Vulnerable Populations And Self Awareness

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Vulnerable Populations and Self Awareness Paper Nurs/440 May 30,2011 Vulnerable Populations and Self Awareness This paper will contain information of a vulnerable population chosen from the neighborhood patient website. The following will be discussed, the patient or population's demographics, describing the writer's personal awareness and attitudes prior to discovering information about the population and after research done about the population. This paper will also define the patient's current disease process and background that identifies the patient as a vulnerable population. "Vulnerability is a general concept meaning "susceptibility", and it's specific connotation in terms of health care is "at risk for health problems".…show more content…
Emphysema is due to the enzymatic destruction of lung elastin and collagen by neutrophile and macrophage elastases induced in most cases by cigarette smoking"( Bellomi, Rampinelli, Veronesi, Harari, Lanfranchi, Raimondi, & Maisonneuve, 2009, p. 286, para 1). Mr. Bley does not want to quit smoking because he enjoys it too much and he denies his emphysema is worsening. When going out on errands with his wife he reports that he becomes short of breath walking…show more content…
Bley. This patient needs better access to healthcare facilities. The patient has access to the Senior Center. The Senior Center has many resources available to seniors. I would recommend that Mr. Bley utilize the senior center to get free hearing loss screening and education about his hearing loss and the dangers of not using his hearing aid. The Senior Center also provides help with smoking cessation, and education about how smoking can worsen emphysema and other pulmonary diseases. The writer relates to this patient, caring for this population daily. The focus of the care that will be provided in the future will now be more geared to understanding the patient. Caring for the patient not only physically, emotionally, and spiritually, but also socially. Obtaining accurate background information from the patient and family members, treating the patient as an individual will help the care delivered be at a higher standard. This will also help make the hospital experience a pleasant one. "It is critical for practioners to keep in mind that groups are composed of individuals, and we should not stereotype individuals in terms of their group characteristics"(De Chesnay, p.3, para 2, 2008). In conclusion, the vulnerable population has been identified. The background and personal awareness have been defined and explained. Researching information about this vulnerable population has allowed the writer change the way patient's will

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