NURS FPX 4015 Assessment 2 Enhancing Holistic Nursing Care with the 3Ps

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Capella university

NURS-FPX4015 Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, and Physical Assessment: A Holistic Approach to Patient-Centered Care

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Date

Enhancing Holistic Nursing Care With the 3Ps

Holistic care aims at taking care of all patients’ physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and social needs by using their specific experiences and living environments. According to the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA), holistic nursing is “the practice of the profession that integrates, for the benefit of health, all the following: physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual aspects of a person’s existence and the patient” (Gripshi, 2021). This approach incorporates conventional medical treatment with complementary therapies, patient-centered communication, and compassionate care to promote well-being. Treating patients as whole entities rather than just as diseased or ill, it has been suggested that holistic nursing improves quality and care, thus helping towards long-term health.

Following are the benefits of holistic nursing care for both patients and nurses:

• Holistic nursing care enhances patient outcomes by integrating evidence-based practices like mindfulness, relaxation techniques, and therapeutic communication, which help reduce stress, ease chronic disease symptoms, and promote recovery (Hilcove et al., 2020).
• Patients benefit from increased satisfaction, stronger adherence to treatment plans, and a better quality of life when emotional and psychological well-being is prioritized (Ambushe et al., 2023).
• Holistic care improves job satisfaction, minimizes burnout, and strengthens emotional resilience for nurses through self-care methods such as meditation and reflective journaling (Akilo, 2024).
• It enhances professional competency by incorporating complementary therapies and patient education, leading to more compassionate care.
• Healthcare environments implementing holistic nursing principles experience better teamwork, lower staff turnover, and a more supportive workplace culture (Hilcove et al., 2020).

Pathophysiology and Its Role in Nursing Practice

Pathophysiology equips nurses with a scientific background in the understanding of the course and development of diseases, enabling swift identification of their symptoms and application of relevant interventions. Nurses can draw a roadmap regarding potential complications and enhance care by relating the clinical manifestations to underlying mechanisms. For instance, linking how high blood pressure injures the blood vessels with the area of monitoring for strokes and kidney failure or relating how pneumonia affects gas exchange with the possibility of spotting tight breathing. With this rationale, they are well-equipped to instill such knowledge in patient education, explaining how insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes causes hyperglycemia and long-term complications. Such rationale reiterates the essence of lifestyle changes (Lima et al., 2022). 

Furthermore, beyond the physical symptoms, pathophysiology assists nurses in managing the illness’s emotional and psychological aspects, thereby giving a whole care package. Chronic diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, cause not only joint inflammation and pain but also a hindrance to daily activities, which in turn spreads their effects onto mental well-being. Similarly, it has been found that patients with chronic respiratory diseases are often anxious or depressed owing to the difficulty they have with breathing (Ambushe et al., 2023). In critical health situations, sound knowledge of pathophysiology allows swift responses—such as the early identification of sepsis-related problems and immediate interventions to avoid further organ malfunction (Kumar et al., 2024). Integrating the pathophysiologic base of practice enters patient safety, outcome, and compassionate evidence-based care.

Pharmacology and Its Role in Nursing Practice

Pharmacology serves more than just physical health; the realm extends toward patient care’s psychological and social aspects. For instance, dopamine agonists, the drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease, could lead to side effects (dizziness, nausea, or hallucinations) that may inhibit the patient from living their daily life and must be continually monitored (Mishal et al., 2023). As a result, financial constraints and limited access to healthcare are just factors that can come between the patient and his or her medication.

Nurses educate their families about medication use, advocate for less costly alternatives, and liaise with other health team members to ensure that medications and treatments are accessible to all patients. Using a holistic approach, pharmacological knowledge enhances the treatment by introducing nurses to other larger fields of patient needs. With a strong foundation in pharmacology, nurses can safely prescribe, administer, and manage medications while looking into special considerations such as age, weight, organ function, and drug interactions.

For instance, before prescribing beta-blockers for heart failure, nurses must assess liver function, as impaired metabolism increases the risk of toxicity (Schwinger, 2021). In the final analysis, the safety of medications is assured through the observance of the “five rights”: right patient, drug, dose, route, and time, all while watching for therapeutic effects and potential adverse reactions. The cooperation of both pharmacological skills and patient-centered skills puts the nurses in the position of the biggest impact on the status of health.

Physical Assessment and Its Role in Nursing Practice

Physical patient assessment is an essential component of nursing wherein nurses can systematically collect, analyze, and interpret data concerning patient health. A full assessment generally begins with an inspection. Palpation, percussion, and auscultation are utilized to identify abnormalities within physiology. For example, during the evaluation of respiration, the auscultation of the lungs for breath sounds may reveal wheezing or crackling lung sounds, indicating asthma and pneumonia, respectively (Wodwaski & Webber, 2023).

