Advanced Care Topics
Now that the family has access to patient lab reports, wouldn’t it be helpful to understand what the information means when looking at those reports?
Details regarding which labs are used to diagnose problems in specific parts of the body, along with the corresponding values, are summarized in the laboratory section.
Learning to read X-rays and other diagnostic reports is a bit more challenging than reading lab reports because each radiologist appears to use different descriptive terms to convey what they see. However, with a glossary of standard terms, you can navigate most of the reports and understand what they are saying.
An explanation of the most common radiology tests begins the section to help you understand the differences between tests, why one test is used over another, and why multiple tests are used to diagnose the same condition. The definition of terms is coming soon.
Caregivers need to know how to recognize an emergency for the person under their care and how to respond to sustain life for that individual until help arrives, provided the person’s advance directive allows for life-saving measures.
Steps on how to give medications correctly using every administration route. Information will include how to administer medication by mouth, injection, rectally, intravenously, and through tube feeding. YouTube links that demonstrate how to administer medications properly help illustrate proper techniques in action.
We often discuss what we do in caregiving and planning for how to care for the person who needs care, but we rarely talk about planning for when caregiving comes to an end. Just like when children leave home, caregivers experience a sort of “empty nest” effect when they no longer have that person as their responsibility. Sometimes the loss is due to death, and the grief process takes over the empty nest emotions. However, the caregiver still must cope with the question, “What’s next for me?” The “What’s next?” question raises its head if the care recipient recovers, goes into long-term care, or if a special needs child marries and becomes someone else’s responsibility. Planning for the next phase after caregiving is essential.
