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CLINICAL EXEMPLAR
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Patient Care Clinical Exemplar
CLINICAL EXEMPLAR
high, and the patient was extremely unstable. As the days and weeks passed, the patient
became more stable, with first pain being expressed with posturing and grimace, then
eyes opening and making contact with us.
Over the weeks I was able to continue my relationship with the family. Maybe it
was because I wore a different outfit than the other nurses, but it seems like they
responded well to me as a familiar face taking care of their loved one. Even on days when
I was not caring for her, the aunt would want to say hello and tell me how her niece was
progressing. I never dug for information, but she would want to share it with me.
Several weeks later the patient was released to the post-trauma floor, but became
unstable again and was readmitted to the TICU. We continued our care for the patient
until I was away from the hospital for over a week. It was upon returning to my next shift
with my preceptor that I learned she had passed away. I never explored too deeply about
what happened.
I learned during my dealing with this patient and her family the importance of the
relationships that we as nurses build with our patients and their families. We are the
experts who are able to help them understand why different procedures are happening.
We are able to teach them the signs we are looking for to evaluate progress, and we are
able to educate them about what they are going to need to progress care once they leave
our facilities. I was able to have these discussions with the family and help them cope
with the difficult situation they were facing.
During care, I was concerned about making sure I was helping the patient and
helping the family. After I learned of her death, I was saddened, because I knew this
patient was an unfortunate case, but I was hoping that she would make it out of the
CLINICAL EXEMPLAR
hospital. I had hoped this mother could take her daughter home, and it made me sad that
she did not get to. However, I know that during the time I was working with the patient, I
was able to help this family. I learned to remember the importance of the work that we
do.
This patient was just one example of how important nurses are. We have
enormous impacts on the lives of patients. Physicians stop by once throughout the day,
but it is the nurses who are able to talk to the families, educate them, and comfort them. It
is important to remember that, regardless of learning the tasks required, the detailed
documentation, and the seemingly basic work that nurses do, we are making an impact in
the lives of others. I will carry the lessons that I learned from working with this patient
throughout my career.
CLINICAL EXEMPLAR
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References
Owens, A. L., & Cleaves, J. (2012). Then and now: Updating clinical nurse advancement
programs. Nursing, 42(10), 15-17. doi:10.1097/01.NURSE.0000419437.60674.45