My Client

          I have many clients that I would be able to meet with regularly for the sake of this assignment. However, I am limited in choosing which clients to work with because most of them suffer from severe dementia. As a result of the dementia, most residents either exhibit either extremely repetitive or random behaviors. Very few of my residents can have a normal conversation and even less know what year it is or where they are.


          However, two of my residents were only placed on my unit because there were no other open rooms at the time that they were admitted. One of my clients has chosen to stay on the floor because she is only her for a short term stay. Since she may leave in the near future, I cannot use her as the subject of this assignment. As a result, there is only one client that I could realistically work with in this assignment.


          When I began working with my chosen client (who will hereafter be referred to as Mr. X), he exhibited no signs of memory loss that I noticed. However, his roommate was exhibiting very loud and disturbing behavior on a constant basis. This irritated Mr. X to the point that he had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized for a few days until he calmed down.


           A few weeks ago, Mr. X moved to another unit with higher functioning residents. Mr. X told me that he enjoys solitude because he is an artist and he can express himself creatively in a more personal way when he is free from the influence of other people. So, I thought that the best part about Mr. X’s transfer was that I was able to get him a private single resident room.


          Since his hospitalization, Mr. X has been exhibiting both short term and long term memory loss.  At my current field placement, we use a standardized test (Bloom, Fischer & Orme, 2009) in order to assess the mental status residents.  The test is known as a mini-mental exam and consists of a few questions.  The client is told three words at the beginning of the exam.  The first word is a piece of furniture the second is an item of clothing and the third is a color.  After answering a series of questions, which assess cognitive functioning (Bloom, Fischer & Orme, 2009),  the resident is asked how many of the three words, which they were told at the beginning of the exam, they can remember.


          In the few sessions that I have has with my client, I have developed quite a rapport with Mr. X.  My conceptualization (Bloom, Fischer & Orme, 2009) is that my Mr. X has quickly become very fond of me.  He enjoys any excuse to spend time in my company.  As a result, my client was more than willing to participate with me in any study or project I undertake.  For the same reasons, and also because my client has no family or friends, my field instructor is also glad that I will now have another reason to spend more time with Mr. X.


          I would like to use both nominal and ordinal levels of measurement (Bloom, Fischer & Orme, 2009).  This will allow me to gauge how often my client retains memories and how much of those memories he can retain.


Works Cited


Bloom, M., Fischer, J., & Orme, J., (2009). Evaluating Practice: Guidelines for the Accountable Professional. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.