Week 2
Week 2: Fluid balance and feeding interventions
Mrs. Jones has been diagnosed with a fractured left hip and she has severe bruising and lacerations on both forearms. She is to remain on bedrest and is having regular analgesia for her pain. Her observations are being attended fourth hourly and at 1000hrs were documented as:
- temp 37.1 C po
- pulse 88/min
- resps 14/min
- BP 135/80
You are the registered nurse caring for Mrs. Jones today. This morning you have given her a full sponge in bed and repositioned her to promote her comfort and maintain her skin integrity. You are concerned that Mrs. Jones is not drinking enough to keep her adequately hydrated and you start a fluid balance chart to document her intake and output. It is 1230hrs and as both of Mrs. Jones’ arms are injured she will require assistance with eating her lunch.
This week in the nursing laboratories students will:
- Complete a nutrition assessment on Mrs. Jones using the risk assessment tool in the patient notes.
- Divide into pairs and practise oral feeding.
- Document Mrs. Jones’ intake and output on the fluid balance chart.
- With the guidance of the lecturer, review nasogastric tube insertion and care.
- Explore enteral feeding via nasogastric and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes.
- Document Mrs. Jones’ Nursing care in the progress notes.
