Mrs. Smith was a 73-year-old widow who lived alone with no significant social support. She had been suffering from emphysema for several years and had had frequent hospitalizations for respiratory problems. On the last hospital admission, her pneumonia quickly progressed to organ failure. Death appeared to be imminent, and she went in and out of consciousness, alone in her hospital room. The medical-surgical nursing staff and the nurse manager focused on making Mrs. Smith’s end-of-life period as comfortable as possible. Upon consultation with the vice president for nursing, the nurse manager and the unit staff nurses decided against moving Mrs. Smith to the palliative care unit, although considered more economical, because of the need to protect and nurture her because she was already experiencing signs and symptoms of the dying process. Nurses were prompted by an article they read on human caring as the “language of nursing practice” (Turkel, Ray, & Kornblatt, 2012) in their weekly caring practice meetings.

The nurse manager reorganized patient assignments. She felt that the newly assigned clinical nurse leader who was working between both the medical and surgical units could provide direct nurse caring and coordination at the point of care (Sherman, 2012). Over the next few hours, the clinical nurse leader and a staff member who had volunteered her assistance provided personal care for Mrs. Smith. The clinical nurse leader asked the nurse manager whether there was a possibility that Mrs. Smith had any close friends who could “be there” for her in her final moments. One friend was discovered and came to say goodbye to Mrs. Smith. With help from her team, the clinical nurse leader turned, bathed, and suctioned Mrs. Smith. She spoke quietly, prayed, and sang hymns softly in Mrs. Smith’s room, creating a peaceful environment that expressed compassion and a deep sense of caring for her. The nurse manager and nursing unit staff were calmed and their “hearts awakened” by the personal caring that the clinical nurse leader and the volunteer nurse provided. Mrs. Smith died with caring persons at her bedside, and all members of the unit staff felt comforted that she had not died alone.

Davidson, Ray, and Turkel (2011) note that caring is complex, and caring science includes the art of practice, “an aesthetic which illuminates the beauty of the dynamic nurse-patient relationship, that makes possible authentic spiritual-ethical choices for transformation—healing, health, well-being, and a peaceful death” (p. xxiv). As the clinical nurse leader and the nursing staff in this situation engaged in caring practice that focused on the well-being of the patient, they simultaneously created a caring-healing environment that contributed to the well-being of the whole—the emotional atmosphere of the unit, the ability of the clinical nurse leader and staff nurses to practice caringly and competently, and the quality of care the staff were able to provide to other patients. The bureaucratic nature of the hospital included leadership and management systems that conferred power, authority, and control to the nurse manager, the clinical nurse leader, and the nursing staff in partnership with the vice president for nursing. The actions of the nursing administration, clinical nurse leader, and staff reflected values and beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors about the nursing care they would provide, how they would use technology, and how they would deal with human relationships. The ethical and spiritual choice making of the whole staff and the way they communicated their values both reflected and created a caring community in the workplace culture of the hospital unit.

Critical thinking activities

Based on this case study, consider the following questions.

1. What caring behaviors prompted the nurse manager to assign the clinical nurse leader to engage in direct caring for Mrs. Smith? Describe the clinical nurse leader role established by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in 2004.
2. What issues (ethical, spiritual, legal, social-cultural, economic, and physical) from the structure of the theory of bureaucratic caring influenced this situation? Discuss end-of-life issues in relation to the theory.
3. How did the nurse manager balance these issues? What considerations went into her decision making? Discuss the role and the value of the clinical nurse leader on nursing units. What is the difference between the nurse manager and the clinical nurse leader in terms of caring practice in complex hospital care settings? How does a clinical nurse leader fit into the theory of bureaucratic caring for implementation of a caring practice?
4. What interrelationships are evident between persons in this environment—that is, how were the vice president for nursing, nurse manager, clinical nurse leader, staff, and patient connected in this situation? Compare and contrast the traditional nursing process with Turkel, Ray, and Kornblatt’s (2012) language of caring practice within the theory of bureaucratic caring 

Case Study – Pakistani Woman With Delusional Thought Processes. 

You will be asked to make three decisions concerning the medication to prescribe to this patient. Be sure to consider factors that might impact the patient’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes.

At each decision point, you should evaluate all options before selecting your decision and moving throughout the exercise. Before you make your decision, make sure that you have researched each option and that you evaluate the decision that you will select. Be sure to research each option using the primary literature.

I want you to answer the questions given to you (decision points one, two, and three) before you click on the option. The answers will be based on your decisions made and patient outcomes during the decision tree. I am looking for an essay that is long enough to cover the topic BUT short enough to keep my interest.  The course page suggests writing 1 page per decision – my opinion is that it will be very difficult to justify your treatment decisions and provide scientific evidence in 1 page (especially for decision #1). I do not need you to tell me about the patient or the treatment options available to you – I am very familiar with the cases.  Your introductory page should be an overview of the disease state you are treating along with a purpose statement for the assignment.  Remember this is a Pharmacology class that incorporates Pharmacotherapy and not a class on diagnosing disease. I want you to tell me why you selected an option (why is it the best option- using clinically relevant and patient specific data) AND why you did not choose the other options (with clinically relevant and patient specific data).

Introduction to the case (1 page)

• Briefly explain and summarize the disease state you are treating this Assignment. Be sure to include the specific patient factors that may impact your decision making when prescribing medication for this patient.

Decision #1

• Which decision did you select?
• Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature. Again, provide STRONG scientific evidence.  Clinical studies or treatment guidelines are a good place to start!
• Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
• What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).
• Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

Decision #2 (1 page)

• Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature. Again, provide STRONG scientific evidence.  Clinical studies or treatment guidelines are a good place to start!
• Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
• What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).
• Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

Decision #3 (1 page)

• Why did you select this decision? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.
• Why did you not select the other two options provided in the exercise? Be specific and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature. Again, provide STRONG scientific evidence.  Clinical studies or treatment guidelines are a good place to start!
• What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources (including the primary literature).
• Explain how ethical considerations may impact your treatment plan and communication with patients. Be specific and provide examples.

Conclusion (1 page)

• Summarize your recommendations on the treatment options you selected for this patient. Be sure to justify your recommendations and support your response with clinically relevant and patient-specific resources, including the primary literature.

After writing up your rationale at each decision point, I would ask yourself the following questions:

• Have I provided clinical data from a meta-analysis, case report or clinical trial to support the drug I picked being safe, efficacious and the best choice for this patient?
• Have I provided clinical data, etc. to support a clear rationale as to why the other treatment options are NOT optimal?
• Is the focus of my discussion on mechanism of action and receptors/neurotransmitters that the drug acts on? If the answer is YES, you should consider doing additional research to address the above two questions

Also include how ethical considerations might impact your treatment plan and communication with clients.

The rubric, as I interpret it, suggests 5 references cited with every assignment for full credit on this portion (20 points).  References used for your introductory paragraph, ethical considerations or conclusion do not count towards the 5 references required.  As a general rule of thumb, I would encourage you to reference AT LEAST two sources (not including the textbook) for each decision point – this will result in 6 references total for your clinical decision making.