Case Study Journal of Nursing

Migraine verses Bell’s Palsy: A Case Study

Understanding the difference between migraine headaches and Bell’s Palsy will help drive appropriate care and treatment options for improved outcomes and a more rapid recovery.

Submitted by Heather Rhodes, APRN-BC

Case Study: A Systematic Approach to Early Recognition and Treatment of Sepsis

Tags: assessment Case Study emergency department guidelines mortality prevention risk factors sepsis standard of care treatment

The term sepsis is often misunderstood. The public and often healthcare workers are unaware of the severity and high mortality rates this infection process has upon the world. Sepsis has vague symptoms that make diagnosis difficult. Often, sepsis is diagnosed in the later stages, when more obvious yet severe symptoms occur. This case study discusses a female who presents to the emergency department with sepsis secondary to pneumonia. Over the course of three days, the patient’s health quickly deteriorates, demonstrating the rapid progression of sepsis. Clinical findings, such as vitals signs, lab abnormalities, and symptoms of sepsis are discussed. The term bundle of care is presented to educate the reader on the golden standard of care for treatment of sepsis. This case study intends to increase community awareness and education to health care providers as well as providing an evidenced-based treatment guideline. More education and raised awareness will help prevent a deadly yet treatable infectious process.

Submitted by Madeleine Augier RN BSN

Managing the Inevitability of Change

Tags: Case Study change Change in the workplace closing of a unit emotional impact of change emotions employee satisfaction hospital nursing

Change is inevitable. Whether we are changing our minds, our clothes, or a channel on television, we know change happens… and we are fine with it, when we are the ones enacting it. However, what about when change happens to us? This article explores the effects of a hospital’s unit closing on staff – the good, the bad, and the ugly – and seeks to identify ways to mitigate the bad and ugly emotional responses, and hopefully explore means of increasing the good (by both hospital management practice, and individual mindset). A unit in one of south Florida leading hospital serves as a case study as we delve into this topic.

Submitted by Sarah Mensa-Kwao Cook, RN, BSN

Practicing Holistic Nursing as Intensive Case Management

Tags: advanced practice aging behavior Case Study emergency room Health Promotion holistic nursing methods mental health Mental Illness professional rn Psychiatry requirements treatment

Case study describing management of mentally ill client using holistic nursing methods.

Submitted by Joan M. Fenske RN, MS, PhD

Are Canadian Nurse Practitioners here to stay?

Tags: advanced education canada canadian nurses Case Study educational requirements Nurse Practitioners

This paper outlines articles that take a closer look into the role of NPs in the Canadian health care system, and how their roles have evolved in response to an ever-changing health care environment.

Submitted by Yureve Govind, MD, MBA

Women and Homelessness

Tags: Case Study homeless homelessness violence women

Women and homelessness is a great concern that affects the global policy and health determinants to improve health. This case study is a glimpse of the cultural class as it revolves around the lives of mostly White homeless mothers, attending to both everyday lives and cultural norms while exploring and interpreting their interdependencies.

Submitted by Grace Augustine, ARNP, Barry University

When Doing The Right Thing Leads to the Wrong Results

Tags: Case Study errors medication medication errors mental health prescriptions punishment termination due to medication error

Reprimanding nurses for medication errors contibutes to a culture of evasion and silence and does not address the reason behind the mistake.

Submitted by Tracy Nelson-Bungert, RN, MSN

Charles Bonnet Syndrome: What Nurses Need to Know

Tags: Case Study Charles Bonnet Syndrome Guidance for Clinicians Hallucinations treatment Visual Hallucinations

Charles Bonnet Syndrome is frequently the appearance of visual hallucinations in psychologically intact people. Studies estimate the prevalence of these hallucinations of at least 10% of the elderly with vision impaired by, for example, macular degeneration or glaucoma. The syndrome is frequently undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. This case study shows how a patient's symptoms were misinterpreted causing unnecessary stress to the family.

Submitted by John Paul Cook, MSN, RN

The Cost of Caring

Tags: caregiver caring Case Study cost stress students

Nurses care for individuals when they are most vulnerable and often serve as emotional outlets. It is this deep caring that can lead to nurses becoming burnt out or developing vicarious traumatization, secondary traumatic stress, or compassion fatigue. Awareness of these phenomena and methods of prevention needs to be increased throughout the profession. This includes teaching nursing students as they begin having interactions with patients in the clinical setting.

