Nursing

A 62-year-old inmate is admitted to this hospital from prison with a complaint of chest pain. The patient is being worked up for possible myocardial infarction and admitted to the cardiac unit. Because the patient is an inmate, while he is in the hospital a prison guard will be posted outside of the patient’s room and the patient will be handcuffed to the bed rail. During the initial assessment, the admission nurse finds the patient to be withdrawn. The nurse discovers the patient has a past medical history significant for abuse of multiple substances. The patient describes how the addictive behaviors led to his incarceration and estrangement from his family. The patient expresses to the nurse interest in meeting with a chaplain while in the hospital.

• Describe examples of the how the nurse can provide care to this patient as guided by each of the 10 caritas processes.