Prof. Name:
Date
Globally, chronic bronchitis and emphysema are respiratory conditions that progress gradually over time (Adeloye et al., 2022). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an obstruction ventilatory pattern and frequently shows signs of partial reversibility. Chronic respiratory failure can arise from COPD, a condition often linked to tobacco use. Smoking is a common hazard for the development of COPD (Ruvuna & Sood, 2020).
Indications of COPD include difficulty in breathing, coughing, and sputum production. An estimated 10.3 million clinic visits, 685,000 hospital admissions, and 1.6 million emergency department visits occur annually among adults with COPD in the US (Adeloye et al., 2022). Within 30 days of discharge, 25% of hospitalized COPD cases result in re-admission. By carefully analyzing leadership, cooperation, interaction, management change, and guidelines, medical personnel can identify barriers to COPD care (Zafari et al., 2020). This capstone project examines COPD issues and their effects on the elderly.
Problem Defining and its Significance
During a two-hour practicum session for this capstone project, I am assessing the issue of COPD. Robert’s COPD serves as the focal point of this project and holds significance for equally individual and skilled aspects in the healthcare setting. Robert, a 54-year-old patient with COPD, is the central focus. He has been readmitted to Wilmington Hospital, where I serve as a registered nurse. The patient’s admission is attributed to insufficient COPD management and exacerbations prompted by respiratory infections. Robert has severe COPD, classified as GOLD 3, with FEV in one second (FEV1) 40% of the predicted value, indicating significant airflow limitation. According to Robert’s family, he struggles to manage his respiratory levels due to inadequate lifestyle habits.
He typically engages in activities that exacerbate his COPD, such as exposure to respiratory irritants and smoking. He desires more complete support for his condition, making him careless with his lifestyle choices. To better understand his condition, I will contribute two practicum hours to monitoring his daily life, interacting with him, and examining his lifestyle choices and respiratory habits. This capstone project was created on Robert’s disease, as COPD is relevant to my practice.
Relevance of Problem
COPD is currently one of the leading causes of death globally, and in the years to come, its impact is projected to increase. Patients encounter sudden worsening of their indications, known as an exacerbation, which demands extra handling (Vogelmeier et al., 2020). Exacerbations of COPD and inadequate management significantly impact patients’ well-being, contributing to over 25% of lung function decline. These events result in insistent consequences like muscle weakness, reduced fitness, and limited outdoor activities, leading to patients becoming housebound and needing pulmonary rehabilitation. The burden of exacerbations is more pronounced in patients with multiple health issues, elevating the risks of heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, and death (MacLeod et al., 2021).
This emphasizes the significance of COPD as a considerable health concern in professional practice, emphasizing the need for early identification for improved treatment and prevention of COPD-related complications. Nurses play a vital role in patient care for COPD, offering awareness, education, and complete support. They provide patients with information on lifestyle changes, medication adherence, and self-management.
Timely intervention is aided by routine monitoring of lung function, vital signs, and symptoms (Baqdunes et al., 2021). As a baccalaureate nurse, I would treat patients with this health issue because it is relevant to my professional objectives. Nurses develop personalized care plans with interdisciplinary teams to enhance patient health. Nurses in complex community settings put into practice specialized evidence-based practices for COPD patients, understanding varied family dynamics and using caregiving abilities in demanding situations (Baqdunes et al., 2021).
Proof from Peer-Reviewed Literature and Qualified Sources
The main goal of nursing education initiatives is to provide COPD patients with the ability to recognize contaminants and evaluate the risk factors that lead to exacerbations. Interventions include alerts for outdoor activity and advice on avoiding allergens indoors (Mohler et