1. List and discuss the information about a patient that you would need to provide to a "Physiotherapist" when making a referral.
A physiotherapist is a specialist, who provides treatment for patients who have physical defects and injuries that are a result of injuries, ageing, illnesses and disabilities. A physiotherapist will attend to individuals of all ages, mostly sports people, the elderly, the kids because these are the groups of people who need close physical attention to maintain their fitness. The objective of a physiotherapist is to enhance their function and movements by improving wellbeing and health. Physiotherapists will also guide during the rehabilitation process through the development and restoration of body systems such as respiratory, cardiovascular, neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems. The physiotherapist may require the patient to provide certain information at the time of referral.
The patient will need to provide the information about the physical problem he or she is undergoing. The problem could be feet, knees, arms or any other part of the body. This will help the physiotherapist to determine what kind of therapy modality to use when attending to that patient. He could use manual therapy, therapeutically exercise, movement or technological equipment such as ultra sound to attend to the patient depending on the patient’s physical problem.
The therapist may need the history of the patient’s physical problem. The patient should provide the historical information of his or her problem to help the therapist know what could be the cause of the problem. The problem could be genetic, or caused by injuries or old age. Therefore, the patient will need to provide the necessary information about his or her past experiences with the disease so that the physiotherapist may know what kind of defect he is dealing with and possibly help in determining the kind of treatment or therapy.
The patient’s age is also important to the physiotherapist. The age of the patient plays a key role in the kind of treatment the patient gets. The therapy given to a child and that given to the elderly person are totally different. There are some physiotherapy procedures that will not be administered to people like children. These include electronic therapy procedures that may have side effects on children.
Information about the type of defect is also very necessary to a physiotherapist. Physiotherapists deal with a wide range of defects ranging from the cardiac problems, muscular defects, physical disabilities and injuries, gynecology and chest conditions. The patients will have to provide specific information about the kind of problem they have to help the physiotherapist determine the kind of treatment to administer.
2. List and discuss the information about a patient that you would need to provide to a "Psychologist" when making a referral.
A psychologist is an individual who specializes in the provision of mental and emotional therapy to people who have these kinds of problems. A psychologist will be interested in the way people think, interact with others, feel and act. They use several therapies and strategies to study these problems so as to do away with people’s distress, enhance emotional and mental welfare as well as behavior. A psychologist is an expert in human behavior, memory, learning, brains and emotions. For a psychologist to work efficiently, he will need certain information from patients at the time of referral.
The patient will have to give information about his or her upbringing and relationship with close friends and relatives. This is vital information that will help the psychologist determine the kind of emotional upbringing that the individual has had over the years as he was growing up. The relationship with other people of the patient will be vital in the psychologist telling where the origin of the patient’s problem could be. It helps tell the mental, emotional and attitude of an individual.
The psychologist will also require the specific problem of the patient. Psychologists deal with various problems, from mental problems, emotional, mental and behavioral. The patient will be required to provide information about what specific problem he is experiencing. The psychologist will then have an easier time assessing the problem and putting the patient on therapy.
The patient will be required to give information about past visits to a psychologist or if it is a first visit. Psychologists will tend to treat cases of first time patients differently from those who have visited other psychologists. If a patient has had a past visit to a psychologist, he will be required to reveal how he underwent therapy, any outcomes of the visits and if it did not work, he may be dealt with in a different way.
The patients will be needed to provide personal information at the time of referral. Personal details are necessary in any institution where therapy is provided for purposes of record keeping, identity and medical purposes. This is also necessary in the treatment of individuals with personal identity issues such as personality, sexuality, loneliness and trauma.
3. List and discuss the information about a patient that you would need to provide to a "Psychiatrist" when making a referral.
A psychiatrist is an individual who has undergone medical training and has further expertise in advising and guiding people who have psychological issues. A psychiatrist will have the duty of checking a patient’s state of mind, medical condition and biopscychological state. Basically, this means that a psychiatrist has to be someone who is medically trained as well as a psychologist in the making. He does require vital information about the patient at the time of referral.
The psychiatrist will need the age of the patient. Age is very important to any psychiatrist because mental problems of patients can be classified according to age. In fact there are psychiatrists who specialize in children and adolescent psychiatry while others specialize in old age. Therefore, the revelation of age will be necessary in helping the specialist assess the patient.
The social life of the patient is also very necessary for the psychiatrist. The patient who is hospitalized and has mental or emotional problems could be having social problems. Therefore, to establish if the root cause of this problem is social, the expert will want to know the social life of that patient.
Information about the patient’s diet and drug use are also vital to a psychiatrist. The patient could be having sicknesses that originate from having wrong diets or eating disorders or abusing drugs. Mostly drug addiction information is frequently asked. This information will help a psychiatrist assess the cause of medical problems. They will use this information to device important and necessary solutions to the patient depending on the patient’s problem and cause.