In the course of care, nurses continuously reassess the clinical signs of the patient or the client, such as prolonged or increased attention to breath sounds in contrast to shortness of breath. This is to determine whether the interventions have been effective. Ongoing assessments, while embedded within the continuum of care for patients, permit the nurse to modify any treatment plan as needed to provide for accurate diagnosis while at the same time promoting evidence-based, patient-centered care (Wodwaski & Webber, 2023).

Examples of Integration and Application of Knowledge in Clinical Scenarios

Example 1: Heart Failure

The management of heart failure in hospitalized patients requires an integration of pathophysiology, pharmacology, and physical assessment. Heart failure can be described as a condition resulting from compromised ventricular functioning, leading to decreased cardiac output and resultant fluid retention. With this process comes the development of pulmonary congestion and peripheral edema (Schwinger, 2021). A complete physical assessment gives the nurse insight into key indicators, which include orthopnea, decreased peripheral pulses, and S3; combined, these demonstrate that cardiac function is deteriorating.

Drug therapies consist of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, for instance, enalapril, to counteract afterload due to the disease; another involves aldosterone antagonists, such as spironolactone, to help manage fluid retention. The nurse will monitor vital signs to provide the doctor with feedback regarding the effectiveness of medications for fluid overload; in that, the kidneys and electrolyte levels may be taken into account based on what would treat nephron involvement whilst working to educate patients on their responsibility for daily weight monitoring and lifestyle changes to avoid readmission (Schwinger, 2021).

Example 2: Managing Asthma

Management of asthma within the outpatient setting is integrative, integrating aspects of pathophysiology, assessment findings, and pharmacological therapy. Asthma is characterized by chronic airway inflammation and bronchial hyperresponsiveness, leading to wheezing episodes, shortness of breath, and chest tightness (Wodwaski & Webber, 2023). Wheezing in lung sounds should be assessed; the peak expiratory flow rate should be checked, and triggers should include allergens or respiratory infections in a nurse’s assessment.

Treatment consists primarily of short-acting beta-agonists (e.g., salbutamol) for acute relief and leukotriene receptor antagonists (e.g., montelukast) used for longer-duration inflammation control. Specific patient education is in inhaler technique, trigger avoidance, and compliance with prescribed therapy. Continuity of assessment and medication management by nurses solves exacerbation, enhances symptom control, and uplifts patients’ general well-being.

Conclusion

Holistic nursing must draw from pathophysiology, pharmacology, and physical assessment to ensure improved patient outcomes compatible with physical, psychological, and emotional needs. Nurses can then fulfill these frameworks to deliver adequate evidence-based nursing care and enhance their personal professional competency and job satisfaction. Treatment is most effective when implemented through, allowing for educating the patient in the care process joined with continued assessment and monitoring. Thus, the principles of holistic care would emphasize exploits for compassionate caring, building on resilience and providing a better place for healthcare.

References

Akilo, B. (2024). Reducing burnout and enhancing resilience of psychiatric nurses through self-care practices. University of New Hampshire Scholars’ Repository. https://scholars.unh.edu/scholarly_projects/111/ 

Ambushe, S. A., Awoke, N., Demissie, B. W., & Tekalign, T. (2023). Holistic nursing care practice and associated factors among nurses in public hospitals of Wolaita Zone, South Ethiopia. BMC Nursing, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01517-0 

Gripshi, S. (2021). The importance of holistic nursing care. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Silvana-Gripshi/publication/379994671_The_importance_of_holistic_nursing_care/links/662647fb43f8df018d1fb13e/The-importance-of-holistic-nursing-care.pdf 

Hilcove, K., Marceau, C., Thekdi, P., Larkey, L., Brewer, M. A., & Jones, K. (2020). Holistic nursing in practice: Mindfulness-based yoga as an intervention to manage stress and burnout. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 39(1), 089801012092158. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898010120921587 

NURS FPX 4015 Assessment 2 Enhancing Holistic Nursing Care with the 3Ps

Kumar, N. R., Balraj, T. A., Kempegowda, S. N., & Prashant, A. (2024). Multidrug-Resistant sepsis: A critical healthcare challenge. Antibiotics, 13(1), 46. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13010046 

Lima, J. E. B. F., Moreira, N. C. S., & Sakamoto-Hojo, E. T. (2022). Mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes: From risk factors to oxidative stress, metabolic dysfunction, and hyperglycemia. Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis, 874-875(1383-5718), 503437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mrgentox.2021.503437

Mishal, B., Shetty, A., & Wadia, P. (2023). Adverse effects of medications used to treat motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease: A narrative review. Annals of Movement Disorders, 6(2), 45. https://doi.org/10.4103/aomd.aomd_37_22 

Schwinger, R. H. G. (2021). Pathophysiology of heart failure. Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy, 11(1), 263–276. https://doi.org/10.21037/cdt-20-302

NURS FPX 4015 Assessment 2 Enhancing Holistic Nursing Care with the 3Ps

Wodwaski, N., & Webber, E. (2023). Respiratory assessment. Home Healthcare Now, 41(4), 182–189. https://doi.org/10.1097/NHH.0000000000001184