The process of recovering from a stroke usually includes treatment, spontaneous recovery, rehabilitation, and the return to community living. Because stroke survivors often have complex rehabilitation needs, progress and recovery are different for each person. Stroke treatment begins in a hospital with “acute care.” Spontaneous recovery sometimes happens naturally. Some abilities that have been lost during the acute phase sometimes come back. Those functional abilities lost after acute hospitalization are sometimes lost forever. This course intends to look at the specific needs of these patients with functional disabilities and how to care for them.
Learning Objectives Taking Care of a Stroke Patient
- Identify the phases of recovery of a patient who had a stroke.
- Recognize that the acute care of a patient who suffered a stroke is meant to stabilize his/her medical condition.
- Recognize that the rehabilitation of the stroke patient is meant to make up for the functional deficits with the eventual goal of being independent with their activities of daily living.
- Recognize that the stroke patient may have continuing deficits after rehabilitation and may continue to be dependent on others for some part of their care.
- Recognize that functional deficits may become permanent and have a psychological effect on the patient.