Forensic information is at times needed for easy working with a psychiatrist. This is mostly in cases involving criminal justice. A psychiatrist will study the forensic data available to determine or prove that the patient is actually a criminal before providing the psychological therapy that will help rehabilitate the individual.
Medical and physical defects could also be necessary to a psychologist. A patient’s mental problems could be having their root cause to be medical or physical defects. A psychologist will require this information so as to establish the relationship between mental or emotional defects with the physical disability.
4. List and discuss the information about a patient that you would need to provide to a "Nutritional specialist" (Dietitian) when making a referral.
A nutritionist is an expert who specializes in taking care of people who have nutrition related problems such as obesity, ulcers, allergies and underweight. Usually, a nutritionist will work just like any other medical doctor. They are medically trained individuals who have the knowledge concerning the nutrition of individuals and effects of nutrition on human health. They do require vital information at the time patients are being referred to them.
The patient will have to provide information about their weight. Weight is a factor that has a positive correlation with the nutrition of any individual. The kind of food and individual takes determines his or her weight. For example, an obese individual will be said to be taking a lot of fatty foods. Nutritionists will also advice on the kind of nutrition for diabetic and blood pressure. Therefore, weight is important for a nutritionist.
Information about nutrition related diseases is vital to a nutritionist. There are various defects or diseases that are caused or made worse by the kind of nutrition diet of a person. They include; diabetes, blood pressure, ulcers, allergies and obesity. A nutritionist needs to know this information so as to give appropriate advice to the patient.
The nutritionist should have sufficient knowledge about the lifestyle of an individual. Lifestyle includes things like exercise, hobbies and living conditions of a person. A nutritionist will need to know what kind of a job a person does and whether they keep fit or not. Sports people will be given a specific kind of nutrition advice to keep them fit, agile and maintain a favorable weight. A person who does not do exercise will be advised not to take fatty foods or to do some fitness exercises.
The nutritionist needs to know the age of the people he attends to because people of different age will require different nutrition advice. For example, a child needs a nutrition program that will provide him with necessary nutrients for growth and development in addition to enhancing the immunity of his body. An elderly person will require a diet that enhances his immunity and general health. Therefore, a nutritionist needs to know the age of the individual to determine the advice to give the patient.
5. List and discuss the information about a patient that you would need to provide to an "Acupuncturist" when making a referral.
An acupuncturist is an expert who specializes is procedures that help a patient’s body to enhance natural healing. The acupuncture process aims at enhancing natural body healing and promoting the functioning of the body. The procedure involves insertion of needle accompanied by heat application or stimulation using electricity at certain parts of the body.
The acupuncturist will need information such as diet of the patient. In acupuncture, the rules are that patients do not take different kinds of foods or over eating after undergoing the procedure. Therefore, the expert will require information about diet so as to provide adequate directives on how the patient should feed.
Activity of an individual is also vital in the process of acupuncture. The expert will, at the time of referral, require knowing the activity of the individual. This is because when undergoing the process of acupuncture, an individual is not supposed to over exercise or take part in activities like sex, alcohol consumption or gymnastics immediately after the procedure.
The acupuncturist will need information concerning any medical prescriptions particularly during the previous week before the procedure. Similarly, consumption of drug substances will affect the effectiveness of the whole procedures. The acupuncture will require this data so as to advice on the appropriate time to undertake the process of acupuncture.
The acupuncturist will also require information on the mental state of the individual before subjecting him to the process of acupuncture. A poor mental state or mental illness will be detrimental to the effectiveness of the procedure. It will also help the acupuncture to design follow up programs of treatment that can help make this process effective.
The acupuncture will also want to know of any medical disorders like urinary, reproductive, respiratory or digestive disorder. Since acupuncture is a procedure is aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the body’s healing and performance, the expert will need to know of any defects that a patient has so as to help deal with it or avoid making it worse through the procedure.
The acupuncturist will also need the personal information of the patient. This will include age, weight, names and so on. This is meant to keep records and for proper administration of the procedure according to age. Personal information such as disability and allergy will help the acupuncturist find an appropriate way of administering the procedure without causing any side effects.
American Psychiatric Association. Office of Economic Affairs and Practice Management. (1997). The psychiatrist's guide to practice management (illustrated ed.). New York: American Psychiatric Pub.
Brown, J. E. (2008). Nutrition now (5 ed.). London: Cengage Learning.
Goldstein, A. M., & Weiner, I. B. (2003). Handbook of Psychology, Forensic Psychology. London: John Wiley & Sons.
Kuhns, B. W. (2009). Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. London: Bradley Kuhns.
Porter, S. B., & Tidy, N. M. (2008). Tidy's Physiotherapy (14, illustrated ed.). London: Elsevier Health Sciences.
