Julia
Gutekunst
May 2022
Julia
Gutekunst
California State University, Fullerton
Fullerton
,
CA
United States

 

 

 

Julia caught a critical error that could have resulted in a patient safety issue.
Julia is a compassionate and caring future nurse that always goes above and beyond to promote patient safety through her ability to advocate for her patients. Although there are many instances in which Julia has inspired me with her ability to advocate for her patients, there is one scenario that stands out as Julia caught a critical error that could have resulted in a patient safety issue. During clinical, one of Julia's patients was being prepared for discharge. After a thorough assessment, Julia discovered that the patient was going to be driving themself home, despite receiving a recent dose of morphine. Julia immediately reported this finding to her nurse however, her nurse decided that the patient would still be discharged. Rather than accepting this answer, Julia followed her intuition and brought up her concern to the charge nurse. This then resulted in a floor-wide discussion in which multiple nurses on the floor all worked together to find a policy regarding this issue. Because of her finding, the patient's discharge was delayed until it was determined that their safety was addressed and the issue of finding a clear policy was discussed. Overall, Julia's assessment, knowledge, and advocation allowed her to catch a subtle, yet potentially dangerous situation, thus providing exceptional care for her patient.