MN585-04: Design age appropriate health maintenance and screening plans for the frail elderly patients across the lifespan.

Purpose

One of the greatest challenges for nurse practitioners is determining when a frail elderly patient is no longer capable of performing certain tasks with safety. For example, this is particularly relevant issue when a frail elderly patient is still driving and family members do not want to take their car keys away. Nurse practitioners have a legal and ethical obligation to meet standards of care and while many decisions like taking the driver’s license of a frail elderly patient may not be popular it is necessary to protect not only the patient but society as well. The purpose of this assignment is to help the student become familiar with the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and determine its relevance and significance in making critical and important decisions in patient care when dealing with the frail elderly population.

Instructions

1. Administer the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) to an elderly patient > 75 years of age to test the patient’s executive level of functioning to determine whether or not this patient should be allowed to drive. Submit a copy of the CDT result.
2. Score the CDT.
3. Provide a summary report of the CDT Test including planning (circle size), organizing (placement of numbers) sequencing (inclusion of all numbers in the correct order) and abstraction (hands of the clock placement and length).
4. Should this patient be allowed to drive? Why/why not?
5. Describe your area of greatest learning from completing this assignment.

PLEASE INCLUDE REFERENCES IN APA FORMAT