Case Study on Clinical Reasoning Cycle

Running head: CASE STUDY ON CLINICAL REASONING CYCLE
Case study on clinical reasoning cycle
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CASE STUDY ON CLINICAL REASONING CYCLE
Introduction:
While provide nursing care to the patients, the nurses have to collect cues of the patient
condition, process all the care related information collected from the patient and then arrive at an
understanding of the presenting health issue of the patient so that adequate care measures can be
taken for the patients (Mudd & Sloand, 2015). Followed by which the nurses are required to
implement the planned intervention based on the verdict, evaluate the outcome of the care
activities planned and then reflect on the entire process to improve the ability to provide
individualized care services. The clinical reasoning cycle is an excellent framework that provides
the nursing professionals with a systematic protocol with interlinked steps to follow and adhere
to each of the care practice components mentioned above. As mentioned by Hunter and Arthur
(2016), the nurses that have effective clinical reasoning skills have been reported to have
enhanced positive outcomes associated with patient and hence it is necessary for the nurses to
have a clear understanding of the clinical reasoning process. In this essay, I will attempt to
explore the clinical reasoning cycle and apply this framework utilizing each of the components
of the clinical reasoning cycle taking the assistance of a case study.
Considering the patient situation:
This case study represents the care of Mrs. Connie Brownstone as the patient under
consideration. Connie is a 79 year old woman who had been admitted to the eme4regncy
department of the health care facility due to the pressing health concern of respiratory distress.
She had been brought in by her daughter due to the one day history of the patient suffering from
shortness of breath which was not diminished or reduced by medication.
Collecting care cues:

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CASE STUDY ON CLINICAL REASONING CYCLE
As discussed by Dalton, Gee and Levett-Jones (2015), collecting care cues is one of the
most important parts of the care planning procedure as it guides the care planning procedure and
helps the nurses provide patient centred individualized care to the patients. There is a varied
range information that the nurse has to collect in order to recognize the exact care needs of the
patient, such as handover reports, patient history, patient charts, investigations results, medical
assessments, and lastly undertaking new patient assessments (Hunter & Arthur, 2016). Her past
medical history as mentioned in the case study is asthma, and she had been admitted to the ICU
due to status asthmaticus and required endotracheal intubation and ventilation for two days. The
past medical data of Connie also indicated that she had allergies to pollen and dust mite as well
which can aggravate asthma attacks.
The triage nurse assessment data reveals that the vital signs of the patient includes RR 35,
SpO2 90% (room air), HR 125bpm, RR 35, Temp 39.4° Celsius, BP 168/70; which indicates
most imbalance in the homeostasis of the body in most cases (Teach et al., 2015). Next, the
physical assessment data indicates that Connie had been suffering from Dyspnoea, extreme
anxiety, and audible expiratory wheezing, which in this case indicates signs of considerable
respiratory blockage; and hence, she had been considered as category 2. During the cubicle
nursing assessment, the oxygen saturation rate and blood pressure of the patient reduced further
indicating further complications in the patient. During the physical assessment indicated evident
use of accessory muscles while breathing along with bilateral expiratory wheeze. The systematic
investigation results carried out for her includes presence of hyper-expanded lungs and signs of
abnormal ABG results as well.
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