health science
Many people in the United States, particularly the elderly, take more than one prescribed medication. According to the CDC (2014), nearly 48 percent of those polled used at least one prescription drug between 2009 and 2012, 22 percent used three or more prescription drugs, and nearly 11 percent used five or more.
According to a recent Mayo Clinic study, seven out of ten Americans take at least one prescription drug. Antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed drug, with 17 percent of Americans taking them, followed by antidepressants and opioids, each with 13 percent of Americans taking them. Furthermore, findings revealed:
Even more startling than the CDC findings, more than half of Americans currently take two prescription medications, and 20% of Americans take at least five prescription medications.
Prescription medications are used by more women than men.
Prescriptions for antidepressants are more common among women than men, and they are most common among women aged 50 to 64.
When people take multiple medications, they are more likely to become confused about which medications they are taking, when they are taking them, and for what purpose. There is also an increased risk of drug interactions, as well as side effects and adverse reactions.
Because of the large number of medications prescribed, they may be forgotten, become too much of a bother, or become a financial burden, all of which can have a significant impact on client compliance and lead to poor health outcomes.
In this written assignment, you will conduct an interview with a client who is taking three or more prescribed medications and submit a written paper describing the findings from the interview.
Following that, you will create a Client Teaching Plan. Your instructor will assist you in choosing the client. To fulfill the requirements for the Pharmacology course, you must complete this assignment with a “pass.”
This health science assignment is divided into three parts:
Conduct an interview with a client who is on several medications (polypharmacy).
Before the interview, you must prepare the client by explaining why you are conducting the interview. “My assignment is to find out about the medications you’re taking so that I can determine if you need more information about what you’re taking,” you can say. You must always obtain permission from the client before conducting the interview and inform the client of how the information will be used. “I will not use your name in the information I share, and I will only submit it to my instructor for this student assignment,” you can say. My instructor will assist me in following up on any important information that needs to be communicated to you, your doctor, family, or nurse.” Inform the client that the interview will last no more than 30-45 minutes.
During the interview, a family member or significant other may be present. That is acceptable. Always identify who answered a question and, if possible, have the client respond first. When you finish the interview, always thank the client (and others).
For this interview, do not use any recording equipment. Bring a notepad, pencil, or pen, and explain that you will be taking notes. When the interview is finished, go to a quiet place and take some time to fill in any gaps in your notes. If you wait, you will forget.
When preparing for the interview, ensure that the client (and others) are at ease and that you are seated comfortably facing the client. If possible, conduct the interview in a quiet location.
Slowly ask questions, giving the client time to respond. Take note of the client’s hearing and ability to respond to questions. Make sure your nonverbal communication conveys a sense of calm and relaxation.
When conducting the interview, follow the guidelines for interview questions listed below. Be aware that the client may not be able to provide detailed answers to all of the questions. Gather as much information as the client is willing to give you. Remember, you are the interviewer, so you will be gathering information and will not be making any comments about the information shared by the client, except to ask for clarification if you are unsure what was said or if more detail is required.
What medications do you use?
(Research each of the medications before the interview.) Include the reason for each medication, the drug classification, the route of administration, the dose, and any potential side effects/adverse reactions in your paper. In your written paper, paraphrase the client’s responses to the following questions.
How long have you been using each of these medications?
Do you understand why you’re taking these medications?
Who informed you of the medications and why you must take them?
Were you able to ask any questions about the medications, and if so, were they answered in a way that you understood?
What are your thoughts on taking these medications?
Are you taking any other medications that you bought “over the counter,” such as at a drug store? If so, please explain what it is and why you are taking it.
Important information for writing discussion questions and participation
Welcome to class
Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to
I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.
Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.
If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.
Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.
Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.
I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!
Hi Class,
Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.
Contact me if you have any questions.
Important information on Writing a Discussion Question
- Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
- There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
- Include in-text citations in your response
- Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
- Follow APA-7th edition
- Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor
- A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
- Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
- Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
- Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
- Follow APA 7th edition
- Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
- Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
- Here are some helpful links
- The is a great resource
When and how do you take your meds?
Do you have any problems taking your medications? If so, what happens and how do you deal with any problems that arise?
Have you ever experienced any unpleasant feelings or physical reactions while taking these medications? If so, what were they, and how were they dealt with?
If you had the above reaction, were you taken off the medication and/or replaced with another? Were you told why this occurred?
Is there any reason you shouldn’t take the medications?
Have you ever skipped a dose of medication? If so, why was this the case?
Ask a final question to see if the client wants to tell you anything else about their medications.
Write a paper describing your health science research, findings about the medications being taken, and interview results. Report your findings in a written paper of 3-5 pages. Include the reason for each medication, the drug classification, the route of administration, the dose, and any potential side effects/adverse reactions in your paper.
Use proper spelling and grammar, as well as APA Editorial Format for sources in your written paper.
Based on your health science findings, create a teaching plan for this client. Create a 2-3 page teaching plan based on the interview findings that includes the following:
Make a list of one goal for this teaching plan.
Describe two to three possible teaching resources. Identify two possible teaching strategies based on the client interviewed.
List specific client instructions for the medications, as well as what adverse reactions they should be aware of and what to do if they occur.
Identify at least one factor that may have a negative impact on medication adherence and how it can be overcome.
Describe how the family can help ensure the client is on a proper and safe medication regimen, if applicable.