teaching experience

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Running head: TEACHING EXPERIENCE

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Teaching Experience

Teaching Experience: Care of mother with Infant substance abuse

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing that happens to most women in their life. However not everyone is given the same deck of cars some children are born into having a drug dependency. Neonatal abstinence Syndrome (NAS) happens when the baby is exposed to drugs in the womb(Staff)Which makes the babies go through withdrawals after birth. This is not something that is commonly spoken about given the opioid epidemic. Mothers can feel shame for having a dependent child and guilt. A lot of mothers get addicted and by extent their children because of prescriptions. Neonatal abstinence Syndrome (NAS) can be treated more effectively if you can identify the drug that was being abused and causing the dependency. Assessing the extent of the withdrawal and finding the correct treatment for the baby.

Comprehensive Assessment

A 23-year-old female, is in 26 weeks’ gestation has a history of chlamydia last week and mother admits to frequent use of marijuana. Patient has had miscarriages before and is anxious about having another one. This will be her first full pregnancy and is worried about the boyfriend leaving her during pregnancy. The patient currently lives with her parents and does not make enough income to live on her own although she seems to have a good support system other than her boyfriend. Patient states she always wanted a baby and is worried that the baby might have problems because of her lifestyle choices.

From the information already gathered above its safe to say she will be best suited at home. Finances will be taken care of by the supportive family. Her religion is Catholic and is also Hispanic. She graduated from Coral Reef high school and attended FIU but has not finished her bachelor’s degree. She met her boyfriend in college while taking the same class last year. When continuing my assessment of my patient I asked if she was aware of possible symptoms and outcomes that marijuana could cause if taken while giving birth. Also assured her if she was taking any other drugs we would not be here to prosecute her but to better help the health of her and her baby. Patient then admits she will use cocaine a few times at parties but does not feel like she is addicted and her parents do not know. Patient then states that she wants what is best for her baby and will do what is necessary but doesn’t know where to start. Now there is direction to give her a nursing diagnosis of Deficient Knowledge may be related to lack of information as evidenced by statements of concern. (Martin, By, -, Martin, & Paul Martin is a registered nurse with a bachelor of science in nursing since 2007. Having worked as a medical-surgical nurse for five years, 2019)

Patient Learning Needs Assessment

When assessing the patient, I gave her a NAS brochure to help give her the information she needs to make better decisions. Brochure showed symptoms for marijuana being: Increased carbon monoxide and decreased oxygen crossing the placenta, increase risk of miscarriage, low birth weight and premature birth, developmental delays and behavioral and learning problems. The brochure also had a section for cocaine which read as follows: Complete placental abruption, poor fetal growth, developmental delays, learning disabilities and lower IQ. (Staff) After giving her some time with the brochure began to speak to the patient about what she found most interesting and see what she felt like would impact her baby the most. She stated that the increased risk of miscarriage was a grave concern because she’s already gone through that before and didn’t want to go through it again.

First thing I wanted her to learn would be how to identify any symptoms of withdrawals incase the baby did come out dependent on cocaine. I then explained to her common symptoms of withdrawal in babies and that is: tremors, irritability, myoclonic jerks, restlessness, high-pitched crying, hypertonia, mottling, apnea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration and sweating. Patient was willing to learn and change her lifestyle given she had adequate amount of time and was not a serious case of being a drug user.

Another learning objective I wanted to teacher was a new way of thinking and also recommend a trained therapist to help her clear things out in her mind. First I had the patient write a list what events in her life had led her to this point and decisions she’s made. Then write how she feels in her current situation how everything works around her and why things are set up in such a way. Then asked her to write about if she could have the life she wanted in five years what would it look like for her and the baby. Then finally talk about it with me and continue on with therapy. Having the patient have a clear vision of her life and what she wants I believe would give her a stable foundation and structure to give her and the baby the best life with in her power.

Organization/Evidence-based Information

A version of this form of thinking would not originate with me it comes from a program called the future authoring program which is made by Jordan B Peterson, Daniel M Higgins and Robert O. Phil. Over 10,000 people have taken this program and it has shown to help them get and maintain focus in their life and give them clarity and direction. Young people who have taken this course tend to have more success in life as determined by finishing school and having more structure in their lives.

Body Language

When speaking to the patient I maintained good eye contact and open body language and used open communication to get the most important information. I made sure to smile with the patient and keep a relaxed energy around them. Patient seemed to connect well with me and was very open thanks to my communication skills. I made sure to speak clearly and not rushed in a way the patient could really connect and not feel judged.

I made sure the patient kept her brochures and would keep an eye out and encouraged the future authoring program I mentioned earlier. Since the patient does not look like she will have a serious case of NAS I think the best way of treating this would be at the root with lifestyle changes thinking and professional therapy along with it. Patient was open and excited to do what she could for her upcoming baby

Learning Evaluation

I feel that this approach of dealing with this mild case of substance abuse will have a positive effect on my patient’s life. Since treatment for NAS varies from place to place there is no one way to treat it. I was able to give my patient information and the resources she needed as well as a plan to follow through with. One downside that I did not have a solution for was the worry about the boyfriend not being there. However, I believe given the resources and the support she has she will have a great outcome.

References