Guidelines for writing case study: You do not have to use headings but they may help.
Learning outcome 2 Articulate an understanding of the local, national and international policies related to long term conditions.
Discuss the statistics from a local, national and international perspective on the long term condition that the patient has presented with, what is the financial impact or burden on the health service. Use up to date information from the last 5 years.
Learning outcome 1 Analyse the holistic care needs and challenges faced by those affected by long term/ life limiting conditions.
Learning outcome 4 Analyse practice based evidence related to the patient experience of living with a long term condition, demonstrating understanding of appropriate research literature
Learning outcome 5 Apply an understanding of the legal and ethical aspects of care for patients with long term conditions
Learning outcome 6 Demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of how health behaviours impact on long term conditions and the role of the adult nurse in promoting health
Introduce the patient cared for by the author in practice using a pseudonym first name only (brief explanation of confidentiality statement, only one or two sentences needed).
Age, social history, their long term condition and how long they had had it, do they have health behaviours which may have contributed to the condition. If the patient has more than one condition, you can focus on one, as long as all the care discussed links to the condition being focused on.
Why was the patient being cared for at the time of contact by the author (were they being cared for at home or had they been admitted to hospital, what symptoms were they complaining of)?
Discuss the pathophysiology of the long term condition (with evidence)and how this causes the symptoms that the patient was presenting with (with evidence).
Using the nursing process approach ANPIE; (Assessment, Nursing problem, Planning, Implementation and evaluation) analyse how symptoms were assessed (tools, diagnostics) (with evidence) and what interventions were used to treat these (with evidence possibly link to NICE guidelines). Did the interventions work (did the symptoms improve? How do you know, was the care evaluated? If so how? Is it evidence based? Were the up to date NICE guidelines being followed for this condition?
Are there health behaviours which could be addressed, with advice to help improve/address these, is there evidence that this can make a difference? Discuss the role of the nurse in promoting health and apply to this patient (making every contact count, behaviour change theory).
Are there any legal and ethical issues related to the patient, consent, patient rights to choose, or decline care, advance decisions, treatment escalation plans, and choice of going home etc if applicable.
Learning Outcome 3 analyse the relationship between physical and mental health wellbeing and the importance of integrated care in supporting service users to manage their health needs
Explain the physical, social and psychological challenges relevant to the patient and carer experience from living with the named long term condition (mobility, stress, financial, depression, isolation etc) and the relevant research to evidence that this affects those with this condition from research (this will involve looking for studies that relate to the condition and the experiences of patients). How has an integrated approach to care improved the outcomes for the patient being discussed, is there evidence that integrated care is beneficial, this may include team working, referral to specialist nurses.
Conclusion
Summarise the findings in your essay and make recommendations for practice, do not introduce new ideas (no more than 300 words).