Managing a Diabetic Patient Crisis

The assignment presents a case study of a patient with Type 1 diabetes experiencing a medical emergency characterized by seizures and incoherent speech. The student describes their observation of the situation, including initial assessments like blood pressure and pulse oximetry. A Medical Emergency Team (MET) is called, leading to the diagnosis of electrolyte imbalance due to high glucose levels and renal problems. The intervention involves intravenous sodium/potassium transfusion, successfully resolving the patient's condition. The assignment highlights the importance of nursing assessment, multidisciplinary teamwork, and prompt action in managing diabetic emergencies.

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
Nursing Assignment
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1
NURSING ASSIGNMENT
Assessment 1: Clinical Reflection Practice
Week 2
Learning Objective To discriminate
between
cardiovascular and
peripheral vascular
disease via
identification of the
clinical signs and
symptoms and deliver
safe nursing practice
Apply critical
reflection and along
with ethical and legal
principles to guide
intervention for
disease condition
Nursing practice is safe and
ethically competent manner
(Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au,
2017).
Blog
Situation For this particular week, I was assigned to learn the exact signs and
symptoms of the cardiovascular disease. To be specific, I was to about to
learn how to properly identify and accurately interpret the normal
rhythms and arrhythmias of the heart. In order to gain practical
knowledge in this ground via applying the theoretical understanding, I
was asked to study accurate recording of pulse via proper localization of
the pulse beat. Pulse beat is important because it is crucial to analyze the
cardinal symptoms of any adverse physiological outcome. The study also
gave me an insight that brachial artery is the choicest anatomical location
for detecting the pulse.
Action While called into action, I requested a trainee nurse to be my dummy

2
NURSING ASSIGNMENT
patient and tried to read and sense her pulse. The trainee nurse was in her
standing posture. When I was performing this task, suddenly a registered
nurse who was about to finish her duty intervene our proceedings. She
told us that I was analysing the wrong arm, right arm. In order to detect
the brachial artery, asked me to record the pulse from the left hand
informed me that supine position is most preferable. Heart being situated
on the left side of the body, pulse recording will be accurate from left
side. Left side will establish a closer proximity with the heart (Naka &
Ikonomidis, 2015).
Outcome I will try to abide by the conventional practices in pulse recording the
pulse in order to fetch accurate results.
Week 4
Learning Objective To learn and assess
Acute Exacerbations
of Chronic
Respiratory
Conditions
Apply critical
reflection and guiding
ethical considerations
for treating
respiratory disease
condition
Nurses practice nursing
reflectively and ethically
(Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au,
2017).
Blog
Situation Proper administration of oxygen via Venturi mask: External supply of
oxygen is a prime need to COPD patient. Venturi masks are considered
as high-flow oxygen therapy devices to supply oxygen for patient with
breathing problem. It is a crucial therapy prescribed for the patient who

3
NURSING ASSIGNMENT
suffers from low oxygen saturation (Maggiore et al., 2014).
Action In my clinical encounter, I administered Venturi mask on the patient with
COPD to relieve his respiratory distress. I switched on the oxygen supply
at a concentration of 50% and 10L/min flow rate. The registered nurse,
asked me to regulate the oxygen concentration at 24% and said 50%
oxygen concentration is extremely high and may cause respiratory
depression (García et al., 2017).
Outcome I gained proper clinical understanding about the conventional procedures,
which are used to provide quality care to the patients with COPD. I also
planned to ensure proper delivery of the oxygen at permissible
concentration for ensuring safety of the patient.
Week 10
Learning Objective To learn assessment
and management of
persons receiving
Blood Products,
Electrolytes and
Fluids
Apply the evidence-
based and
conventional
approaches for
persons receiving
blood products,
electrolytes and fluids
Nurses practise in a safe and
competent manner
(Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au,
2017).
Blog
Situation Arranging for intravenous sodium solution in order to help the registered
nurse, who was attending patient with electrolyte imbalance: I reviewed

4
NURSING ASSIGNMENT
the prescription order issued by the medical officer and spotted that the
dilution rate is not mentioned however, the rate of infusion was stated
(Barras et al., 2014).
Action I immediately approached the registered nurse and requested her to guide
me. She quickly reviewed the prescription and forwarded the prescription
to the authorized medical personnel for further revise. After rectification
of the prescription from the medical officer, sodium was administered via
an infusion pump so that infusion rate and volume may be controlled
effectively without any further error (DeCarolis et al., 2016).
Outcome I realize that it is always essential to communicate with the nurse or other
health professionals in the workplace. It helps to solve any critical
problem promptly. I also learnt that both the infusion rate and dilution
volume are crucial for the intravenous infusion of the electrolytes.
Week 11
Learning Objective To understand the
nursing assessment of
patient admitted at
CPU
Apply evidence
based practices to
care for patient at
CPU unit of the
hospital
Nurses practise in a safe and
competent manner
(Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au,
2017).
Blog
Situation I was assisting a registered nurse in the CPU of the state hospital. We
were attending a male patient, suffering from Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

5
NURSING ASSIGNMENT
with high level of blood glucose (hypergylecemia). Doctor has
recommended for the subcutaneous infection of insulin along with
Metformin. When I was about finish my bedtime round in the unit, I
suddenly noticed that the patient who was suffering from diabetes
mellitus is showing frequent seizures. When I recorded his blood
pressure I saw that b pos fluctuating and he is expressing unrelated
statements, which are not making any sense. I was in no clue about what
is happening, I saw his prescription chart and saw that his insulin
injection for night has already been administered.
Action I immediately noted down the blood pressure, and fixed the pulse
oximetry in order to get a constant feed to the heart rate, respiratory rate
and oxygen saturation. Taking into account his severely distorted vital
signs, I placed a Medical Emergency Team (MET) call in order to
prevent further deterioration of the patient’s condition. The Registered
nurse of the MET team analysed the patient and suspected that the
patient might be suffering from renal problem due to high glucose in
blood and this renal problem has lead to the generation of electrolyte
imbalance which is the driving cause behind his repeated seizures and
unrelated speech. The registered nurse call in the doctor, he performed a
blood test to detect the sodium/potassium level and found it extremely
low. The doctor then advised for an intravenous transfusion of
Sodium/Potassium. Upon administration of intravenous
sodium/potassium, the patient gradually became normal (Palmer, &
Clegg, 2015).
Outcome The observation of the medical proceedings that are undertaken to the
patient who was suffering from Type 1 diabetes mellitus gave me a

6
NURSING ASSIGNMENT
detailed insight on how things are carried out in CPU unit and the
importance of carrying out nursing assessments especially concerning
patients with high blood glucose level. In my future professional
practice, I will abide by safe and competent procedures. I also gained
knowledge and revealed that how interactions with the multidisciplinary
team can help to fight back against different complex clinical situation in
the CPU unit of the hospital.