Purpose of the Paper

Nurses will care for increasing numbers of patients who are over the age of 65. The student will discuss the assessment of a geriatric patient chosen in the Long-Term Care setting, utilizing the Fulmer SPICES assessment. The student will discuss, in relation to this patient: 
• Skin breakdown (Circulation Problem), edema, Congested heart failure, Peripheral vascular disease.

From lecture and assigned readings, students should be familiar with normal aging changes and the geriatric syndromes. The student will utilize evidence-based practice sources to identify nursing interventions which can reduce the impact of a chosen geriatric syndrome on the patient.

Directions

In clinical, perform the Fulmer SPICES assessment on this patient. Describe your findings in the body of your paper.
1. Choose one of the geriatric syndromes as a priority issue for this patient. 
2. Explore the patient’s medical history for any problems which may have contributed to this geriatric syndrome. Also think of normal aging changes which could be a factor. Patient medical history: cognitive communication deficit, orthostatic hypotension, hypothyroidism, difficult in walking, pain in left knee, unilateral primary osteoarthritis, chronic systolic (Congestive) heart failure, contracture left knee, unsteadiness on the feet, Peripheral vascular disease, capillary refill greater than 3 seconds.
3. Research your chosen geriatric syndrome including evidence-based interventions to assist a patient with this geriatric syndrome. You must use at least two (2) sources for evidenced-based interventions that will be cited and referenced in your paper in APA format. These sources must be within the past five years. Do not use Wikipedia or .com sites. It is best to look for sites that have a .gov or .edu suffix and peer-reviewed journal articles that are found in the CCBC library databases. 
4. Using APA formatting, write a three (3) to four (4) page paper, not including the title or reference page. Double space the type, use 12 font and one (1) inch margins.
5. The format of your paper should be as follows:
a. An introductory paragraph stating the purpose of the paper.
b. A paragraph with a description of your patient with a brief medical history.
c. A paragraph explaining SPICES and describing the results of your SPICES assessment of your patient. 
d. At least 2-3 paragraphs discussing your chosen geriatric syndromes including rationale for why that syndrome is the priority for this patient. Include information about how this geriatric syndrome has affected the patient’s quality of life, their functional status and ability to socialize. Also include any of the patient’s medical history which contributed to this geriatric syndrome and normal aging changes which also could be a factor.
e. In the next 1-2 paragraphs discuss your evidence-based interventions that can be utilized for this patient for this geriatric syndrome. Include how to implement these interventions on this long-term care unit and how the nurse could evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions.
f. Lastly, include a reflective paragraph that explains how you will utilize the tenets of this paper in your future nursing practice.
g. Use proper grammar, spelling, and formatting. 
h. Refer to the grading rubric to ensure obtaining maximum points on your paper.