Weekly Clinical Experience 3

Sample Answer

Nurses should be competent in providing safe, quality, and efficient care. Practicum experiences allow nursing students to develop the desired knowledge and skills for their practice. Strategies, including mentorship, supervision, and coaching ensure nursing students acquire the right knowledge and skills for patient care. Therefore, this essay examines my clinical experience for this week.

Challenges and Successes

This week has been successful. I collaborated with other healthcare providers in assessing, planning, and implementing care plans for the patients seen at the practice site. The collaboration led to the development of a care plan that addressed the actual and potential needs of the patients. I also participated in a continuous education activity at the practice site. The education activity focused on patient safety. It raised our awareness of strategies to promote patient safety, including patient involvement in their care, respecting diversity, using evidence-based practices, and interprofessional collaboration.

I also performed comprehensive patient assessment, diagnosis, planning, and implementation of care plans. My preceptor has been resourceful. She has mentored me on the best patient assessment practices and the development of treatment plans and diagnoses. I will develop the desired practice competencies with my continued clinical experiences.

Patient Assessment

This week, I assessed an 89-year-old male patient who was diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis. The patient presented with symptoms, including neck pain, stiffness, and occasional numbness. The patient reported accompanying symptoms such as painful leg weakness, arm tingling, and weakening of the arms. The symptoms started over three weeks ago and have worsened over time. A computed tomography of the spine was ordered, which confirmed cervical spinal stenosis. The patient was prescribed analgesics for pain management (Hung et al., 2020). A schedule for neck surgery was scheduled for spinal cord decompression.

One of the differential diagnoses considered for the patient was ankylosing spondylitis. Ankylosing spondylitis develops from spine and sacroiliac joint fusion. The fusion makes the spin less flexible, leading to a hunched posture. The other differential diagnosis considered for the patient is spinal cord abscess. A spinal cord abscess develops from pus collection in the spinal cord. The collection results in spinal cord irritation and swelling. Patients experience symptoms, including fever, paralysis, loss of bowel and bladder control, and sharp back pain radiating to the legs or arms.

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) was the last differential considered for the patient. DISH is a condition that affects elderly individuals. It is characterized by ossification of the thoracic spine and enthesopathy (Chen et al., 2020; Kang et al., 2020). CT scan findings ruled out DISH as the cause of the patient’s problems.

Health Promotion Intervention

The patient was educated that analgesics only relieve the pain. However, surgery is the definitive treatment that will improve his quality of life. The patient was also educated on avoiding repeated neck motions, which could worsen the symptoms. He was also educated to avoid heavy lifting and carrying things on his head. The patient was also educated on the symptoms of a worsening condition. This includes loss of bowel and bladder control and paralysis of the lower limbs (Hung et al., 2020). The patient was advised to engage in low-impact exercises that prevent symptom exacerbation.

Learning from the Experience

I learned the value of a comprehensive patient assessment from this experience. I also learned the benefit of seeking expert input when assessing complex patient cases. I discovered the importance of educating patients on health management and maintenance. It increases their understanding and adoption of strategies that would optimize care outcomes.

Conclusion

Overall, this week has been successful. I am gaining new knowledge and skills that inform my practice. I assessed a patient diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis. Health education was offered to improve treatment outcomes.

References

• Chen, G., Fan, T., Yang, X., Sun, C., Fan, D., & Chen, Z. (2020). The prevalence and clinical characteristics of thoracic spinal stenosis A systematic review. European Spine Journal, 29(9), 2164–2172. https //doi.org/10.1007/s00586-020-06520-6
• Hung, C. W., Matsumoto, H., Ball, J. R., Plachta, S., Dutkowsky, J. P., Kim, H., Hyman, J. E., Riew, K. D., & Roye, D. P. (2020). Symptomatic cervical spinal stenosis in spastic cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 62(10), 1147–1153. https //doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.14607
• Kang, K.-C., Lee, H. S., & Lee, J.-H. (2020). Cervical Radiculopathy Focus on Characteristics and Differential Diagnosis. Asian Spine Journal, 14(6), 921–930. https //doi.org/10.31616/asj.2020.0647