Louise is a 32 year old woman who works as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency
Department of a large public hospital. Louise is the sole provider for her two young
children who are in primary school.

Louise is a 32 year old woman who works as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency
Department of a large public hospital. Louise is the sole provider for her two young
children who are in primary school. She has been separated from her husband for six
months and he has moved interstate.
Louise has recently been diagnosed with Graves disease. Her endocrinologist referred
her to an surgeon who recommended a total thyroidectomy.
On admission to hospital Louise told the ward nurse that she had lost a lot of weight
recently and had been feeling very tired. Louise stated that she currently smokes but she
is trying to quit. She appeared anxious and was constantly fiddling with her mobile
phone handbag and clothes. Louise said that she is very worried about having time off
work and that she is concerned that her parents will not be able to cope with looking
after her two children while she is in hospital.
Louise returned to the Post Anaesthesia Recovery Unit (PARU) having undergone a
total thyroidectomy. She received a general anaesthetic and the surgery was
uneventful. There was no visible ooze on the small dressing covering the incision site
which has been sutured using a subcuticular stitch to hold the wound edges together
and a Redivac drain in situ with 50mls of blood in it.
Initially Louise was noted to be drowsy but when she started to rouse spontaneously
her voice was hoarse and she complained that she was cold and that her neck felt tight
and painful. Louise was positioned in a high Fowlers position and was receiving
oxygen via a Hudson mask at 6L/min. Her vital signs were as follows: BP 110/56 HR
105bpm Temp 35.5oC RR 12 Sp02 95%.
Louise returned to the ward after 60 minutes in PARU. She remained drowsy but was
easy to rouse. Louise had an intravenous infusion of 1000mls 0.9% Sodium Chloride
running at 125ml/hr and was ordered IV/Oral Paracetamol 1g 8/24 Tramadol Oral 50mg
6 hourly PRN and IV Ondansetron 4mg 8/24 PRN. Louise was given a discharge
prescription for oral thyroxine 150mcg daily and oral tramadol 100mg q8h PRN.
The next day Louise was assessed as ready for discharge. Her Redivac drain was
removed but her subcuticular suture was to remain in place for 7 days. Her voice
remained hoarse and she told the nurse that her neck felt weird and that she just
couldnt bear to look at it. Louise said that her car is parked outside and asked if she
can drive straight to her parents house to pick up her children.
NRSG258 Acute Care Nursing 1 Semester 1 2016
QUESTIONS
Please refer to the rubric on page 11-12 of the Unit Outline for full marking criteria.
Question 1 (10%)
In relation to your chosen patient discuss the pathophysiology of their presenting
condition and using evidence based literature explore current surgical treatment options
for your patient
Question 2 (15%)
Critically discuss the assessment of ventilation circulation and consciousness prior to
the patients discharge from PARU. Discussion must relate to the effects of anaesthesia
and surgery on these three physiological functions and be directly related to your chosen
patient.
Question 3 (10%)
Develop a discharge plan to support your chosen patient on discharge home. Include
any education you deem relevant any referrals to allied health professional/s required
and discuss your rationale.
Page 1 of 4
ASSIGNMENT GUIDANCE NRSG258 ASSESSMENT 1: CASE STUDY
Dear students here are some guidelines to assist you in writing Assessment 1: Case
Study.
If after reading through these you still have questions please post on the relevant
forum. If you are still unsure then please contact your campus specific lecturer to
arrange to discuss your assignment. We ask that you bring these guidelines to any
meeting and highlight the areas about which you are still unsure.
In this case study you do not need an introduction or conclusion for this case study
of 1500 WORDS 10% due by midnight 8th April Turnitin. Just answer the
questions. Turnitin is located in your campus specific block.
Although we suggest you do your background reading in the current textbooks for
basic information the case study also requires you to find current
literature/research/articles to support your discussion throughout the case study.
Do NOT use Better Health Channel WedMed dictionaries encyclopaedias etc.
These are NOT suitable academic sources. If you use these you will not meet the
criteria for this question and you will lose marks.
You must follow the APA referencing format as directed by ACU in your case study
and in your reference list. The Library website has examples of how to do this
referencing and you can find the correct format at the end of your lectures and
tutorials as well as in the free Student Study Guide.
This essay should have approximately 10 relevant sources. Textbooks if cited
should be a range of medical-surgical pathophysiology anatomy & physiology and
pharmacology for specific information e.g. organ function or drugs.
Do not copy information from books or articles or information from previous
students assignments. This is plagiarism and you will be heavily penalised. Turnitin
will highlight copied information to markers.
Please give a title to your essay e.g. Case Study Louise and
ensure your name and student number are on each page as a footer.
Although you do not need a conclusion or introduction and are answering
each question you must write in sentences not point form as this does
not show critical thinking.
Do not use abbreviations e.g. i.e. etc. in your essay. Write e.g. in full
if you need to explain something further. Do not use etc. in an essay. This
suggests to the marker that you do not know what else should go into your
case study.
You must explain any terms you use not just copy them out of a
Page 2 of 4
book/article/research. The markers need to know that you understand
your chosen patients condition and management for safe care.
ASSIGNMENT WRITING TIPS
Question 1 (10%)
In relation to your chosen patient discuss the pathophysiology of their presenting
condition and using evidence based literature explore current surgical treatment
options for your patient (10%). (Suggested length for your answer approximately 350
words).
First give a very brief overview of the anatomy and physiology
i.e. what and where is it and how does it function. E.g. Louise
function of the thyroid gland Zhao function of the ovaries Raoul
function of the knee joint (e.g. A and P textbooks e.g. Martini/Marieb
and/or research/articles). You could write pages on the structure and
function but you must do this in a 3-4 sentences.