Diabetic Foot Care

As a result, she decided to move to Canada where her only daughter, Camila would support her. Besides, she expected to receive better care in Canadian hospitals compared to Mexican hospitals. A week ago, she came to Tale Hospital, Ottawa with complaints about unusual swelling, redness and irritation in her right foot, specifically in the balls of the foot. I am her attending nurse and therefore I took time to inquire about her condition. She speaks and understands very little English. These learning needs include knowing the best way to examine her feet so as to identify any developing ulcers early hence allowing earlier management; knowing the different ways to bluff calluses that may develop and learning the different techniques that are applied to prevent ulcer development.

She also speaks and understands very English and for this reason she will require a translator so as to enable her to learn more effectively. She also has visual issues, which means she will learn best when the learning materials can be viewed at a close range. This means I will avoid using materials viewed from afar like projections or whiteboards. After assessing Mendez and informing her that the foot swelling is a result of her diabetes and could get more complicated if it progressed to ulcers, she understood how important it was to learn. Mendez was clearly interested in learning from videos and therefore, I provided her with many videos that provided essential content concerning foot care in diabetes. As an instructor I know how important it is to accommodate the learning style of an individual and therefore I requested her to guide me on the best way she could learn quickly.

Apart from videos she also said she could learn well from real life demonstrations, which I organized for her. Nursing diagnoses Deficient knowledge related to lack of information about diabetic foot ulcers as evidenced when she informed me that she had never received any education on diabetic foot ulcers. Client-Centered Goal In collaboration with Mendez, we agreed that she will be taught for one week after which she will be able to verbalize and demonstrate how to take care of her feet. However, I cautioned her that she would have to avoid lotions containing alcohol as these cause skin to dry up and crack • Mendez would have to cut her toenails regularly. The best way to do this would be to cut them straight across and to file sharp corners.

Since she has visual problems I told her that she could request a family member to do it for her. • I informed her that she would have to avoid self-treatment of calluses and corns. A family member should intervene in such as case and buff the callus using materials like a pumice stone etc. So as to ensure that I was communicating with her directly I maintained direct eye contact with her. Also, the room where I taught her was very conducive for learning due to the peace and silence in the area, allowing her to concentrate well. Another strength was my sensitivity of her culture as I educated her. I made sure to ask about her culture, appreciated it and in this way, I developed a positive relationship with Mendez that made teaching and learning easier.

Weaknesses The main weakness was the lack of direct communication between me and the client due to the need for a translator and this affected the therapeutic relationship. As a nurse or any other healthcare provider, one is tasked with the responsibility of informing the patient information they are required to know so that they can continue to promote their healthcare even after they leave the healthcare facility. By doing so, healthcare professionals enable the patients to practice prevention techniques, which is essential in healthcare. Also, it promotes a good relationship based on trust and openness between the patient and the clinician, and this helps promote quality healthcare (Sherwood & Bansteiner, 2017). It also helps ensure that patients remain loyal to the facility as they are assured of the best possible healthcare, which every patient desires as they go to a facility.