Clinical Narrative

A clinical narrative is a written statement of actual nursing practice. It is a story of how you provided care for a patient and family. This could be how you prepared a patient and/or family for something that changed their lifestyle when they return home, e.g., an amputation. Or it could be how you helped a young couple prepare for the eventual death of their two-year-old with leukemia. Your narrative is the story of a patient care situation that is meaningful to you. One that may have caused you to reflect on your practice, may continue to influence your practice as you confront similar situations, is a good example of how your care made a difference in the outcome of a particular patient/family. You might say that you have grown in your professional practice as a result of this experience; that the relationship and interventions you shared reinforced what you already believed. Select a patient and write on the following 1. Set the scene for the story—let the reader visualize your patient and the situation. Write one or two paragraphs opening the scene. 2. Involve yourself early on in this scene. 3. Tell what you did, what you thought about, and why you made the choices you did. Write two or three sentences. The assessment should be on going, based on feedback during the intervention with the patient and family. 4. As with any story, there is a beginning and an end. The reader should know what happened as a result of your intervention, and what this whole experience means to your practice or says to you about your practice. As you proceed with the story, talk about your role with this patient, your assessment of the care that was needed, the care you gave (your intervention), how you involved the patient and family, and the advocacy role you played with the patient. Include the reason(s) why you made the choices you did. What was your thought process? Talk about how you mobilized your resources or extended your intervention outside the hospital. As you write the narrative, you will realize how your care influenced the patient’s outcome.