Essay Example on Treating Acute Bronchitis: My Experience Caring for a Sick Child

I remember an instance whereby I was to take care of a child suffering from acute bronchitis. The child was in bad shape when he was brought in and had all the symptoms of advanced bronchitis. He had labored breathing and complained of pains when he breathed. There was also high fever recorded in the child, and he was sweaty and complained of discomfort from excessive perspiration. The immediate measures of intervention employed sought to bring an easing effect on the symptoms that the child displayed so that the other symptoms could be addressed later on. Tests confirmed that the bronchitis was only viral, and there was no presence of bacterial infections, hence negating the need for antibiotics in the treatment plan (Mejza et al. 2017). Among the other treatment plans that are suggested for the child was resting, so that they could have enough time for the medication to take effect and fight the virus in their body. I also suggested the use of ibuprofen for the pain experienced as the child breathed as well as to fight the fever experienced by the child. I also suggested for the inclusion of more fluids in the child's diet to help them in recovering the lost liquids and strength (Mackay et al. 2018). Finally, I suggested that a cold-air humidifier be installed in the child's room so that future instances of the attacks of bronchitis could be reduced.

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I felt the need to ensure that the child's health was restored to the best condition possible. This would ensure that they would be able to continue with their regular routines and that they would be free to enjoy their lives as they had before the disease attacked them. This being so, I worked tirelessly to ensure that I provided the child with the best medical care at my disposal and also reduce the possibility of ensuring that they did not suffer from another attack of the disease in the future (Galsater et al. 2016). Being a medical care practitioner, I felt that it was my duty to provide the child's parents with updates on the progress of a child's health since they were worried about the health of their child. I also felt it right to provide the parents with the moral support and reassurance that they needed on the fact that their child would be alright and would successfully overcome the situation without further complications (Hassanian et al. 2019). To ensure that the child received the best care available, I researched the best immediate and aftercare services to be used on the child to ensure that they received proper medical intervention as needed.

There were both good and bad outcomes from the case. First, I was able to successfully stop the pain and suffering that the child was experiencing at the moment. Additionally, through proper diagnosis and prescription of medicine, I was able to provide solutions that helped the child overcome bronchitis that was putting him under pain and discomfort. I was also able to successfully offer the parents to the child emotional support during the trying time, and therefore comfort them when they needed it the most. Through the comfort they received, they were able to remain objective on the case and provide the comfort and that their child needed at that time. However, I had moments that I felt I had failed in the case. For example, I became too involved with the child. I felt that their wellbeing was solely my responsibility, therefore neglecting my other duties as I spent more of my time at the facility concentrating on the child, yet I had other patients to take care of. This put the other patients at risk of succumbing to their diseases or their pain and discomfort to worsen as I pursued the comfort of one patient. I am working towards improving this point.

There were different components of the care practice that impacted the success of the process. For example, I was able to assess the child's symptoms successfully and ensure that the diagnosis that I made was correct. Additionally, I made sufficient plans on the intervention plans that would be put in place to ensure that the bronchitis was successfully tackled and that the child would be able to return to normalcy soon after the treatment was over (McCormic and McCance 2016). I then implemented the plans of the treatment plan, so that the treatment would be made possible and effective. The planning process came in handy in the implementation point since the processes to be followed been explicitly stated, thus making it easier to follow the process. After implementation, I undertook the process of evaluation, which happened a week after the child had been discharged from the facility (Aitken et al. 2019). Through evaluation, I was able to track the progress of the child's healing process and to ensure that the medication I had prescribed was indeed working efficiently in tackling the symptoms and effects of bronchitis in the child.

There were many learning points from the case. For example, I was able to learn the importance of attention to detail, especially during the assessment and diagnosis stage of the treatment process. Without proper attention, the disease could have been easily misdiagnosed, hence leading me to make wrong treatment plans, leading to the worsening of the child's condition. Additionally, I was also able to learn the importance of critical thinking in the process of handling an emergency case. There were different methods of intervention that could be followed in the case of treating acute bronchitis in children. Still, different methods are decided upon depending on the issues in the patient. I was, therefore, able to critically think through the conditions that the child faced and concluded on a treatment plan that was effective in dealing with the condition that he faced. The role of compassion to the patients and their families was also apparent from this case. I was able to see the role that compassion plays in people, especially when passing information to them since it helps in preparing them to receive the message that one would like to put across. It is through compassion that I was able to connect with the patient and have them cooperate with me in providing the needed treatment to them.

Conclusion

After this case, I was able to identify the areas in which I could undertake further planning. The main area I identified was the need to remain objective to the patients' needs and abstain from getting too involved in their issues. I found out that I spent too much time addressing this case, yet I had other patients, and I would not like to neglect my patients in that manner in the future. There were also instances when I felt that I could have managed my time better, and therefore this was another point of concern that I seek to address in the future incidences that I will face. Finally, I would like to research how the deadly effects of bronchitis can be managed. Recent research has found that if the bronchitis is unmanaged in the early stages, it could turn fatal. Therefore I would like to research how bronchitis can be managed and how it is the disease's symptoms can be identified without being in the advanced stages.

References

Aitken, L., Chaboyer, W., and Marshall, A., 2019. Scope of critical care practice. Critical Care Nursing, p.1.

Golsäter, M., Henricson, M., Enskär, K., and Knutsson, S., 2016. Are children as relatives our responsibility?–How nurses perceive their role in caring for children as relatives of seriously ill patients—European journal of oncology nursing, 25, pp.33-39.

Hassanian, Z.M., Bagheri, A., Sadeghi, A., and Moghimbegi, A., 2019. Relationship between nurses' social responsibility and the quality of delivered nursing services to patients in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 69(1), pp.99-102.

Mackay, A., Kostikas, K., Frent, S.M., Mezzi, K., Pfister, P., Gupta, P., Patalano, F., Banerji, D., and Wedzicha, J.A., 2018. Dual bronchodilator response according to bronchitis symptoms in the FLAME study.

McCormack, B. and McCance, T. eds., 2016. Person-centered practice in nursing and health care: theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons.

Mejza, F., Gnatiuc, L., Buist, A.S., Vollmer, W.M., Lamprecht, B., Obaseki, D.O., Nastalek, P., Nizankowska-Mogilnicka, E. and Burney, P.G., 2017. Prevalence and burden of chronic bronchitis symptoms: results from the BOLD study. European Respiratory Journal, 50(5).