liquor that can create mental behaviors that become dependent on alcohol. Native American and Alaskan Natives are more likely than other ethnicities to die of alcohol related cases. There are different types of issues that can cause them to led this path. What causes them to have so many deaths related to alcoholism?   Method can be used to identify whether or not they have an alcohol related problem.

Due to variability in brain recovery, many addicts may require prolonged treatment or supportive medications in order to discontinue their addictive lifestyles. Since the body becomes physically addicted to the drug, the body too must be cleaned of its effects before treatment can progress. Any detox can be extremely painful with severe physical symptoms that may be traumatic if attempted without medical treatment. Withdrawal from opiates can be very trying on the body and generally requires medical assistance to ease the patient through the process as much as possible. Disruption of endorphin production is thought to be associated with a need to increase opiate use in order to avoid the onset of painful withdrawal symptoms.

Alcoholism is a chronic brain disease that affects all walks of life and does not have any bounders (Gossop, Stewart, & Marsden, 2008). I choose to attend an Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meeting since this disease is prevalent among adolescents and adults. The meeting was held in the first-floor forum at Pilgrim Congressional Church in Queens New York. The goals of the AA meeting were stated explicitly by the leader conducting the meeting. The mission of the organization is to maintain sobriety by helping alcoholics achieve recovery.

Being the clinician and conducting an intake interview was one of the most the practical, informative, and thought-provoking assignments I have completed throughout undergrad thus far. While allowing me to practice clinical interviewing skills, I learned how difficult yet essential various skills were in order to successfully complete an intake process. Specifically, I found taking a direct approach and asking specific questions was most successful. For example, with my client, Ian, I was able to find out the most relevant information about his manic tendencies through asking him specific questions. His intake form described having manic tendencies in the past, though there was not enough information there to really get to the core reason for

This clinical experience has really helped me to sharpen my communication skills and realize just how important it is to understand mental health. We are told multiple times in class that mental health issues can be seen on any floor and that is the truth. I’ve seen patients in my older adult clinical on the pulmonary floor suffer from issues that range from anxiety to bipolar disorder and depression. Being able to understand how to approach people that suffer from these types of illnesses, allows us, the nurses, to give the patient the best care that we can. It helps to build a trusting relationship and get to know them on a personal level.

ALCOHOLISM How many times have you heard about the consequences of alcoholism? Have you taken them into account? Alcoholism is one of the major problems in society. People don’t take it so seriously but it actually is a disease. The effects of this disease are really serious.

I begin to think about how my patient is living, what kind of housing are they living in, can they afford their co pay or medication if they do not have insurance’s. I learned that, community health nursing look at the population not individual patients. I learned the various resources available in the community and how to refer my patient who is in need to these resources. I learned that care in the community must be available, accessible, and acceptable in order for care to reach the population. Most importantly, I learned not to be judgmental especially to my disadvantage patient that might be homeless or

Providing education to the family and patient about what to expect will relieve the stress of the unknown. It is necessary to readdress taught information as reinforcement will provide an increase in confidence. In addition to providing emotional support, it will be important to help the family organize the patient’s environment. Setting up a hospital bed up in an area that is free of clutter, with room for family members to deliver care. Teaching patients how to change linens on the patient 's bed when the patient is unable to

Ewing, 1984), alcoholism is a progressive disease, it manifests with an insatiable need to ingest alcoholic beverages, with a compulsive and uncontrollable desire, the sick has difficult for him to stop drinking, he loses control of himself and increases his dose, until he reaches intoxication. “Six out of 10 hospital admissions are in some way related to alcohol consumption” (SELZER, 1971), medics have found a link that relates to the patient with a direct or indirect relationship with alcohol, this provides us with a statistical data of 60% of Patients in hospitals, are hospitalized for some accident with