Table of Contents
Introduction
In the 21st century, leg ulcers have become very predominant in different nations worldwide. In most cases, leg ulceration is a condition that will mostly affect the older adults. However, it has also become predominant to other younger generations especially those with risk factors for smoking, obesity, hypertension, and history of deep vein thrombosis (de Abreu et al., 2013). Nurses and other health officers should be very keen in determining the type of leg ulceration because all have different management and treatment (Harrison et al., 2014). Furthermore, it is the role of the nurses to create awareness for the different type of leg ulceration and how to manage or coups with the condition. In my discussion, I shall make conclusions concerning the outcomes that I experienced when evaluating both the Arterial and Venous ulceration during an in-service a nurse office. I will also discuss the outcomes and challenges that I encountered during the project.
Evolution of the project
The aims of the project was at getting relative information concerning the two main type of leg ulceration, arterial and venous ulceration. I held the capstone project in a nurse office. Our interrogation with the home health nurse took 20 minutes. This is because the nurse was to leave for a home-based treatment for a venous patient shortly. The nurse used some of the Evidenced Based literature when giving his contribution as well as when responding to the questions. The nurse gave me some of the reference materials that she thought best suited me in knowing more about the venous and arterial ulceration. Some of the reference materials were in soft copies which I used to create a poster concerning the ulceration causes, symptoms, treatment and management. After completion of the poster, the nurse was very happy about it. She commented that the poster was very convenient to be used by home health nurses.
Our time with the nurse was mostly a question-and-answer session. I used Evidence-Based Practise to ensure quality outcome from the in-service session (Chamanga, Christie & McKeown, 2014). For instance, I synthesized the literature on the latest surgical updates including the observation of some modalities and outcomes of some special ulceration tests. Furthermore, I created a poster for educational purposes. Furthermore, I collected the data concerning the number of patients that had been recorded by the nurse who suffered from the ulceration. I evaluated the most affected persons in the community. I also evaluated the risk factors that have been evidenced to increase the probability of getting the ulceration.
Accomplishments and learning outcomes
The main reason why I chose to do a capstone paper on venous and arterial ulceration is that I realized that the disease is highly affecting a large number of the elderly people. Old people, at some point, did not have the full knowledge of the occurrence, causes, prevention, and treatment of the disease (Dominic, Visovsky & Rice, 2015). The in-service enabled me to achieve the relative information concerning both the venous and arterial ulceration. I was able to complete the project on time and achieve the major information concerning venous and arterial ulceration. Through the information that the nurse gave and the references material that she gave me, I was able to devise an attractive poster concerning the differences and similarities of both the venous and arterial ulceration, regarding causes, symptoms, and treatments. From the in-service, I was able to deduce the differences between the venous and arterial ulceration. For instance, the venous ulceration is less painful when the patient is resting specifically during the night (Sussman, 2014). Contrary, for the arterial ulceration the pain is much when the patient is resting (Yarwood-Ross, 2013).
During and after the completion of the in-service, I learned different leadership skills. I learned about time management skills. The in-service was to take almost 30 minutes so I had to try my best to be through within the time allocated. I had systematically arranged the intended information before I had started interrogated the nurse. I had to briefly note down the key information concerning the ulceration in simple and precise bullets. I had collected the necessary items that I needed before during the in-service to avoid interruption during the session.
Furthermore, I learned on creative thinking and listening skills (Chamanga, Christie & McKeown, 2014). I had to pose a question and then patiently wait for the feedback from the nurse. In case of any misunderstanding, I would humbly request for clarity. At some point, I had to critically give my contribution concerning the topic. I made sure that this was in line with what the nurse had said.
Changes that occurred and their management
Challenge of identifying the topic: This as the first challenge that I developed when identifying the best topic to discuss upon in the in-service. I had to find a topic that will have the best supportive ideas on the major aspects. I had to choose a topic that had available and enough sources of information. Furthermore, I needed the topic to be a current treading and not just a mere health topic (Linn et al., 2015). To overcome this challenge I had to survey the community diseases especially those that the patients are lacking adequate information about their occurrence.
Challenge of choosing the right methodology: I had a challenge of identifying the most effective method to use for the in-service. I had a challenge of identifying the best font to use for the poster to ensure that the target group gets the relative information. I overcome this by designing an attractive poster for the targeted audience.
Challenge of time constraints: the in-service should have required much time of trying to identify even the finite concepts of ulceration. The nurse had other commitments and few minutes were allocated to me. I overcame this by drafting the key information I needed during the in-service to avoid unnecessary questions that would note have otherwise led to the information we were seeking.
Overall contribution of target audience
Majority of the home health nurses was appreciative concerning the information given to them through the poster on both venous and arterial ulceration. Most of them were happy because they learned various techniques of managing the ulceration and the best treatments to undertake. The first poster design was not visible, so I had to redesign the poster to make it more appealing to their eyes. They had cited that the fonts that were used were too small and could not easily be read by the final consumers, elderly people. Neverhtless, I am glad knowing that my capstone has created some impacts to the chosen cohort.
- Chamanga, E., Christie, J., & McKeown, E. (2014). Community nurses’ experiences of treating patients with leg ulcers. Journal of Community Nursing, 28(6), 27-34.
- Abreu, A. M., de Oliveira, B. G. R. B., & Manarte, J. J. (2013). Treatment of venous ulcers with an unna boot: a case study. Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing, 12(1), 198-208.
- Dominic, S. K., Visovsky, C., & Rice, J. (2015). A nurse’s guide to the prevention of neuropathic ulcers in patients with diabetes. MedSurg Nursing, 24(5), 299-305.
- Harrison, M. B., VanDenKerkhof, E. G., Hopman, W. M., & Carley, M. E. (2014, September). The Role of Preference on Outcomes of People Receiving Evidence-Informed Community Wound Care in Their Home or in a Nurse-Clinic Setting: A Cohort Study (n= 230). In Healthcare (Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 401-416). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.
- Sussman, G. (2014). Ulcer dressings and management. Australian family physician, 43(9), 588.
- Yarwood-Ross, L. (2013). Venous ulcers: assessment and wound dressing selection. Nursing & Residential Care, 15(9), 596-601.
- Linn, M. C., Palmer, E., Baranger, A., Gerard, E., & Stone, E. (2015). Undergraduate research experiences: impacts and opportunities. Science, 347(6222), 1261757.