Family Assessment: 50% of the Final Grade: This clinical assignment focuses on the family system and all the subsystems that affect the family, how the family unit copes, and how the nurse can help the family maintain a state of equilibrium. In your text is an outline of the Calgary Model and how it helps in the interviewing and assessment of the family.
Using this model as a guideline choose a family you know to help you complete this assignment; these should not be your own family. Be sure the family is well in that they are not dealing with a newly diagnosed chronic or acute illness. Families with long-standing chronic illnesses, such as controlled hypertension or diabetes, are acceptable. Do not choose a family with acute problems including acute psychiatric illnesses.
Contact the family and explain the project you need to complete and if they are willing to participate. Set up a meeting time to speak with family members who would be most helpful with this project. Have questions prepared concerning all of the subsystems that affect families including ethnic backgrounds, working status of family members, education, etc. You may need to meet with the family more than once. Using the family assessment summary in your text, complete a family assessment.
This assessment must include content on all of the subsystems discussed in class this semester as well as a genogram, a list of family diagnoses including strengths and problems (stressors) related to each diagnoses.
Summarize their project by explaining how the family members and the family unit cope with any problems that may arise; are they able to maintain a state of equilibrium or are they having difficulty maintaining a functional system?
What could be done to improve or help with coping of the identified problems? Could some of the coping mechanisms of one family help another family if similar problems exist?
Beyond the textbook, students should search for additional resources to help explain the subsystems of the families; for example, their response to illness may be based on cultural background or religious beliefs. Find resources to support this and explain fully.
