Hca 250 - Coping Skills

Coping Styles

Rochelle Busier

Axia Online College

HCA/250

June 25, 2010

Case A: Gerry is a tall and lean 64-year-old male pacing the floor at the cardiologist's office. He has been experiencing severe chest tightness and shortness of breath for several days, but has not told his wife because her father recently passed away from a massive heart attack. She is still mourning the loss. Gerry's cardiologist has just told him that he needs a cardiac catheterization. Gerry squeezed this appointment into his busy schedule as a real estate broker for a commercial real estate company in Boston. He now wonders if all of the extra time at the office he put in to climb up the ladder of success was worth it.

The patients coping style is avoidance because he had to fill the appointment into his schedule. I do think it's avoidance because he does not want to tell his wife because of the lost of a loved one of heart failure. What makes it hard for Gerry also he is a very busy in his career and he is avoiding what is important which is his health. I do have to state that he was pacing the floors and acting nervous when he was in the office. Gerry needs to be more opened to taking care of his health instead of ignoring it because it can make his problems worse the better.

I think attention is the coping style in Gerry's situation that stands out he is a busy man as a real estate broker and avoids taking care of his, health communication is not helping him see the importance of his body being taken care of and not communicating with hi wife. What may cause a problem is if there is a problem he will wait to the last minute to tell his wife and it may make it even harder for her also.

According to (Sarafino, 2006) people use many different coping styles and Gerry's is avoiding the whole situation. What I think will be a big help is to communicate with the doctor to figure out what tests are going to be done and then go home to his family and explain so he may have support if needed from his wife and family.

Another important thing is that the behavioral issues he is having is he is nervous and scared of what will make of his tests so he needs to communicate and be more opened to help get through the test so it will