Nurse-Led Dementia Care
Background
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that impacts a person’s memory, thinking and language skills, and eventually the ability to complete simple tasks. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States with more than 5 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s and as many as 16 million by 2050.
Amongst seniors, 82% say it is important to have their memory or thinking checked, yet only 16% report receiving a regular assessment. Screening tools such as the Mini-Cog© may be used during the Annual Wellness Visit. If the results from the Mini-Cog© suggest additional screenings or if a patient or their family requests a cognitive assessment an appointment should be made for a Cognitive Assessment and Care Planning Services encounter. A registered nurse, working within the interprofessional team, can perform most of the assessment and screening requirements associated with this encounter and provide it in a cost-effective manner while improving the satisfaction of both patients and providers. The registered nurse may also act upon the results of the assessment and screening to begin the care planning process and the identification of appropriate resources for the patient and their family. (Source: Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, Available at Alz.org/facts)
The videos associated with this webpage (see below) show a registered nurse completing the assessment and screening portions of a Cognitive Assessment and Care Planning Services encounter. The first video shows the history taking component, the second shows the assessment and screening and the third shows the care planning. In each video, the registered nurse uses anywhere from one to many assessment/screening tools and these tools are included with each video for you to download.
The primary purpose of the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality, and Retention Program (NEPQR) is to promote the importance of primary-care nursing in rural and underserved communities through education. We receive funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to develop this content and are required to report de-identified information about individuals who use our programs. If you view the videos please consider taking a few minutes to complete this survey to help us fulfill our reporting requirements. Thank you for your time!
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Video #1- Taking History
The patient’s son has called the clinic requesting an assessment about his father who lives alone in a rural community. He has received reports that his father has been seen wandering and getting lost. Additionally, his father has made several disturbing phone calls to him about people being in the house and how much this has been scaring him. The son has put cameras around the house but has not seen any people coming or going but has noticed his father wandering around the house at night. This video segment shows the nurse obtaining the initial history and background about the patient. You can find the tools used in the video on our Resources page under the Dementia section.
Video #2- Assessment & Screening
This video segment is the second of three videos showing a registered nurse conducting a cognitive assessment. As a reminder, the 1st video segment shows the registered nurse obtaining the history and background about the patient. This segment concentrates on the registered nurse obtaining objective and subjective data about the cognitive abilities of the patient utilizing an assortment of widely used screening tools. You can find the tools used in the video on our Resources page under the Dementia section.
Video #3- Care Planning
This is the final segment of a registered nurse conducting a cognitive assessment. The previous two segments show how to obtain a history and background as well as the registered nurse assessing cognitive abilities utilizing an assortment of screening tools. This segment shows the registered nurse starting a plan of care for the patient and his family. You can find the tools used in the video on our Resources page under the Dementia section.