2 – Discuss characteristic findings for a stroke and how it affects the lives of patients and their families. Discuss the nurse’s role in supporting the patient’s psychological and emotional needs. Provide an example.
The characteristic symptoms are dimming vision, sudden headaches, instability when walking, and numbness in the face. Stroke negatively affects a person and their families as it prevents a person from engaging in productive activities. This affects the financial stability of a family. Nurses have a crucial role in helping patients deal with stroke. Kirkevold et al. (2018) say that nurses provide the psychosocial support that helps patients cope with stroke. In providing emotional and psychological support, nurses can rely on cultural competence and spiritual support to help them manage the stroke. Lutz & Green (2016) assert that nurses have to provide a family-centered approach to manage emotional distress. Understanding the goals of the family and helping them integrate the care helps a family achieve its goals. For example, the goals of a family could be improving the memory of the patient. The nurse can help such families by simplifying tasks to be remembered with ease.
