NURS 6512 Week 9 Discussion: Women’s and Men’s Health, Infectious Disease, and Hematologic Disorders

NURS 6512 Week 9 Discussion: Women’s and Men’s Health, Infectious Disease, and Hematologic Disorders

Week 9 Discussion Post

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Based on the symptoms the patient is presenting with, I would say that she is entering menopause.  Rosenthal & Burchum (2021) state that “95% of women enter menopause between the ages of 45 and 55.”  The symptoms of hot flushes, night sweats, and genitorurinary symptoms, under normal circumstances, would be treated with hormone therapy (HT).  However, this patient’s family history of breast cancer makes treating the symptoms of menopause much riskier.  

Before discussing treatment options with the patient, I would ask her to whether the symptoms are tolerable or extremely bothersome.  Determining whether she wants treatment for the symptoms would be my first step.  If yes, then we would have to discuss the risks and benefits of treatment with either HT or an SNRI such as Effexor.  In their article, Roberts & Hickey (2021) state that SNRIs reduce vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes & night sweats) of menopause by 50-60%.  If this is acceptable for the patient, this would be the treatment plan that I would recommend.  If she didn’t think that a 50-60% decrease in her symptoms was sufficient, or if her genitorurinary symptoms were more troublesome, I would recommend a low dose estrogen only HT.  Estrogen only HT does increase the risk of breast cancer, but only when used long-term (Breastcancer.org, 2021).  

It is important to discuss the severity of the symptoms, whether they are tolerable, and possible length of time that symptoms persist with the patient.  These factors may determine whether she wants the symptoms treated or not.  Then we must discuss the risks and benefits of treatment, and educating the patient on the increased risk for breast cancer that HT presents for her is imperative.  Again, if relieving the vasomotor symptoms by about half is acceptable for the patient, then I would recommend treatment with Effexor because it would not increase her risk of developing breast cancer.  

References

Breastcancer.org. (2021). Using HRT (Hormonal Replacement Therapy). https://www.breastcancer.org/risk/factors/hrt

Roberts, H., & Hickey, M. (2016). Managing the menopause: An update. Maturitas, 86, 5-58.

Rosenthal, L. D., & Burchum, J. R. (2021). Lehne’s phamacotherapeutics for advanced practice nurses and physician assistants (2^nd ed). Elsevier, Inc. .

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Discussion: Women’s and Men’s Health, Infectious Disease, and Hematologic Disorders

As an advanced practice nurse, you will likely experience patient encounters with complex comorbidities. For example, consider a female patient who is pregnant who also presents with hypertension, diabetes, and has a recent tuberculosis infection. How might the underlying pathophysiology of these conditions affect the pharmacotherapeutics you might recommend to help address your patient’s health needs? What education strategies might you recommend for ensuring positive patient health outcomes?

For this Discussion, you will be assigned a patient case study and will consider how to address the patient’s current drug therapy plans. You will then suggest recommendations on how to revise these drug therapy plans to ensure effective, safe, and quality patient care for positive patient health outcomes.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

To Prepare

• Review the Resources for this module and reflect on the different health needs and body systems presented.
• Your Instructor will assign you a complex case study to focus on for this Discussion.
• Consider how you will practice critical decision making for prescribing appropriate drugs and treatment to address the complex patient health needs in the patient case study you selected.

By Day 3 of Week 9

Post a brief description of your patient’s health needs from the patient case study you assigned. Be specific. Then, explain the type of treatment regimen you would recommend for treating your patient, including the choice or pharmacotherapeutics you would recommend and explain why. Be sure to justify your response. Explain a patient education strategy you might recommend for assisting your patient with the management of their health needs. Be specific and provide examples.

You will respond to your colleagues’ posts in Week 10.

Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link, and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit!

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 9 Discussion Rubric

Post by Day 3 of Week 9 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 10

To Participate in this Discussion:

Week 9 Discussion

What’s Coming Up in Week 10?

Photo Credit: [BrianAJackson]/[iStock / Getty Images Plus]/Getty Images

Next week, you will continue working on your Discussion assigned in Week 9, as you examine the types of drugs used to treat infections and disorders of the hematologic system.

Next Week

Week 9: Women’s and Men’s Health/Infections and Hematologic Systems, Part I

As an advanced practice nurse, you will likely encounter many disorders associated with women’s and men’s health, such as hormone deficiencies, cancers, and other functional and structural abnormalities. Disorders such as these not only result in physiological consequences but also psychological consequences, such as embarrassment, guilt, or profound disappointment for patients. For these reasons, the provider-patient relationship must be carefully managed. During evaluations, patients must feel comfortable answering questions so that you, as a key health-care provider, will be able to diagnose and recommend appropriate treatment options. Advanced practice nurses must be able to educate patients on these disorders and help relieve associated stigmas and concerns.

This week, you examine women’s and men’s health concerns as well as the types of drugs used to treat disorders that affect women’s and men’s health. You also explore how to treat aspects of these disorders on other health systems.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Evaluate patients for treatment of complex health issues
• Evaluate patients for treatment of infections
• Evaluate patients for treatment of hematologic disorders
• Analyze patient education strategies for the management and treatment of complex comorbidities

Learning Resources

Rosenthal, L. D., & Burchum, J. R. (2021). Lehne’s pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice nurses and physician assistants (2^nd ed.) St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

• Chapter 46, “Anticoagulant and Antiplatelet Drugs” (pp. 364–371)
• Chapter 47, “Drugs for Deficiency Anemias” (pp. 389–396)
• Chapter 50, “Estrogens and Progestins: Basic Pharmacology and Noncontraceptive Applications” (pp. 425–436)
• Chapter 51, “Birth Control” (pp. 437–446)
• Chapter 52, “Androgens” (pp. 447–453)
• Chapter 53, “Male Sexual Dysfunction and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia” (pp. 454–466)
• Chapter 70, “Basic Principles of Antimicrobial Therapy” (pp. 651–661)
• Chapter 71, “Drugs That Weaken the Bacterial Cell Wall I: Penicillins” (pp. 662–668)
• Chapter 75, “Sulfonamides Antibiotics and Trimethoprim” (pp. 688–694)
• Chapter 76, “Drug Therapy of Urinary Tract Infections” (pp. 695–699)
• Chapter 78, “Miscellaneous Antibacterial Drugs” (pp. 711–714)
• Chapter 79, “Antifungal Agents” (pp. 715–722)
• Chapter 80, “Antiviral Agents I: Drugs for Non-HIV Viral Infections” (pp. 723–743)
• Chapter 82, “Drug Therapy of Sexually Transmitted Diseases” (pp. 763–770)

This article presents recommendations on the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of hypogonadism in men. Reflect on the concepts presented and consider how this might impact your role as an advanced practice nurse in treating men’s health disorders.

This article provides an update on treatments on Vasomotor symptoms (VMS), genito-urinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), sleep disturbance, sexual dysfunction, and mood disturbance that are common during the menopause transition.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2019h). Pathopharmacology: Pharmacology and immunological disorders: Improvements in medications and drug administration [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 8 minutes.
Nurse Manager, Bette Nunn discusses how technology has improved the practice of administering drugs and created new and improved drug therapies. The importance of using technology as well as a patient’s knowledge of their own drug history is also discussed.

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Content

Name: NURS_6521_Week9_Discussion_Rubric

Name: NURS_6521_Week9_Discussion_Rubric