Ms. Ann Mah, a 26-year-old single woman of Chinese origin, was admitted to the hospital following an automobile crash. She had lost consciousness at the wheel while driving home from the gym by herself. Since her admission, she has been diagnosed with a neck injury and a neurological workup revealed she suffers from epilepsy. Her nurse, Michael Robbins, is monitoring her blood pressure and assessing her for side effects related to her newly prescribed anticonvulsant medication, valproate (Depakote). When Michael enters the room, he finds Ms. Mah gazing out the window. When he asks how she is doing, she responds with a curt “Fine.” As he goes through his list of questions, she answers with just one or two words.
Caring / Advocacy
Ms. Ann Mah, a 26-year-old single woman of Chinese origin, was admitted to the hospital following an automobile crash. She had lost consciousness at the wheel while driving home from the gym by herself. Since her admission, she has been diagnosed with a neck injury and a neurological workup revealed she suffers from epilepsy. Her nurse, Michael Robbins, is monitoring her blood pressure and assessing her for side effects related to her newly prescribed anticonvulsant medication, valproate (Depakote). When Michael enters the room, he finds Ms. Mah gazing out the window. When he asks how she is doing, she responds with a curt “Fine.” As he goes through his list of questions, she answers with just one or two words. He senses that she is a very private person, so he avoids asking her personal questions. Later in the day, he asks his mentor for advice on the case, who tells him to be patient and allow the client time to open up. His mentor also informs him of the stigmas attached to epilepsy in different cultures and refers him to several resources. Reading the material, Michael discovers that the Chinese community is particularly concerned that epilepsy may be hereditary, which can lead to people with epilepsy being viewed as less desirable marriage prospects. After his next assessment, Michael decides to spend an extra 5 minutes with Ms. Mah. He sits by her bedside quietly, observ- ing her out of the corner of his eye as he pretends to review her file. Suddenly, she blurts out: “I hate this! My life was perfect. I was promoted to regional director of sales last week. I drove around all over the city and I had a great social life. Now you tell me I’m epileptic. What are they going to say at work? Who is going to want to date an epi- leptic girl?” Michael moves over to the window to make eye contact with his client. “You’re right, epilepsy does require adjustments. But you’re not an ‘epileptic girl.’ You are the same woman you were before the accident. Except that now we know that the woman who was promoted to regional sales director has epilepsy. And so, because of that neck injury, it is especially important that we make sure you don’t have another seizure right now.” “With this stupid medicine, I can’t keep any food down!” “We’re seeing how you react to the medicine. The idea is to gradually reduce the dosage to lessen the side effects as much as possible while still controlling the seizures. But I have an idea that might make things better. Would you like to hear it?” “What?” “How about we try to imagine ways to cope with epilepsy that won’t hamper your lifestyle?” “Like what?” “Well, I know that in many cases, if we can control your seizures for a certain period of time, you’ll still be able to drive. But you tell me what’s important to you.” “I really don’t want to have to take medication the rest of my life, especially not this stuff. When my sister visited yesterday, she told me there are other ways to treat epilepsy.” Ms. Mah turns her head away and mutters, “She mentioned acupuncture.” “I’ve heard that, too. Let’s look into it and talk about some more ideas the next time I see you. Deal?” Michael stretches out his hand and after a few seconds Ms. Mah takes it and they shake on it. At his next assessment, Michael finds Ms. Mah reading information from an epilepsy Web site off a tablet. “How are you today, Ms. Mah?” Michael asks. “Fine. Today, I’ll be asking the questions,” Ms. Mah says.
Case Study Questions
1. Which caring theories are relevant to this case?
2. Which holistic approaches did Michael employ?
3. How did Michael’s self-care aid him in caring for Ms. Mah?
4. If you were Ms. Mah’s nurse, how would you advocate on her behalf?
The post Ms. Ann Mah, a 26-year-old single woman of Chinese origin, was admitted to the hospital following an automobile crash. She had lost consciousness at the wheel while driving home from the gym by herself. Since her admission, she has been diagnosed with a neck injury and a neurological workup revealed she suffers from epilepsy. Her nurse, Michael Robbins, is monitoring her blood pressure and assessing her for side effects related to her newly prescribed anticonvulsant medication, valproate (Depakote). When Michael enters the room, he finds Ms. Mah gazing out the window. When he asks how she is doing, she responds with a curt “Fine.” As he goes through his list of questions, she answers with just one or two words. appeared first on Academicheroes.com.
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