Problem
Narrative
"Hi, my name is Carol. I am a second-year practical nursing student at First-Right College. Today I was at my clinical placement where I am with a group of 8 students and a teacher. The unit we are placed on for our clinical is a complex continuing care unit. The patients need a lot of care there and it's really hard work. The patients need total bathing, feeding, and they receive many medications. The amount of studying I have to do to understand all the medications is very stressful.
Today I was caring for Mr. J., a 27 year old male who has a brain tumour. From what I can understand from his chart, the brain tumour is close to the centre of his brain so they can't remove it. He never has family visit and even though I can tell he is really happy to receive my nursing care, it's sad because I know he responds this way because he is lonely. Today Mr. J became drowsy during his am care. I reported the change in his status to the RN but she didn't do anything. I asked my teacher and he said the Mr. J was just sleepy. He remained drowsy during my entire shift. When I left at 1530 hours, his status hadn't changed. This situation is really bothering me. I feel like because Mr. J. has a tumour that the doctors and nurses can't fix, they seem unresponsive to the fact that maybe something is wrong."
Task
A. Could Carol have acted differently to advocate for Mr. J.? If so, what could she have done differently?
B. What would you say to Carol about advocacy in nursing practice?
C. Give 1 example when caring a patient with advocacy