Respiratory system

This week our focus is on health history, assessment and the respiratory system. Respiratory health encompasses a broad spectrum of conditions that nurses encounter across all clinical settings and patient populations. From the adolescent experimenting with tobacco to the elderly patient managing end-stage emphysema, nurses play a pivotal role in assessing respiratory status, identifying risk factors, and implementing evidence-based health promotion strategies. As Jarvis and Eckhardt (2024) emphasize, a thorough respiratory assessment goes far beyond auscultating breath sounds it requires a comprehensive health history that integrates the patient’s occupational exposures, lifestyle behaviors, family history, functional status, cultural context, and psychosocial well-being.

For this discussion, you will apply your knowledge of respiratory assessment, pathophysiology, and health promotion to a real-world clinical scenario while connecting your analysis to evidence-based practice and your own nursing experiences.

Instructions

Step 1: Select one of the following case studies.

Case Study 1: A 17-year-old male presents to the clinic with a persistent cough. During the interview, he admits to smoking cigarettes regularly and using marijuana occasionally.

Case Study 2: A 29-year-old female lives near and works in sugar cane fields. She reports occasional shortness of breath and has a family history of asthma.

Case Study 3: An 80-year-old male has a documented diagnosis of COPD (emphysema). He presents for a routine follow-up appointment reporting increased dyspnea with minimal exertion.

Step 2: Compose a substantive initial discussion post that addresses ALL of the following prompts.

Discussion Questions

1. Respiratory Health History and Assessment

Using Jarvis framework for health history and respiratory assessment as your foundation, identify at least three specific, open-ended questions you would ask this patient during the interview. Your questions should be purposeful and targeted explain briefly why each question is clinically relevant to this particular patient and how the answers would help you develop an individualized health promotion plan. Consider exploring symptom characteristics, exposure history, functional status, lifestyle factors, psychosocial context, and the patient’s own health beliefs and goals.

1. Evidence-Based Health Promotion Nursing Interventions

Identify and discuss at least three evidence-based health promotion strategies appropriate for this patient. Your interventions should reflect current clinical guidelines and be grounded in content from your course textbooks. For each intervention, explain the physiological or theoretical rationale, describe how you would implement it in your nursing practice, and identify any potential barriers this specific patient might face in engaging with the intervention.

1. Self-Management Resources and Technology

Identify at least one, currently available resources or technology applications such as a named app, website, or digital health platform that you would recommend to this patient to support self-management of their condition. Do not speak in generalities; provide the actual name and web address of each resource. Explain how each resource directly addresses the needs of your chosen patient, and discuss any considerations related to health literacy, age-appropriateness, language access, or technological barriers that may influence whether this patient can realistically use the resource.

1. Reflection from Your Own Clinical Practice

Drawing from your own nursing experience, describe a specific patient encounter in which you assessed or cared for a patient with a respiratory condition or a significant respiratory risk factor. You do not need to share identifying information focus instead on the clinical situation and your nursing response. Reflect on the following:

• What assessment findings or patient history elements stood out to you, and how did they guide your care?
• In hindsight, what health promotion intervention or patient education strategy do you wish you had implemented or done differently?
• How does the content from Jarvis and Eckhardt (2024) or your medical-surgical nursing textbook either validate or challenge the approach that was taken in that clinical situation?

Format your post in APA 7. Attach the AI Content Detection Report with your initial post.

Incorporate the course texts into your posts.

Option 1 prefer unless please