Running Head: CASE STUDY THREE

Case Study Three
Julia McGraw
Lakeview College of Nursing
N-309 Nursing of the Gerontological Client
June 5, 2011

CASE STUDY THREE                                                                                                                 1   
Case Study Three
     I would start off by assessing Mr. Boyd’s psychological state.  Many of the actions that Mrs. Boyd stated about her husband goes along with depression, such as, decreased appetite, sleeping all of the time, and lack of interest in things he once enjoyed (Spires, 2006, p. 40).  I would then assess his cognitive abilities, since Mrs. Boyd stated that her husband had memory problems and trouble comprehending questions, which could be related to dementia (Nazarko, 2006, p. 8).
     I would rely on self-report, proxy report, and performance measures.  I would, however, rely more heavily on what I see first hand.
     It may alter the actual results if Mrs. Boyd does all of the talking.  It is important to hear from Mr. Boyd himself, to hear his point of view and get a better understanding of what possible problems may be at hand.
     Other health professionals that I believe should be involved with Mr. Boyd’s health problems would be a psychologist, if it looks to be depression and a physician, if it is related to dementia.

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References
.
Mauk, K. L. (Ed.). (2010). Gerontological nursing: Competencies for care (2nd ed.). Sudbury, 
     MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Nazarko, L. (2006). Recognizing the signs and symptoms of dementia. Nursing & Residential 
     Care, 8(1), 32-34. Retrieved from 
     http://proxy.library.eiu.edu:2053/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=2c6aebf7-c94a-49e4-a3d8-
     da3988b6da18%40sessionmgr10&vid=16&hid=21
Spires, R. (2006). Depression in the elderly. RN, 69(6), Retrieved from 
     http://proxy.library.eiu.edu:2053/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=2c6aebf7-c94a-49e4-a3d8-
     da3988b6da18%40sessionmgr10&vid=12&hid=21