1. Appelhof, Steven
Professor Wilson
Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital
Inpatient Rehabilitation
Clinical Journal #5
During my fifth set of three rotations at Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital with my
preceptor Melissa, I continued to perform routine assessments, oral medication
administration, subcutaneous medication administration as well as intramuscular
medication administration and was blessed with the opportunity to see patients with a
suprapubic catheter. I had never seen anything like it before so I was interested to take a
look and see what it was all about. During the shift, one of our patients who was an
elderly woman had a resting blood pressure of 73/33 and showing signs of sepsis. This
patient ended up needing to be sent to an ER to be treated because her blood culture came
back positive as well as her stools for c-difficile infection. The patient was incredibly
lethargic and having trouble breathing with a persistent cough. After the patient was
transported out we returned to our normal schedule and returned to the floor. Some
patients requested more pain medication for pain control from having therapy.
Humanbecoming theory was utilized during my plan of care when the patient who
needed to be medically transported out began to decline I took her thoughts, worries and
cares into consideration while she was trying to stay awake so that I could contact her
family personally to let them know what was happening. I felt incredibly called to help
this client because I would want all the help I could get if it were a colleague who had
been critically ill or even myself. To further improve my skills and strategies I would

2. make it a smart goal by improving my comprehension and recollection of the signs and
symptoms of sepsis. I would be able to perform this by refreshing my knowledge of the
disease process and watching the online videos of what to look out for. The nurse has
become a well-trusted and respected workforce in the medicinal setting. We must build
relationships within our care setting to have good rapport to support the patient through
multidisciplinary care. If there is no good work ethic between teams then the patient
cannot receive care to the best of the staff’s ability. Different departments must work as a
team to achieve a common goal for the client. Reflective topic number 5 utilized in this
response.