In adherence with the NMC (2008) consent has been obtained from all individuals involved and information will be under strict confidentiality. A qualified mentor supervised all patient procedures and the individuals concerned were made aware I was a nursing student, as per the ‘Guidance for Students’ of NMC code.
This essay is to demonstrate my understanding of a fundamental nursing skill of which I have gained experience of during clinical placement on an acute paediatric ward. Of the many skills required of a child nurse the monitoring and recording of a child’s temperature is a skill where accurate record keeping is evidentially important. The British Journal of Nursing has advised us of the clinical and legal significance of record keeping and the linked improvements in patient care. The following piece is the documented processes of caring for a child with a fever in hospital up until their discharge home.
Assessment
Within a 12 hour period I have monitored a child under 5 years old, admitted to hospital with a fever following a febrile convulsion at home. The child and parents were taken to a cubicle where supervised by my mentor, I proceeded to gain a set of baseline observations by recording the child’s vital signs. Baseline observations are defined as being the ‘Information or data gathered at the beginning of a period from which variations that subsequently develop are compared’ (Medicine Net).
Vital Signs are defined as the temperature, pulse of heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure and capillary refill time of a person. These signs enable the assessment of the level of functioning of a person (Surgery of Encyclopaedia). The recording of vital signs must be accurate and clear, it is a fundamental aspec...
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... their home environment. There was no longer a need for the child to be in hospital and it was agreed the care could be managed at home.
Works Cited
Surgery of Encyclopedia
Vital Signs for Nurses Introduction to Clinical Observations 2011
Fundamental and Advanced Nursing Skills 3rd edition
Medical textbooks revealed, Consultation, Medical history and Record Taking
British Medical Journal 2008 337;a1302
Practices in Childrens Nursing 2007, Temperature control
National Institute of Neurological Disorders
DHB 2008
National Institute of Clinical Excellence
Lab Tests Online UK
Children and their Families, The Continuum of Care
National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA)
Nursing Times (NPSA 2009)
Numeracy for Nursing
Nursing and Midwifery Council
Medical Net 2007
Foundation Clinical Skills, Doherty and Mcalllum
In reference to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)’s the Code of Conduct (2008), a pseudonym will be used to preserve the patient’s identity and confidentiality. The patient will therefore be referred to as ‘William’.
This is achieved through the close relationship of the family members the pediatric patient. Safety is increased because the family members are treated as part of the health care team and not simply visitors (Moore, Coker, DuBuisson, Swett, & Edwards, 2003). Furthermore, the patients are able to communicate with personnel about what they see happening to their child as well as making decisions regarding what treatments they want their infant to receive (Moore et al., 2003). The input from the patient 's family is very important in ensuring patient safety because the family members know the patient much better than medical staff (IWK Health Centre, 2016). This allows family members to more acutely notice changes in the pediatric patients status which allows them to quickly notify health care professionals. This could prove very beneficial when providing care for a pediatric patient in intensive
As a pediatric hospitalist, there are a wide range of duties that must be completed for the safety and well-being of one’s patients. A duty amongst all physicians is caring for a patient’s illnesses. As a pediatrician, one must be involved in the physical, mental, and emotional upbringing of adolescents throughout every stage of development in good health as well as in illness. A pediatrician takes care of a child from a few weeks after birth to the age of twenty-one when the patient transfers to a new physician. The duties designated to all pediatricians is to reduce infant and child mortality rates, control diseases, make sure patients lead well-maintained lifestyles, and make easier the lives of children and adolescents with chronic conditions. Becoming a pediatrician would improve the lives of many children.
... basic information of the patient. Professional and precise language should be used when documenting. For the care plan, I have learned to correctly write a nursing diagnosis and writing interventions that are within nurses’ capability and suits the patient’s personal status. From now on, I will remember to distinguish medical diagnosis from nursing diagnosis. For each diagnosis, I will write about the patient’s (potential) response to the health problem and state why this might be the concern.
NMC, 2008. The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. [online] Available at: [Accessed 13 November 2013].
This paper will discuss a case study of Liam, a three-month-old boy who is transferred from the General Practitioner (GP) to paediatric ward with bronchiolitis. Initially, Liam’s chief health issues will be identified, following by nursing assessment and diagnoses of the child’s need. Focus will be made on the management of two major health problems: respiratory distress and dehydration, and summary and evaluation of the interventions with evidence of learning. Lastly, a conclusion of author’s self-evaluation will be present.
1. Legal, ethical and professional principle frameworks underpin all fields of nursing, and it is a requirement for all Registered Nurses to be competent and knowledgeable, act with integrity and maintain professional standards set out by Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2015). Working with multidisciplinary teams within our profession, it is important to acknowledge and recognise the way in which all the professionals are guided by law and their independent regulatory bodies. The needs of the individual patient is to be considered by doctors and nurses alike, who share professional values and are set out in the respective codes of practice, The Code (NMC, 2015) and GMC (2013).
Which is very important for nurses or any medical professional to do in the healthcare profession. Nurses are receiving these patients in their most vulnerable state, nurses are exposed and trusted with the patients’ information to further assist them on providing optimum treatment. Keeping patient’s information private goes back to not just doing what’s morally right but also it also builds that nurse – patient relationship as well. We also have provision three that specifically taps on this issue as well, as it states: “The nurse seeks to protect the health, safety, and rights of patient.” (Nurses Code of Ethics,
NMC, 2010. The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. [online] Available at: [Accessed 13 November 2013]
(9) United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Visiting. (UKCC) (1992). Primary Health Care, Code of professional conduct for the nurse, midwife and health visitor. London: UKCC.8 (2)
Peto, R. (2008). Why did you do it like that? Examining clinical decisions. Paediatric Nursing,
Vital signs are very important measurements that should be done with little to no errors. As humans, we often make silly mistakes here and there, but as a medical assistant we must pay close attention to every detail. When we first meet a patient, start with small talk to see how the person is feeling. If we can tell that the patient is angry, or seems to be in a bad mood we could expect to see an elevated pulse, respiration, and blood pressure. If we can calm the patient down, their new vitals would be more accurate. Errors happen all the time with anything in life. Contributing factors in inaccurate vital sign readings include:
Dougherty, L. & Lister, s. (2006) ‘The Royal Marsden Hospital manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures: Communication 6th Edition Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
D. standing near her room, breathing sharply. While asked what has just happened, she answered, ‘I feel dizzy and can faint!’ Mrs. D. then explained that she rose up from her chair in the television room and felt lightheaded. I decided to bring her to the room hoping she would feel less dizziness if she could sit. After consultation with my mentor and third year unit nursing student, I decided to perform measurement of her vital signs. Since only electronic sphygmomanometer was available for me that time, I had to use it for my procedure. Gladly, I discovered that I have already used such equipment in my previous nursing practice. Using the standard sized calf, I found that her blood pressure was 135/85, respirations were 16, and her pulse was 96 beats per minute (bpm). However, I decided to recheck the pulse manually, founding that it was irregular (78 bpm). The patient stated that she felt better after rest. Immediately after the incident I made a decision to explore carefully the medical chart of Mrs. D., along with her nursing care plan. That helped me to discover multiple medical diagnoses influencing her
This reflection of vital signs will go into discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of each vital sign and the importance of each of them. Vital signs should be assessed many different times such as on admission to a health care facility, before and after something substantial has happened to the patient such as surgery and so forth (ref inter). I learned to assess blood pressure (BP), pulse (P), temperature (T) and respiration (R) and I will reflect and discuss which aspects were more difficult and ways to improve on them. While pulse, respiration and temperature were fairly easy to become skilled at, it was blood pressure which was a bit more difficult to understand.