Introduction to Nursing Care Plan for Lung Cancer
Nursing care plan is a well-formed document that delineates the nursing plan of care given to the patients affected with Lung cancer. Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related death and is a type of rigorous cancer with its own unique signs, symptoms and treatment. The nursing care plan for lung cancer focuses on providing relief to the patient from the symptoms, managing treatment side effects and promoting healthy lifestyle.
Assessment
Nursing assessment done for lung cancer patient focus on the evaluation of the patient’s physical wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, family supportive resources and previous medical records in order to understand the disease. Generally the findings of the assessment consists of the following:
- Physical Complications: This includes coughing, shortness in breath, tiredness, chest pain, etc.
- Psychological Complications: This includes anxiety, fear, denial, depression, sense of loss and guilt.
- Family Complications: This includes information about family members who has been affected from this disease or had its treatment.
- Therapeutic Procedures: This includes information about previous treatments done and the response of the patient.
Nursing Diagnosis
After completing the assessment, the nurse make diagnosis based on the findings. Generally the diagnosis concerns the patient’s physical dysfunctions, psychological problems and spiritual crisis, which are as follows:
- Ineffective airway clearance: This is because of chronic cough, secretion accumulation, and difficulty in breathing.
- Fatigue: This is due to low energy levels, caused by anemia, body weakness, inadequate sleep, etc.
- Nonadherence to therapeutic regimen: This is because of fear, lack of knowledge, lack of social support and incurability of the disease.
- Grief reaction: This is due to anticipatory grief concerning the news of being affected from this life threatening disease.
Outcomes
Several outcomes can be expected from planned nursing interventions provided to the patient like improved air passage, improved body strength, timely and effective medications and improved coping skills. This helps the patient to accept the fact that he has been affected from a life threatening disease and helps him to move forward in his treatment.
Interventions
The nurse will provide several interventions to help improve the patient condition, these include:
- Airway Clearance: This involves measures like chest physiotherapy, diaphragmatic breathings, and humidifiers.
- Rest Promotion: This includes simple measures like avoiding physical exertions, adequate rest, positioning change, etc.
- Medication Management: This includes administering prescribed medications, informing about the effect of each medications, providing dosage instructions, and drug interactions.
- Counseling: This includes responding to the health related inquiries made by the patient, providing moral support, guiding about stages involved in death and dying, and giving counselling about chemotherapy/radiation.
Rationales
The rationales behind providing above mentioned interventions are:
- To facilitate the secretion clearance in order to improve airflow.
- To relieve the patient from physical stressed induced due to activities like coughing, deep breathings, and physical exertion.
- To ensure correct drug administration as per the requirements.
- To reduce the emotional turbulence presented by the patient.
Evaluation
The nurse will use periodic evaluation measures to know if the interventions are working on the patient or not. This includes looking for the decreased coughing, proper secretion clearing, improved physical endurance, improved emotional outlook, and medication adherence.
Conclusion
Nursing care plan for lung cancer provides an evidence-based framework for the delivery of comprehensive care for patients suffering from this life-threatening illness. Nurses must consider the psychological, physical, and emotional needs of the patient while developing the care plan that provides relief from the associated discomforts in a safe and timely manner.
FAQs
- What is Nursing Care Plan? It is a well-formed document that delineates the nursing plan of care given to the patients affected with various diseases or disorders.
- What are some of the Assessment findings for the lung cancer patients? Some of the findings include Physical Complications, Psychological Complications, Family Complications, Therapeutic Procedures.
- What are the common Nursing Diagnosis for lung cancer patient? Common Nursing Diagnosis includes Ineffective Airway clearance, Fatigue, Nonadherence to Therapeutic Regimen, and Grief Reaction.
- What are the outcomes that are expected after the intervention? There will be a better air passage, improved body strength, timely and effective medications, and improved coping skills.
- What are the Rationales behind providing Nursing Interventions? They are mainly to facilitate the secretion clearance in order to improve airflow, promote rest and relaxation, ensure correct drug administration and reduce the emotional turbulence.
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