Paul received report on his patient with the RN he was assigned to that day. Once report was completed, he went into the patient's room to introduce himself and get a set of vital signs on his patient. While getting a set of vitals on this patient he was unable to get a temperature for the patient. He immediately went to his nurse and told her he was having difficulty getting her temperature. The RN responded that the temperature probe on that particular cart was not working. He went to get another vital signs cart to get a full set of vitals. Again, he was unable to obtain a temperature for this patient. He went to his instructor and together they went to the nurse to find out what the next step would be. The nurse said they could get a rectal temperature if they wanted. When they got the rectal temperature for this patient it was 93.3. The last temperature charted on the patient was from 4 hours earlier and was documented at 98.7. Paul reported the temperature and the patient was quickly transferred to critical care for treatment of Sepsis.
As nurses, we are expected to be the voice for our patients, to advocate for the best care possible. We must constantly assess for changes in our patient's condition and report those to the provider as they occur. On this particular day, Paul was the voice for this patient. His persistence to obtain a set of vital signs and do what is right for the patient very well may have been what saved her life. Sepsis is a very serious medical condition that claims the life of 15-30% of the people that develop sepsis. Paul refused to accept that the two temperature probes were not working and continued to advocate for his patient and as a result, this patient was transferred to critical care for treatment of hypothermia and sepsis.
I have no doubt that Paul will be an exceptional nurse, as he has demonstrated his compassion, critical thinking, and empathy each day in clinical this semester.