Nursing Assignment: Demonstrated Abilities and Skills

Nursing Assignment
“S STAR” format
Student name
8/10/2018

1. Demonstrated ability to assess, plan, implement and evaluate nursing care.
I am able to think rationally and can critically link theory to clinical practice for rationale
decision making in my clinical practice. While on the third year clinical placement in an
emergency ward I was given the handover of a 34-year-old male accident victim patient with an
abrasion injury on his right knee. I was actively involved in the discharge planning of the patient
after his wound care and dressing. I assessed the patient’s vitals including heart rate, blood
pressure, respiration rate, pulse and temperature. I observed his wound that revealed slough and
exudate. I assessed his previous medical records which revealed that patient had a history of
hypertension. He did not present with any chronic debilitating disease such as diabetes. I
informed the supervising nurse of my observations and consulted the multidisciplinary team
regarding the type of dressing required for his wound care. After documenting the observations
on the patient’s medical record, I gained patient’s consent for the new intervention plan. I
utilized aseptic technique for the wound dressing. On completing the dressing I made sure that
the patient felt comfortable and then I updated the information to the nursing supervisor and the
physician. Finally, I completed the ISOBAR handover for the next shift to ensure patient’s safety
from infection. After three days the patient was discharged home when the wound was free of
slough and exudate. This process allowed me in delivering a holistic patient oriented care plan
2. Ability to recognize and respond to clinical deterioration.
I am able to recognize and respond to clinical deterioration and I have the ability for rationale
decision making in my clinical practice in such scenarios. While on the second year clinical
placement in an emergency ward during the night shift I received a case of an infant who was
unable to breathe due to chocking resulting in airway obstruction. I was actively trying to
dislodge the blockage that resulted in chocking. I assessed that the patient was unable to breath,
his heart rate was constantly decreasing, his pupils were dilated and his parents were panicked. I

immediately held the infant in a face down position along with support from my forearm with his
head lower than his bottom position. I then used the base of my hand to give five blows on the
infant’s back in the middle between shoulder blades. However, in spite of repeatedly doing this
procedure, the blockage was not getting out, instead infant’s body started turning pale. I
immediately contacted the multidisciplinary emergency team for the rescue of the baby. The
team arrived within no time and performed CPR. The baby was laid in face up position and the
emergency team performed chest thrust by pushing the baby’s breastbone in the middle by
placing two fingertips. By giving 30 chest compressions at the rate of 100 to 120 per minute, the
child grasped for breath and was able to regain his consciousness after some time. The parents
were given training for the technique of removing any blockage in infant in future and the infant
was discharged home after checking his vitals including respiratory rate, heart rate, temperature,
and pulse.
3. Understands own professional limitations and seeks appropriate assistance when required.
I can work within my scope of practice as an undergraduate registered nurse and I understand my
own professional limitations and know that I need to seek assistance when I face a situation
beyond the scope of my practice. While on the third year clinical remote placement as a remote
area nurse, I received a case of 62-year-old male patient who presented with signs of
cardiorespiratory distress: chest pain, tachycardia, hypotensive, and sweating. I was actively
involved in the clinical assessment and care plan of the patient. I assessed the patient’s vitals
including hear rate, B.P, respiration and temperature. The patient was hypotensive and there was
diminished air entry on left side of chest. Based on my clinical judgment I assessed that the
patient had pneumothorax. I had not performed an emergency needle decompression previously
and I was not authorized to perform decompression as an undergraduate nurse. I called the
emergency service assistance team to assist me in the procedure. Within no time, the team
reached for help and performed the emergency needle decompression with a cannula after
cleaning the area with an aseptic cotton swab. I carefully observed the procedure. After
sometime the patient was stable, as his respiration rate and blood pressure became stable. After