Running head: Clinical exemplar

Clinical Exemplar
Ashley Kavumkal
University of South Florida

Clinical exemplar

Clinical Exemplar
Clinical exemplars enable nurses to demonstrate the critical thinking and decision making
that define the delivery of excellent patient care. Exemplars are an important tool for making the
invisible work of nursing visible to nursing colleagues, other health care professionals, and the
health care consumer. In today's climate of health care reform, nurses must showcase their skills
and talents if they are not to be replaced with less well trained, unlicensed health care personnel
(Black, 1997). During my preceptorship, I had a few experiences which taught me how proper
communication with patient is important for patient safety and satisfaction.
This is a 44-year-old paraplegic male patient who was admitted to the wound care unit
with sepsis of a pressure ulcer in his right hip. The patient was admitted a month ago and was
going through treatment with antibiotics. The patient is usually very pleasant and is compliant
with his medications and plan of care. Since he has been in the unit for almost a month everyone
knew him. He is usually pleasant and very talkative. However, during my shift when I went in
for the assessment, I noticed how he was not so pleasant and was not talking like he used to.
Later when me and my preceptor went in to give medications he refused some of his medications
that he usually takes which seemed very unusual. He even said he feels anxious and is unable to
sleep and requested a Xanax for anxiety. His vitals were all within normal limits and I knew from
his documents that he has anxiety issues. I felt like what was bothering him was something
emotional. So, I decided to ask him when we went back to give him the Xanax.
So, after administering Xanax I decided to take a moment to ask him if something was
bothering him. He said, the doctor during the day shift came up and talked to him regarding a

Clinical exemplar

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for a better and faster wound healing. He said the doctor wasnt very
clear in explaining the therapy and in fact it is making him anxious now to think about being
closed in a chamber for an hour or more with a huge amount of oxygen being given to him.
Thankfully I had an opportunity during my first semester to see how the hyperbaric
oxygen therapy works. So I told him how it is not as scary as he thinks it is. I told him how I
have even seen patients reading books or playing games while inside the glass chamber. There is
always someone to monitor the patient in the room and if the patient feels uncomfortable, he/she
can always ask the person to stop the therapy as required. I went back to the nurses station and
printed out more information about the treatment including a picture of the chamber so that he
would have a better idea.
He seemed very relaxed to hear the information I told him and was happy to see the
picture and read more about the therapy. He thanked me for taking that extra time to ask him
about his concerns and talk to him regarding the therapy. He slept well that night and went for
the therapy the next morning with less anxiety.
I realized that taking the time to explain to the patient about the therapy was worth it. My
nurse was happy that we students get such opportunities during our clinical experiences. She was
also happy to learn more about the hyperbaric oxygen therapy from me. In this case, I was able
to understand the need of the patient, address his concern and was able to provide the desired
answer by patiently communicating with him which eventually led to patient safety and
satisfaction.

Clinical exemplar

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References

Black, P. J., (1997). Use of clinical exemplar in performance appraisals. Neonatal Network,
16(5), 73-78.