Dietitian Reflection

This patient was identified during the dietitian’s screening process for two different reasons upon her admission. There was a consult for this patient from the physician to provide nutrition education on a low sodium diet, as well as an alert from the RN due to the patient’s low Braden score and because she appeared cachectic/malnourished. I was given this patient by my preceptor to provide the nutrition education as well as complete her initial assessment. When I visited the patient she had been NPO, and had not eaten since her admission to the hospital. She informed me that her appetite been normal prior to admission, and she was currently hungry and very eager to eat. The patient denied any recent weight loss, despite the previous weight history that was provided in her medical chart. She informed me that she tries her best to follow a cardiac/low sodium diet at home, but that she prefers to follow a regular, non-restrictive diet. I provided the patient with education on a cardiac diet and encouraged the patient to do her best to comply. The patient denied any troubles with chewing or swallowing at this time, and stated that she does not have any food …show more content…
The patient’s most recently recorded weight was 123 pounds, which reflected a 12-pound weight loss since admission, which was likely attributed to fluids. The patient had also been identified to have tachycardia and cardio-renal syndrome, and a complex wound on her left toe and erosion on both heals. The dietitian’s interventions for this re-assessment included 1) sending Boost glucose control 2) suggest bowel care, as the patient had not had a bowel movement before admission and 3) Notifying the physician that the patient meets the criteria for protein calorie malnutrition based on the following criteria: unintentional weight loss >/ 7.5% in 3 months and poor oral intake (-- removed HTML --) 5