Reference no: EM133281152

Sally is the senior nurse on the general medical-surgical ward to which Jane has been allocated for her second new graduate rotation. After dinner one evening, Mr Falter in bed 1 appears unwell and is complaining of epigastric pain but says it is just his heartburn playing up again. Jane reports this to Sally, who moves quickly into assessment action and appears to be taking the situation very seriously. And indeed, within a matter of minutes, Mr Falter has suffered a cardiac arrest. When Jane and Sally have time to debrief later during the shift, they discuss the differences in what they saw, what it may have signalled and what action they would have planned.

1. Give the example of incidents you experienced in clinical placement. How would you see this situation differently now? How would you have acted differently? What have you learned from reflecting on that incident?

Harriet Preacher is a 35-year-old woman from Roseville in Sydney. She was admitted to your hospital last night and is currently in the intensive care unit. She was admitted via ambulance after an episode of lack of consciousness, followed by being roused and complaints of severe neck and head pain. On the scan, she was diagnosed as having had a small bleed from an aneurysm, which was clipped in the theatre prior to admission to the ward. Mrs Preacher has a picture of two children beside her bed and they appear to be a boy and girl in their early teens. She is currently being visited by her husband Sean, who tells you that she is very upset at missing the children's school drama production this evening and that she has asked Sean to bring her in some food to replace the hospital food, which she says is flavourless.

1. Which pieces of the above information are examples of 'knowing the patient' using Liaschenko and Fisher's topology (5th Edn. pg 23): case knowledge, patient knowledge and person knowledge?

2. In what ways do these different ways of 'knowing the patient' help you to determine the basis for your care?