Running head: CLINICAL EXEMPLAR

Clinical Exemplar
Anjouli Marie Gerez
University of South Florida

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Clinical Exemplar

Internships and clinical rotations are great learning experiences for student nurses. It
gives a student nurse the necessary critical thinking and clinical exposure to become a safe
novice nurse. Moreover, a student nurse uses the knowledge learned in class to relate it with the
clinical experience. With this said, a clinical exemplar demonstrates a narrative that show
initiatives of a student with positive outcomes (Tinkham, 2014).
It was my tenth day as a student nurse intern and I was assigned to a patient who was
admitted due to an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). After I
received my report from the previous nurse, I introduced myself to the patient as her student
nurse working with her primary nurse for the day. The patient was delighted and she politely
introduced herself to me as well although she was experiencing slight shortness of breath due to
her COPD. I asked her if she needed anything while I was in the room and she mentioned to me
that she did not want anything as of the moment. I, then, told her that I was going to come back
to her room to do her assessments after we finish getting report from the previous nurse for our
other five patients.
We left the room and received report from the previous nurse for the other patients. I
organized myself for the day through checking for any new physician orders, laboratory results,
vital signs, and scheduled medications after getting report from the previous nurse. I went into
her room and performed my head-to-toe assessment. I asked her how she was feeling and she
mentioned that she wished she had new lungs or a new life because she was always out of breath.
I held her hand and mentioned to her that I will do my best to take good care of her that day.
I gathered her scheduled morning medications, gave it to her, and asked her again how
she was feeling. She looked unhappy and she mentioned that she never had a satisfying sleep

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since her diagnosis of COPD. I was aware she was not our very critical patient for that day but I
empathized for her and I wanted to do more for her despite the busy workload. I thought to
myself that I should try my best to get a private room for her so she can sleep better during the
day because her roommate was always talking on the phone and had visitors during the day. If I
am not able to get her a private room, I want to at least take two minutes to sit with her when I
give her schedule medications and serve her lunch and dinner just so I can check on her and give
her the care that she deserved.
I tried to talk to the nurse in charge to get a private room for the patient but she was not
able to accommodate her because there were no rooms available. However, I tried my best to
take two minutes to sit and have a small conversation with the patient whenever I had to give her
scheduled medications. I was also able to serve her lunch and dinner and also took two minute to
a have a little conversation with her as she eats. The patient was pleased that I was taking out
time for her from my busy day and she much appreciated the company. At the end of the shift,
the patient was very thankful for taking care of her and for trying to obtain a private room. She
mentioned that she is hoping that she will be able to sleep better because she had a better day.
My experience with this patient made me realize the importance of patient care. Nurses
have many paperwork to fulfill due to the additional responsibilities and liabilities that patient
care is almost forgotten. This experience helped me realize that patient care is the priority and
that patients experience a faster recovery once their health care providers are more attentive to
their care rather than the required paperwork. Moreover, it also made me realize that the
paperwork can be done in a systematic way. As a safe novice nurse, I can balance a great patient
care and the required paperwork by planning my day but being flexible for any changes that

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happens during the day. I should also not hesitate to use the resources I have in the hospital
because it can help me provide safe patient care.

References

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Tinkham, M. R. (2014). Telling our stories: Writing exceptional exemplars. AORN Journal,
99(5), 633-636. doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2014.01.019