Submitted by Julie Givens RN, BSN and Cynthia Bain MSN, RN, CNE

Cardiac Amyloidosis: The oft times missed cardiomyopathy - A nurse’s personal story

Tags: cardiac Cardiac Amyloidosis Cardiac Diagnostic Case Study death disease end of life

Having been in nursing for over 30 years, nothing I had learned in school or through experience would prepare me for the long, misdiagnosed disease my husband suffered that eventually took his life. Forever changing my perspective on healthcare, it has prompted me to share this story with other nurses, hopefully, averting this course for other patients, and possibly one’s own family member.

Submitted by Deborah Miller, RN

Health and Law

Tags: Ambulance Case Study emergency department emergency room ER health law

This legal case study involves a young woman who presented ambulatory to the emergency room with a gunshot wound to the head.

Submitted by Cindy Huffer, MSN, RNP

Acute Renal Failure

Tags: acute renal failure Case Study critical care health care nurse patient concern patient outcomes

Acute renal failure (ARF) has become increasingly common in patients with critical illnesses. Up to two-thirds of intensive care unit (ICU) patients develop ARF with the leading cause being sepsis. Treatment of ARF has been associated with higher costs and the following adverse outcomes: increased length of stay, excess mortality of 30-71%, need for chronic dialysis in the patients who survive, and the requirement of discharge to short-term or long-term care facilities.

Submitted by Beth Stroud, RN, BSN

Thyroid Storm and the AACN Synergy Model

Tags: aacn Case Study crisis critical care hypermetabolic storm synergy thyroid

Thyroid storm, or thyrotoxic crisis is a rare, but critical hypermetabolic state requiring emergent treatment.

Submitted by Deborah L. Bray, RN, BSN, CNS

Detour Off The Sepsis Road: Early Recognition is Key

Tags: advocacy Case Study death early recognition end of life health care ICU ICU Nurse patient outcomes Rapid Response RN RRT Nurse sepsis

At present, the US reports approximately 750,000 cases of sepsis a year and estimates 1 million cases by 2020 With a mortality rate of 30%, an estimated 250,000 annual deaths, and hospital costs exceeding $16 billion, sepsis has become a burden. It is imperative to increase the awareness and early recognition of sepsis.

Submitted by Angela Buckles, RN, CNS-S, Murray State University

Get Published for Free

RN's, Nursing Students, Educators & Health Care Professionals: Submit your article, story, or research paper to be considered for publishing. Over 40,000 readers per month. It's free and always has been since we started in 2001.

Browse by Tag

advocate aging anesthesia behavior cancer cardiac care Case Study child children clinical COVID-19 critical care death diabetes disease education emergency department end of life ethical principles ethical values ethics graduates health health care ICU medication mental health nurse Nurse Education nursing nursing ethics nursing faculty nursing school nursing students PACU patient care patient outcomes patient safety pediatric pediatrics poem risk factors stress student nurse students teaching therapy treatment violence

Most Popular Last Month

1. Nurses Eat Their Young; An Insight Into Systematic Hazing and its Implications on Patient Care	2. Attitude Matters: Attitudes and Values in Nursing
3. What Are The Effects Of Floating to Nurses And Patient Care?	4. Conflict Resolution - Tools for Nursing Success
5. FNP Student Assessment of Acute Abdominal Pain	6. Pregnancy in African Cultures
7. Spinal Block versus Epidural Block	8. Impact of Language Barriers on Patient Safety
9. Importance of Interprofessional Collaboration, Communication and Teambuilding	10. Keeping a Positive Outlook: My Clinical Experience as a Student Nurse

More from RN Journal

Examining the Transition for New Graduate Professional RN

My Pet Rock and Other Fictions

Seconds Of Safety Port Angeles, S.O.S. PA

Managing wounds in the home

The Importance of Supporting Mothers Who Breastfeed

Clinical Algorithms and Leadership

Going Against the Norm: Treating Cancer as a Metabolic Disease

The Novice Nurse

Clinical Profiling: Natural History of Essential Hypertension

The Reality of Diabetes in Rural Mexico: A Nursing Student Perspective