Symptom Management In Nursing Essay

Registered nurses are often leaders of the healthcare team that coordinate interdisciplinary care for the patient with MS and family. Patient care comprises of, assessment, diagnosing, planning, implementing, evaluating each aspect of need, and coordinating and instructing team members and family. Symptom management is most important throughout the course of the disease process. Any or all of the symptoms of MS can become severe. The goals of the interdisciplinary team members, nursing, physical, occupational, mental health speech and language therapists, are to increase comfort, prevent complications, and foster optimum functioning (Reitman 2010).
One of the most important nursing diagnoses for a client with advanced MS is fatigue, related …show more content…
According to Reitman (2010), more than 50% of clients diagnosed with MS, experience some degree of cognitive impairment. “The most commonly affected functions of impaired cognition are, acquiring, retaining, and retrieving new information, attention, concentration, and information processing”. Unawareness of motor skills and cognitive control, judgment, and decision making, can also be affected. A careful assessment by a mental health professional can help differentiate between cognitive impairment and depression. Undiagnosed or untreated depression can imitate cognitive impairment and deteriorate any cognitive changes that have occurred. The nurse can develop strategies to decrease cognitive barriers, by providing reminders, notebook, personal electronic devices (Reitman, 2010). Some other ways in which the nurse can help the patient maximize cognitive function include the placing of sticky notes where they can be easily seen, keep personal space organized with things where they belong. Encourage and or assist the patient to make a list of things as they come to mind, and check the list often during the day First and foremost, rest before embarking on a new task (Ruto,