Running head: CLINICAL EXEMPLAR

Patient Advocating Clinical Exemplar

Jeannie Gresseau
University of South Florida

CLINICAL EXEMPLAR

One of the first things that we are taught in nursing school is that we have to advocate for
patients and there are times we have to advocate for patients that cannot advocate for themselves.
During my preceptorship in the ICU, Ive learned with this population it is vital that you
advocate for your patient because they are critically ill and nine times out of ten they are
intubated or unconscious. My exemplar will be about a patient I encountered during my first
week of preceptorship. A clinical exemplar allows the individual to reassess meaningful pass
situation from which critical thinking and decision making had an impact on the delivery of
patient care (Black, 1997).
My patient was a 62-year-old woman admitted into the ICU due to septic shock. Her
history consisted of breast cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. I knew there was a problem because
The patient looked flushed and uncomfortable. There was an abnormal patient presentation, she
appeared to be sweating and had slow, shallow breathing. I immediately checked her blood
glucose level and it was 199 and the patient was on EndoTool. After that I checked her
temperature axillary and orally, the average was 95.9 degrees Fahrenheit. The patient was at risk
for hypothermia, it is very critical due to her diagnosis and it can continue to affect her organs
from perfusing blood to vital organs. I notified my preceptor immediately and I started to cover
her with multiple heated sheets. After discussing with my preceptor, we decided to put a bair
hugger on her under the sheets to ensure that her body temperature will increase. I believe I made
the right decision, advocated for the patient and am glad I assessed her quickly and started to
intervene before something detrimental happened. Her temperature increased to 98.5 degrees
Fahrenheit using the bair hugger and warm sheets. Helping patients that are unconscious and
intubated is very important because they are vulnerable and cannot speak for themselves. I
enjoyed preceptorship and I look forward to being an ICU nurse.

CLINICAL EXEMPLAR

References
Black, P.J. (1997). Use of the clinical exemplar in performance appraisals. Neonatal
Network: The Journal of Neonatal Nursing, 16. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi
nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9325873

CLINICAL EXEMPLAR