Meeting Goals In Health Care Case Study

4. Evaluate your two goals. (Did you meet them? Explain the reason for meeting or not meeting these goals?)

Reflecting on today’s community experience, I would state that I did meet the two goals I set for myself - Enhancing my communication skills and learning about the job description of an RN Care Coordinator. Prior to coming into today’s experience, I expected that I would come in contact with patients during the day, but I actually did not actually assess or speak to one patient in the clinic. While I hoped for more interaction, during the three-hour period, one cannot predict the workload for a Care Coordinator. Although I did not communicate with patients, inside the clinic, we did communicate with patients via the telephone. Related

Through speaking with both Tara Belle and another team member, I learned that care coordination thrives on three components – Social drive, self-efficacy, and community resources. Care coordination utilizes a patient’s socially environment to understand patients motives in health care – Social economic status/financial well-being, friends and family, access to health care/transportation, Medicare/Medicaid, and housing. The social components, of a patient’s life, are often what either hinder or contribute to a patient’s well-being. They impact the ability to acquire, pay, and follow through with care. Self-efficacy relates to a patient’s belief in his or her ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task. Because self-efficacy is grounded in feelings of self-confidence and control, it is an appropriate predictor of motivation and behaviors. If a patient believes in his or her ability to succeed with a health care treatment plan, he or she is more likely to comply and seek out opportunities to acquire health. Lastly, care coordination implements community resources, such as therapy groups and nursing facilities, to assist patients in transitioning between an inpatient hospital and a home. These community resources give the patient’s support, supplies, and guidance in health

Although I did not personally encounter a critical thinking experience, I can implement the process into a patient we discussed. One of the patients was a 76-year-old male diagnosed with Osteomyelitis, who had two drainage/irrigation tubes perforated, inserted and brought out through the skin between 3 and 4 cm from his wound. I am unaware of this exact treatment options, but from what the patient stated, he stated that the drainage/irrigation tubes would come out of place. Rather than seeking out treatment immediately, the patient would wait two to three days, become septic, and end up in the emergency department. In fact, the patient had a total of fourteen emergency department visits within the last twelve months. The goal of the Care Coordinator stood as educating the patient to contact the Care Coordinator immediately after he felt/noticed that the tubes were out of place, rather than waiting for a possible infection to occur. Upon contacting the Care Coordinator, a message would be sent to the primary physician, an appointment would be scheduled that day, and the patient’s tubes would be repositioned back into