Medical-Surgical Nursing - Essay Example

"Medical-Surgical Nursing" is a perfect example of a paper on care. During the process of assessing a patient, a physician needs to know the status of various organ systems of the human body to arrive at a diagnosis. For this purpose, the information required is gathered by a review of systems of the human body. Different organ systems respond to disease in varied ways, and the symptoms manifested are suggestive of defects in the corresponding system. It is this information, which contributes to making a clearer picture in the process of diagnosis, and later on treatment.

Psychiatric

The information required for psychiatric ROS includes Nervousness, feeling of stress, feeling of being depressed and hopeless, suicidal tendency, and in some cases memory loss. Abnormal sleep patterns, poor academic performance, manic episodes, anxiety, difficulty in concentration are also some of the aspects which form part of psychiatric ROS.

Endocrine system

The information required for endocrine ROS  may include changes in appetite patterns, e.g Polyphagia (as in diabetes), Intolerance to heat or cold, variation in the frequency of urination, varied sweating patterns, and in some cases increased thirst e.g polydipsia. Variations in blood pressure levels, abnormal menstruation, episodes of vaginal bleeding, history of contraceptive measures, difficulty in sexual arousal are some of the aspects which also form part of endocrine ROS (Black et al, 1948).

Allergic/Immunological

The information required for allergic/immunological ROS may include the history of anaphylaxis i.e. choking or having difficulty in breathing after exposure to an allergen e.g bee sting, sometimes accompanied by sudden hemodynamic changes, the development of a rash on the skin after exposure to a topical chemical agent, swollen lymph nodes, runny nose, extensive lacrimation, drug eruption after using a particular drug/class of drugs.

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