Nursing unit 3 assignment

Polypharmacy

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to increase the nurse practitioner’s awareness and sensitivity to pharmacokinetic changes and prescribing implications occurring in the frail elderly related to these changes and potential adverse effects of polypharmacy in the frail elderly patient.

Instructions

1. Describe a patient who is age 65 or older and takes at least 12 prescription medications, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and herbal supplements.

2. Describe your patient, including age, gender, ethnicity, medical diagnoses, medication allergies, and list of prescriptions/OTC medications/herbal supplements, including dosage, route, and frequency.

3. Describe three age-related changes that can affect the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

4. Using Beer’s criteria, review the patient’s medication list to identify medications that are potentially inappropriate. What medications should be continued? What medications should you consider stopping? What are potential alternative medications that could be used in place of the medications you would consider stopping?

5. What are two challenges you as an NP face with regard to regulation of complementary and alternative medications (CAM) in care of the frail elderly?

6. As an NP, what is one specific strategy you will use to assess medication reconciliation, including CAM and over-the-counter medications, in the frail elderly population?

Before finalizing your work, you should:

· be sure to read the assignment description above carefully;

· consult the grading rubric (under the Course Resources) to make sure you have included everything necessary; and

· utilize spelling and grammar check to minimize errors.

Your writing assignment should:

· follow the conventions of Standard English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.);

· be well ordered, logical, and unified, as well as original and insightful;

· display superior content, organization, style, and mechanics;

· use APA current edition format; and

· be supported with a minimum of 5 scholarly, peer-reviewed sources from the past 5 years, external to those assigned for this unit.

Please see the Writing Center located in the student portal for assistance with writing, APA style, and online communication.