Using philosophy, knowledge and theory to assess a patient with lymphoedema

The way that the world around us is interpreted, the selective use of knowledge to inform patients and different theories to support nursing practice are concepts outlined in this article that have great importance in the holistic nature of the assessment of all patients. The development of lymphoedema is a unique experience for any patient and one that is interpreted by the patient according to previous experiences and knowledge. Patients bring to the assessment their own thoughts, beliefs and understanding of the world around them, together with knowledge acquired from many sources. In order to plan the most appropriate management for a patient's lymphoedema, the nurse is challenged to recognize his/her own thoughts and beliefs and the role they play in understanding the meaning that lymphodema has for each patient. Relevant knowledge, together with a theoretical background to practice can then be incorporated into a holistic framework for assessment of the patient with lymphodema.