Rehabilitation Nursing: A Case Study

Rehabilitation involves the successful and productive interactions of several clinicians. Rehabilitation is a philosophy of practice and an attuned toward caring for people with disabilities and chronic health problems( Larsen,2011). The National Cancer Institutue, 2013 (as cited in Michelle, Terrie, James, Karion, Susan,Barbara, 2014) states, there is no one universal definition of rehabilitation, but the goal of rehabilitation is to restore mental and/or physical abilities lost to disease, to function in a normal or near-normal way (pg.6). Rehabilitation can occur in several settings ranging from acute, subacute, or long term care. The role of the clinicians participating in the care of the client is slightly different depending on the

Rehabilitation nurses, whether novice or expert, search for and use current evidence, and supportive technology to deliver optimal client and family-centered care (Stephanie, Kristen, Cynthia, Pamala, Jill, Wendy, Christine, David, 2015, p.35). According to the association of rehabilitation nurses, “the role of the nurse is to assist clients in adapting to an altered lifestyle while providing a therapeutic environment for client’s and their family’s development”. Rehabilitation nurses identify client and caregiver health and wellness needs, including facilitators and barriers to health improvement, and integrate community care services that manage chronic disease and support healthier time (Smeltzer, 2010)”. Health promotion through primary prevention, as well as preventing complications for those with existing disabilities is essential to the role of the rehabilitation nurse (ARN, 2014a,b). The rehabilitation staff nurse designs and implement treatment strategies that are based on scientific nursing theory related to self-care and promote physical, psychosocial, and spiritual health (ARN, 2014). Specific tasks in relation to rehab nursing can be divided, and explain the nurses’ role and function as a teacher, caregiver, collaborator, and client advocate. Some specific tasks include but are not limited to;

The physical therapist assistant (PTA) was the first clinician scheduled to work with the client. PTA got the client up to ambulate the halls and was constantly monitoring his effort, but aware enough not to over-exert. The client ambulated from his room to the back hallway, where he took several more steps before returning to his room. Student nurse Kelvin placed a pulse ox on the patient immediately after returning to his room. He recorded the pulse ox reading, and placed the client back on two liters of oxygen via nasal cannula. The client would fall asleep for close to two hours before occupational therapy came