Throughout my clinical experiences over the past two years I have been able to meet many different people and listen to their stories and really gain an understanding of who they were. I have come to realize that patients are more than just their diagnosis. They have experienced and felt so many different events and emotions that I may not have in my own life. Each individuals’ experiences make them unique and I understand now that my level of care must be tailored to the client and their experiences in order to provide adequate patient care.

The most influential patient and family experience I have had took place right before the COVID-19 pandemic started. I was working on a unit that helped very sick individuals that required a lot of hands on care. The unit also had specific rooms that were used for clients who are on comfort measures, which means they are receiving care in order for them to stay comfortable when they are getting closer to the end of their life. A specific patient and family really left an impression on me one day. The patient was only a few years older than me and was on comfort measures due to his diagnosis of alcoholic liver failure. At first I was not assigned to work with this patient however, my clinical instructor answered the call bell for the patient’s room and spoke with other members of the healthcare team and determined that the patient had passed away. My clinical instructor asked the patients nurse if my clinical group and I could assist with postmortem care for the patient, and the nurse agreed. As the parents left the room after saying their final goodbyes, the mother came up to me and asked me to not let their child be alone for too long. Just hearing the sadness in the mother’s voice broke my heart. The parents knew their child had been sick for some time now but that still doesn’t take away the terrible feeling of losing a child. My clinical group and I went into the patient’s room and my clinical instructor taught us how to properly address the patient while performing the necessary tasks required with postmortem care. Initially I was shocked at how sick the patient looked and made me feel bad for the parents because this is not how they wanted their child’s life to end up, but they stuck by their child’s side through it all. I felt a sense of purpose when I was performing postmortem care because I felt as though I was doing what I could to honor and respect the patient during this vulnerable stage. I did not know the patient personally, but I was glad to have participated in the opportunity to care for the patient in an honorable way.

I believe that my clinical instructor did an excellent job at delegating various tasks for my group members and I to complete for the patient. Postmortem care is something that none of us have ever done before and was a bit daunting for some however my clinical instructor made us all feel very comfortable and expressed how important this type of care is. She communicated exactly how we should address the client while performing our tasks and after utilized out post conference as a time to reflect on the care we completed today and communicate to her how it made us feel as a way to not build it up inside if it affected some of us in that way. I truly believe that my clinical group and I were very invested in wanting to provide quality care for the patient and ensure that we remained respectful and followed through on what the parents asked of us to honor their child. 

Clinical Exemplar Excerpt:

I wrote this clinical exemplar to share one of the most influential moments during my clinical experience in nursing school. I will always remember how I felt this day and it truly helped my solidify becoming a nurse. I hope that I am able to honor my future patients during this stage in their life as I was able to do so for this patient and family.