In order to assess Yvonne and her symptoms, the nurse practitioner must show patience and understanding. In the treatment of the symptoms, whether to relieve the fevers or perform scans and tests to find the source of the abdominal pain, the nurse practitioner must give Yvonne and her relatives significant input into the management of the illness. Optimal outcomes can be achieved by providing information to the patient that decreases fear, timely involvement of the doctor in the administration of pain medications and emotional support (McGrath, P. 2006).

Reflective practices can have considerable effectiveness in the care of Yvonne. In a paper discussing the benefits of reflective care, Ben Hannigan (2001) argues that reliance on practical knowledge alone is insufficient to solving medical problems as they are rarely abstract in nature. Reflection by the nurse practitioner embeds the medical problem into the social context and allows the practitioner to engage...
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