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Question
| Paradigm cases are those times and/or patients you will never forget because something dramatic happened in your care for them that changed you. Select two (2) paradigm cases from your past clinical experiences that made a difference in how you practice nursing. Do these cases have some commonalities or similar themes? How have these cases changed your practice? Briefly describe each case (please do not use actual names of clients or hospitals in your descriptions). |
| I am not providing any paradigm cases; in this case writer can make up anything for this assignment. |
Answer
Paradigm Cases
ICU cases involve highly intricate operations that can culminate in either the recovery or death of the patient. Nurses who work in the ICU face challenges that are radically different from those affecting their counterparts in other areas of healthcare delivery. While efforts to preserve life constitute a common factor in the entire health sector, the reality of potentially disastrous consequences of severe health complications dawns on health workers in the most dramatic way within the ICU. As a nurse in the ICU, one can easily be faced with feelings of hopelessness and more sadness particularly after interacting with patients’ relatives and friends.
During my practice, there are two major cases that transformed my view of life. The first one involved an elderly patient who got admitted into the ICU following cardiac complications. His wife and son was his only surviving relatives. I interacted with the former on numerous occasions since she was constantly at the hospital. She had developed a positive attitude towards life despite the traumatic experiences she was encountering. Moreover, she was a deeply religious woman who remained hopeful even in the face of her husband’s deteriorating health situation. However, the situation took a heavy toll on the son’s psychological wellbeing. One day, her mother informed me that her son was encountering nightmares which he attributed to his father’s failing health. In addition to paying medical bills for her husband, the wife was compelled to pay additional fees to have her son’s psychological problem addressed by a counselor.
The second case was that of a young man who got hospitalized following a car crash with his friends, none of whom survived. His lungs were severely damaged and he relied on breathing aids and incubation in the ICU. He recovered against all odds, but ended up developing an extreme case of PTSD. His situation got worse and he committed suicide one year after recovery and failed efforts at therapy.
These two situations occurred at the same time. The latter draws attention to the need to promote awareness on the prevalence of PTSD, a phenomenon that has often been neglected in critical care. In most cases, patients are simply rushed into ICU without any prior efforts to subject them to psychological evaluation. In most cases, patients who have encountered traumatic events leading to their present health situations tend to be the worst hit. In addition, the methods of treatment used in the ICU such as heavy sedation and incubation and the overall experience may have lasting psychological consequences on surviving patients.
These two cases changed my view of nursing practice and life in general. Regarding the former, I always make a point of viewing patients as actual people despite their inactivity, worsening health condition, and inability to communicate. As a nurse, I would never want to dehumanize these patients any reason because it would hinders my assessment of the impact of trauma on their recovery. Similarly, I am always keen to interact with the patients’ family members because they too tend to be vulnerable to psychological problems.
