BSN 436 Assignment 3 Prioritisation of Care

Developing Nursing Practices

Reflection

The digital simulation assignment called the Priority of Care was grounded in enhancing clinical decision-making and clinical reasoning. I was able to allocate, or rather simulate, prioritisation assessment and planning of management of a number of patients with different severities of their illnesses. The reflection will comment on the issues of criticality, applying the SBAR model, and learning outcomes; recognising the importance of rationale and perception in prioritising clients. In the simulation, I encountered some patients with different conditions to be addressed, which can include pain management, fever, respiratory distress, hypertension, and tachycardia. These issues were characteristic of all the patients, and they needed time and completeness to solve each of them and ensure that each of the patients would receive proper and sufficient care. The initial aim of it is to identify which patient requires action as soon as possible and to align actions (Harwayne-Gidansky et al., 2021). This involved critical evaluation of the physiological parameters, awareness of the possible negative effects and thorough consideration of the care provision.

Application to Practice

The lesson that one of the greatest things that I learned during the simulation was that the priorities should be to ensure that the needs of the patients are prioritized by the level of severity. Practically, I will be able to use this experience to carry out various assessments to determine immediate attention to care on the part of the patient. To illustrate, when I realise that a patient who experiences severe pain or difficulty breathing requires immediate treatment, it will assist me in distributing the various resources efficiently and provide patients with timely optimal treatment (Dúason et al., 2021).

The other practice is respiratory distress, which was represented by inadequate oxygen levels and large respiration rates. Some of the patients needed to be given supplemental oxygen so that they could be well saturated with oxygen. The right respiratory support and close observation were those given to these patients according to the SBAR approach because they could not worsen in case of their further deterioration (Dúason et al., 2021). Hypertension and tachycardia were the most widespread clinical symptoms experienced by most of the patients of this breed, and they necessitated appropriate cardiovascular examination.

Another key experience from the simulation was the importance of the continuous monitoring of patients and reassessment of different patients. In practice, I would be able to apply the frequent check-in of my patients, particularly of those with various changing conditions, so that their care plans continue to be pertinent and active to the patient situation. Such a proactive attitude will assist me and enable me to detect any alterations in patient conditions at the earliest; also, this proactive approach will enable me to make timely interventions and reduce the chances of complications in the patients.

In this simulation, I ensured that I looked at every patient and determined which patient should be taken care of first before I attended to the other patients. I analysed the nature of the conditions that the patients presented, the consequences that entail the delays and the treatment that is needed. Also, I ticked the perception for each patient based on the given perception lists to make sure the care coincides with the patient’s overall requirements and clinical agenda (Klenke-Borgmann et al, 2023). The risk of complications such as stroke or heart failure required action. With the help of SBAR, I managed to recognise patients with cardiovascular problems and treat them based on the prescription of antihypertensive drugs and regular monitoring.

Conclusion

The training with the “Prioritisation of Care” simulation was both comprehensive and as close to the real-life experience as possible, allowing me to develop and develop my clinical judgment skills. The SBAR framework that I was able to apply in this case enables one to assess and make decisions that effectively involve what care should be offered to a number of patients. It has also assisted me to develop my problem-solving skills in clinical practice, enhance my communication skills in the context of a healthcare team and learn to make decisions when under pressure. These skills are essential in real practice environments to enhance the safety of clients and good health outcomes.

References

Dúason, S., Gunnarsson, B., & Svavarsdóttir, M. H. (2021). Patient handover between ambulance crew and healthcare professionals in Icelandic emergency departments: a qualitative study. Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine, 29(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-021-00829-x

Harwayne-Gidansky, I., Zurca, A., Maa, T., Bhalala, U. S., Malaiyandi, D., Nawathe, P., Sarwal, A., Waseem, M., Kenes, M., Vennero, M., & Emlet, L. (2021). Defining priority areas for critical care simulation: a modified Delphi consensus project. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.15844

Klenke-Borgmann, L., Setter, R., Stubenrauch, C., & Black, C. (2023). Effect of virtual simulation on nurse residents’ prioritization and delegation skills. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 40(1), 49–54. https://doi.org/10.1097/nnd.0000000000000985