Nursing Assessment and Patient Interview Essay

Data Gathered

The patient analyzed in the case study at hand is a 21-year old female, whose major complaint is that she has been feeling weak and unwell for rather a long period of time. First and foremost, it can be concluded from the information provided by the woman that she is far from leading a healthy lifestyle. The patient reported having only one meal and smoking up to two packs of cigarettes per day. Furthermore, she also admitted occasional use of street drugs. Thus, the data obtained can be summarized as follows:

• the patient does not have a balanced diet;
• not only the nutrition but also the amount of sleep is hardly sufficient since the patient admits rummaging through trash to find something she could sell, which is likely to be done at night;
• the patient is a heavy smoker;
• although the woman does not reveal any signs of drug addiction, she does not miss an opportunity to use them when someone shares with her, which can develop into an addiction in a short while;
• the patient is aware of the mess in her life but cannot find the way out; this may lead to frustration and depression.Nursing Assessment and Patient Interview Essay

Questions to Ask

In order to help the patient, it is crucial to obtain all the related information about his/her condition. In the given case, the following questions can be asked to clarify the picture (Boss, Bryant, & Mancini, 2016):

• How long has the patient been feeling the lack of energy?
• Was the change connected with any particular event or stress?
• Is it accompanied by other symptoms, such as insomnia, muscle soreness, loss of appetite, etc.?
• Does the patient feel depressed?
• Does she feel relief smoking or taking drugs?
• What diseases did she have as a child and as an adolescent?
• Were there any serious complications?
• Is she willing to change her lifestyle to achieve health improvements?Nursing Assessment and Patient Interview Essay