Week 6 – Assignment 1
Discussion

Assignment 1: Discussion Questions

Select one of the two questions from the discussion
questions listed below. By Week 6, Day 3, respond to the selected discussion
question and submit your response to this Discussion Area.

Be sure to respond to the question using the lessons and
vocabulary found in the reading. Justify your answers using examples and
reasoning. Support your answers with examples and research and cite your
research using APA format.

Start reviewing and responding to the postings of your
classmates as early in the week as possible. Respond to at least two of your
classmates’ posts. Participate in the discussion by asking a question,
providing a statement of clarification, providing a point of view with a
rationale, challenging an aspect of the discussion, or indicating a
relationship between two or more lines of reasoning in the discussion.

Discussion Question 1

MP is a sixty-five-year-old male who has recently retired.
He is coming in today for a complaint about pain in his back, knees, and hips.
He reports that he has been experiencing this pain for the past six months, and
he has been able to control the symptoms with OTC Advil. He describes the pain
as stiffness and occasional shooting and aching pains radiating all over. He
denies any swelling of his joints. However, the OTC medications are not working
well, and he is here to see whether there are any other options he might try.
On physical exam, he has tenderness on palpation on the right and left hips and
both knees are positive for crepitus. All blood work is within normal limits. Answer
the following questions:

What additional information would you like to have? Does MP
need any additional testing?

What possible issues could contribute to his symptoms?

He asks about injections to both knees to increase his
comfort. How would you respond to that?

What would your treatment plan be?

For medications, include dosages and schedules. Include
highlights of patient teaching and/or lifestyle alterations. Support your
decisions with at least one reference to a published clinical guideline and one
peer-reviewed publication.

Discussion Question 2

EP is a twenty-five-year-old African American female who has
just moved to town and comes to the clinic for her first visit. She has been
diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She reports that her previous primary care
physician (PCP) was treating her with opiates only. She has been taking
hydrocodone/ibuprofen 7.5 mg/200 mg four times daily but notes that this is not
helping her. She is asking you for a refill of this medication and any
additional treatment you can advise. On physical exam, she is in moderate
distress and reports pain when being touched. Answer the following questions:

How would you validate the diagnosis of fibromyalgia?

How would you handle EP’s request for ongoing hydrocodone?
Locate any evidence of the efficacy of this treatment for fibromyalgia.

Assuming that the diagnosis is , what would your treatment
plan be?

Would you recommend any nontraditional therapies?