Assessing functional status Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assessing functional spot - Essay ExampleThe ambulatory status is d star to determine the patients mobility capability. The assessing physician should check if the patient uses a wheel chair, a cane or prosthetic devices for movement. If otherwise he should establish whether the ability is excellent, good or bonny by checking the ease with the patient can climb stairs.The ability of the senses often range from excellent to suffering beyond which specific descriptions ar employed. In the case of hearing ability the other options are all deaf or use of hearing aids. When assessing vision, the patient should either be using glasses, contacts or is blind. Cataracts, glaucoma, DM retinopathy and Macular degeneration also form part of the scoring system. The assessment of speech is aimed at recognizing speech problems such(prenominal) as verbal apraxia, Aphasia, Dysphonia and abnormal tongue and lip movements. Ill-fitting dentures too are checked. Touch is scored in term of normal se nsitivity, decreased sensitivity or numbness to temperature. Smell and taste sensitivity cannot be depict as excellent, good or fair. It is either having no problem or is changed. The checking physician notes down the changes in the score card.Assessing functional status of a patient is important in many occasions. According to Preeti (2009), one situation where it is necessary is a patient is about to undergo an operation. In most cases, the results of the assessment are compared with the possible outcomes of the operation. Pre-operation functional status assessment is aimed at identifying the impairment. It is reported that most patients who after operations gird delirium depression and general inability to recover had functional and cognitive impairments which were not considered before operation. at a lower place this situation, the studies would have helped prevent postoperative health decline in the adults (Preeti, 2009).Generally, geriatric assessment is necessary in deter mining a patients functional