Essay On Holistic Assessment

Holistic Assessment/Variable Paper
Holistic assessment is important for nursing care as the nurse sees the patient more than a diagnosis. The philosophy behind it comes from holism that states that a human being is greater than a sum of his parts. The body and spirit also affect physical wellbeing. Illnesses affect the individual not just the physical body but also mind, soul, and body of patients. This dates back to Florence Nightingale who took time to care for those who could not take care of themselves and she was the first holistic nurse.
Holistic care also takes into consideration cultural and social preferences and differences. Since everyone is unique and different, nursing care is different for each patient.

A dementia patient often develops manic and depressive episodes. Amina has difficulties in recognizing her children or her grandchildren. Recently she has had behavioral and symptoms such as irritability, dysphoria, apathy, euphoria, agitation, anxiety and psychosis. She also has had tendencies of giving money to strangers.
She exhibits these behaviors that show she is at the despair stage and she thinks because of her age, she is beyond redemption and that she should be dying soon. Due to the eating disorder, she lacks energy and proper nutrition. Developmental assessment assists in making evidence based care. It determines the patient’s behavioral, physical, and social development stage. This stage in Amina’s development would tell the nurse on how she will respond to any health event and how this will affect her daughter, and her family.
Amina comes from a minority group. She is a Muslim and comes from Africa. She still holds on to the cultural practices of her people and a male nurse cannot attend her. Due to her cultural setting, she cannot talk to her doctor directly but would allow her son-in-law to respond. As a Muslim, she cannot take medication with alcohol in

She takes time to respond to questions or laugh at jokes and her communication is difficult as she cannot complete sentences. The hospital has noticed that she is gradually losing her memory as she cannot remember how to do daily activities like dressing. When her family especially her daughter visits her, she has difficulties recognizing them.
Psychological assessment assists in knowing the level of dementia and diagnosing her. She exudes symptoms such as apathy, anxiety, depression, hallucinations, and aggression. These symptoms are a reflection of the distress she undergoes and which are transferrable to her care givers. Diagnosis will include assuring Amina and making her as comfortable as possible. The nurse taking care of her would need to understand how she feels so that she can manage her behavior and treatment. The care giver can also help her to enjoy every moment.
Holistic assessment would help the care provider to create a person centered care plan which addresses the needs above. It also involves discussing the assessment and care plan with the Amina and her family to receive their consent. Since she comes from a minority group, the care plan would consider unique aspects relevant to the Muslim community such as a female nurse, non-alcoholic medicine, and an interpreter. As Amina’s case changes, the assessment would change and care plan