Cardiovascular and Neurologic Conditions

Cardiovascular and Neurologic Conditions

Week 10 discussion Discussion: Diagnosing and Managing Common Cardiovascular and Neurologic Conditions Cardiovascular and neurologic conditions are among the leading causes of death and hospitalization of women in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008a). As an advanced practice nurse, you must routinely monitor patients at risk of these conditions and recommend the appropriate health screenings and preventive services. When assessing patients for these conditions, it is important to keep in mind that while some female patients might present with typical signs and symptoms, others might present with atypical signs and symptoms that are unique to women. For this Discussion, consider signs and symptoms presented by the women in the following case studies and develop differential diagnoses: Case Study 1 A 48-year-old overweight African American female is in the clinic for a wellness visit. A routine fasting lipid panel returned with the following results: Total cholesterol: 305 mmol/L Low-density lipoprotein (LDL): 180 mg/dl High-density lipoprotein (HDL): 30 mg/dl Triglycerides: 165 mg/dl Case Study 2 You are seeing a 63-year-old African American female for a two-week history of intermittent chest pain. The pain varies in intensity and resolves with rest. She does not believe it has increased over time. She is a nonsmoker with a history of hypertension treated with Lisinopril 10 mg once daily. She had an exercise stress test one year ago that was within normal limits. Her physical exam findings are as follows: HR–90, BP–150/92, R–22, O2Sat 98% RA; lungs: clear to auscultation bilaterally; cardiovascular: apical pulse of 90 RRR, no rubs, murmurs, or gallops. Chest wall mildly tender to palpation that reproduces her complaint of pain. Extremities include no clubbing, cyanosis, or edema. The remainder of the exam is within normal limits. Case Study 3 A 32-year-old Asian American female is in the clinic for a history of recurrent headaches for the past year, occurring monthly, lasting up to 12–18 hours. The headaches are sometimes associated with photophobia, nausea, and vomiting. She takes either acetaminophen or ibuprofen for relief that is not always successful. She uses Ortho Tricyclin for birth control. Her physical exam is within normal limits. To prepare: Review Chapter 8 of the Tharpe et al. text and the McSweeney et al. article in this week’s Learning Resources. Review and select one of the three provided case studies. Analyze the patient information. Consider a differential diagnosis for the patient in the case study you selected. Think about the most likely diagnosis for the patient. Reflect on the appropriate clinical guidelines. Think about a treatment and management plan for the patient. Be sure to consider appropriate dosages for any recommended pharmacologic and/or nonpharmacologic treatments. Consider strategies for educating patients on the treatment and management of the disorder you identified as your primary diagnosis.

Cardiovascular and Neurologic Conditions

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

 

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.