Menopause Nursing Process

The nursing process is used for nurses to assist their patients need is vital for safe and appropriate care. The nursing process will be used to assist Maureen, which involves assessment, plan, implementation and evaluation (Crisp & Taylor, 2009, p. 257). Night sweats,mood swings, depression, weight gain, anxiety, loss of sleep, hot flashes and frequent trips to the bathroom are only some symptoms that women may experience in a significant change in their end of life of reproductive years known as menopause when the menstruation cycle ceases (Karla, Agarwal & Magon, 2012). The summary of the scenario that will be discussed during this paper involves a 50 year old women, named Maureen who is going through menopause and has she tends to over

This is making her lose her self-esteem about her appearance and she has decided she doesn’t like her current Job and would like to study at university again but is worried as she is old.(Appendix A). What strategies do you use to make yourself feel better when your stressed or feeling down?

Body

The assessment process of nursing steps to determine a diagnosis of menopause for Maureen includes collecting primary data from the the client themselves and secondary sources from family and health professionals using critical thinking skills to ask a range of questions to be able to analyse the data for developing a nursing diagnosis (Crisp & Taylor, 2009, p. 259). Menopause generally occurs in women naturally after age of 45 years, where they can undergo many physical and psychological effects (Newhart, 2013). Erikson communicates that during the middle adult developmental stage people often believe that possibilities are limited, this is true with Maureen as she relates to herself being worried to study again at a late stage (Crisp & Taylor, 2009, p. 151 ).

Studies show that oestrogen plays an important role in regulation of body weight in females (Newhart, 2013). When teaching patients about menopause symptoms explain management through both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies. . In Maureen's case she is experiencing signs of depression from having low self esteem about her appearances from comfort eating. To help Maureen she needs to be educated about ways to cope with her eating habits, including: staying active, exercise regularly and seek social support to prevent further mental health problems (Mokhtar, 2015). Newhart, 2013 states that over 50% of women surveyed described menopause as a very unpleasant period of their life. In order to give a client the most appropriate and best care possible, it is important to know at which developmental stage they are on. This is essential as it will influence how the nurse uses critical thinking to alter the nursing process and therefore will create methods and correct mode of delivery of care (Crisp & Taylor, 2009, p. 257). Maureen eats food as a way to deal with her feelings to make her feel better, even if its just for a short time. It is important that nurses explore triggers that cause emotional eating amongst their patients, such as Maureen. Interventions should be designed to promote healthy food choices during