CNA153 – Semester 2, 2017
Assessment Task 3 – Scenario 2
You are a nursing student and have just started your first PEP at a suburban nursing home. One of your first tasks is to attend to the mouth-care of some of the residents. Because they are elderly and infirm, many residents do not drink very much and their mouths can become dry and sore. Many of the residents also wear dentures at times, and these sometimes cause problems such as denture-related stomatitis. This can sometimes cause mouth-ulcers, oral thrush or other problems that are unpleasant and painful.
Mr P is an 85 year-old man who is bedridden and has a number of medical problems, including some confusion/dementia and also denture-related stomatitis. He has quite a large family and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His extended family visit him regularly and there are several young great-grandchildren that are often there. Recently, Mr P’s mouth has become very inflamed and sore and the other nurses have instructed you not to replace his dentures after attending to his mouth-care as they seem to be quite ill-fitting and are causing significant discomfort and irritation.
One afternoon, the family arrive while Mr P is having a nap. His mouth is open and he is snoring softly. His granddaughter notices this and asks you to replace the dentures. Her reason for this is that ‘the children don’t need to see him looking like that’. You explain to her that the dentures are causing a lot of discomfort and that Mr P really needs to do without them for a while. Nevertheless, she insists that the dentures be replaced, suggesting that ‘if they’re in for an hour or two that won’t matter’. Mr P has now woken up and you ask if you can place the dentures. He turns his head away, but the granddaughter insists they be put in his mouth. You place the dentures and see Mr P’s face grimace in pain. Again you tell the granddaughter that it’s not a good idea, but she just says ‘don’t worry, he’ll be fine’.
